[labnetwork] Cryo-piping contractors for LN2 piping sought

[Michael Yakimov]

you probably know about vacuum barrier corp., https://vacuumbarrier.com/
I adon't know  if they would do a retrofit, but wouldn't hurt asking

As for handling those ice balls... First - make sure there are no LN2 leaks, even small one can cause problems. And what kind of wrapping do you use? My experience is that packaging bubble wrap  with some layers of foil works best on such connections.

Mike




_______________________________________________

Michael Yakimov

Research scientist

College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering

SUNY Polytechnic Institute



253 Fuller rd.

Albany NY 12203



Phone: 518-437-8609 lab

e-mail: yakimom at sunypoly.edu



________________________________
From: labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> on behalf of Metzler, Meredith G. (Fed) <meredith.metzler at nist.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2023 3:08 PM
To: labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
Subject: [labnetwork] Cryo-piping contractors for LN2 piping sought


We are hoping the community can assist us in identifying a vendor who can inspect an existing LN2 delivery piping system in the cleanroom for our cryo-etch tools. We've recently started experiencing issues with a phase separator that keeps building up a large block of ice on the outside of it.



We have a 5 Gallon phase separator made by Chart Inc. with one outlet. It feeds liquid nitrogen to several tools in the etch bay of the cleanroom. The LN2 system is house regulated to 40 PSI at the inlet. The unit separates the gaseous N2 from the liquid. The liquid is stored in the 5 gallon volume surrounded by a vacuum jacket to prevent icing. The final LN2 inlet connection to the phase separator, the exhaust connection, and the over pressure relief connection seem to be the biggest points of failure. At these three points we have cold air and moisture condensation that forms an ice ball.



Although, we have made many at wrapping and insulating these connection points, we cannot quite get the coverage to eliminate this ice ball.



Does the community have any preferred cryo-piping contractors they can recommend to assist with solving this issue and any of our future cryo-piping needs?



Thanks!



Meredith Metzler

National Institute of Standards and Technology, Physical Measurement Laboratory

Process Engineer – Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility, NanoFab

100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 6201, Building 216

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

301-975-8187

meredith.metzler at nist.gov<mailto:meredith.metzler at nist.gov>

https://www.nist.gov/cnst


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://mtl.mit.edu/pipermail/labnetwork/attachments/20230228/2810eaa9/attachment.html>