Stress analysis down to liquid helium temperature

Abstract

As well as fulfilling its institutional tasks of the realization and maintenance of primary standards of thermal and mechanical quantities, the Istituto di Metrologia ‘G. Colonnetti’ (IMGC) of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) also carries out work concerning dissemination of standards and the metrological characterization of sensors and tranducers. In particular, the inclusion of IMGC in the National Projects on Superconductivity and Mechanical Technology, financed by CNR, has led the group to undertake work on the characterization of deformation, temperature, flow rate and pressure sensors for use at cryogenic temperatures (down to liquid helium temperature) and in high magnetic fields (up to 6 T). This paper considers some of the work in these areas which is currently underway and especially the results of stress analysis down to liquid helium temperatures.