Abstract
Gases such as helium can diffuse through polymers in considerable amounts. The increasing use of polymers in cryogenic engineering may make it necessary to estimate the magnitude of this effect to judge whether it may be dangerous in vacuum insulations and the like. This paper reports measurements on the solubility and the diffusion constant of helium in two widely used polymers as a function of temperature. A continuous flow cryostat and a helium leak detector were the key elements of the experimental set-up. The results show that while the permeation flow of helium through polymers can be considerable at ambient temperature, it ceases to be a problem at temperatures of 200 K or below. For certain applications, however, this effect may be a serious problem and must be considered.
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