GRAPHALLOY® Bearings Operate at -269°C

Turbomachinery International magazine reported on a project at Vienna University of Technology's Atominstitut using GRAPHALLOY at -269°C.

The article - "Maintaining Lubricity at Cryogenic Temperatures" - describes the key role of GRAPHALLOY in building a Rotating Sample Magnetometer to measure magnetic properties of samples, usually at temperatures near zero.
 
"When designing pumps, compressors, valves and ancillary components for cryogenic applications, one is concerned with more than the ability of the components to withstand the low temperatures without shrinking, becoming brittle, losing strength or cracking. 

Whenever there are moving parts, there is the need to minimize friction and wear, and to prevent sticking or galling. Unlike higher-temperature applications, the use of fluid lubricants in low temperatures is out of the question... 

Recently, the GRAPHALLOY material hit a new record low temperature application in a magnetometer. It was not quite as low as what the CAL will reach, since those can only be achieved in space, but it was not much warmer." 

Click here to read the full article.