Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation

Mostafa M Abdelsalam

Xianrui Huang

A compressive strut for cryogenic applications includes a tube with a cylindrical bore wall defining an internal cavity, a rod of filling material within the cavity which has low thermal conductivity, and structure in engagement with the rod, such as end plugs partially inserted into the ends of the tube and in contact with the rod. The tube may be formed of a composite material such as fiberglass within a matrix of epoxy, wherein the fiberglass fibers are wound circumferentially. The plug at one end of the strut is attached to the warm support structure and the plug at the other end is attached to the cold structure, such as a superconducting magnet which is maintained at cryogenic temperatures. Compressive pressure applied by the magnet to the strut causes the plugs to press inwardly on the filling material rod, expanding the rod radially. The circumferentially strong tube resists outward expansion of the rod and carries a significant portion of the compressive pressure applied to the rod so that the rod itself does not have to support the compressive forces applied to it. Consequently, the rod can be formed of a relatively low thermal conductivity material which need not have high strength, and the tube need only have high strength in the circumferential direction.

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Madison, WI, United States of America

Mostafa M Abdelsalam