Technology transferred
(2007-2030) NEW HELIUM RECOVERY, PURIFICATION AND LIQUEFACTION TECHNIQUES ADAPTED TO HOSPITALS AND RESEARCH CENTERS
Helium is a fossil gas, scarce and very expensive. In the liquid phase, it is the essential element for the operation of medical and research equipment, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magneto-encephalographs (MEG), or different types of cryostats for the study of low-temperature physics (magnetic, electrical and thermal properties of materials (MPMS, PPMS), quantum phenomena, …). As there is no efficient and simple recovery and liquefaction technology to be installed in hospitals and other centers with low or moderate helium consumption, the helium evaporated in this type of equipment was lost in the atmosphere. A new technology that solves this problem has been devised, developed and patented, and the commercial exploitation has been licensed to the company Quantum Design International. Thanks to this new technology, it is possible to recover and liquefy the helium used in hospitals and research centers at the same rate as it is consumed, without loss, in an extremely efficient and simple way.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBgeEUYqa1E
More info: https://www.qdusa.com/products/helium_liquefiers.html
(2005-2013) INDUSTRIAL MAGNETISM.
Safety in the circulation of AVE trains depends on a sophisticated control system in which the signals from the sensors have to be transmitted in a very hostile environment in terms of ambient electromagnetic noise (produced by the train itself). The cables that transmit the signals from the sensors to the control computers, laid along the entire length of the track, require a sophisticated system to shield low-frequency electromagnetic interference (mainly 50 Hz, 100 Hz and 150 Hz). The amplitude permeameter developed at ICMA to magnetically characterize the industrial steel used as a high magnetic permeability screen, and the cable design procedure developed from these measurements, has allowed the company Cables de Comunicaciones to reduce the failure rate by 0%.
More info: https://inma.unizar-csic.es/en/transferencia/transferred-technology/#ave
High magnetic field superconducting coil (10 Tesla)
Superconducting Magnetic Storage System (SMES)
(1991-1997) APPLIED SUPERCONDUCTIVITY. LIQUID HELIUM CRIOSTATS, SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNETS AND SMES PROTOTYPES.
Throughout these years, INMA researchers have collaborated with several companies, both from the public and private sectors, for the development of equipment using superconductivity applications.
High magnetic field superconducting coil (10 Tesla)
Together with the company ANTEC, INMA developed the first solenoidal superconducting coil in Spain. The coil provided a field of 10 Tesla. This coil was used for the Quantum Hall Effect Resistance Standard.
• Publication highlights
Superconductivity in Spain: research activities. Editado por F. Ynduráin. Programa MIDAS, 437-452 (1993)
Superconducting Magnetic Storage System (SMES)
Together with the company ANTEC, INMA developed the first SMES in Spain. Initially a 30 KJ prototype based on 10 Tesla magnet was developed. Base on the results of this first prototype, a second 1 MJ SMES was develop and transfer to ASINEL
• Publication highlights
Superconductivity in Spain: research activities. Editado por F. Ynduráin. Programa MIDAS, 437-452 (1993)
Cryostats for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
Together with the company DURO FELGUERA, INMA, manufactured a 25 m linear cryostat prototype for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). With this, CERN accreditation was obtained and the company apply for a contract for the manufacture of 400 linear cryostats.
We also obtained the CERN accreditation for the toroidal cryostats for ATLAS, one of the LHC detector
More information: https://inma.unizar-csic.es/en/transferencia/transferred-technology/#superconductividad-aplicada
(1988-2009) QUANTUM METROLOGY FOR ELECTRICAL STANDARDS
The use of quantum phenomena has allowed to improve the precision of the standards in several orders of magnitude during the last decades. Based on two quantum phenomena, the Josephson effect and the Quantum Hall effect, we have developed at INMA the voltage and electrical resistance standards. The voltage standard was transferred to Taller de Precision y Centro Electrotecnico de Artilleria (TPYCEA) where it became the new national voltage standard, giving an improvement of three orders of magnitude. The resistance standard was also transferred to TPYCEA, and once again, this represented an improvement of three orders of magnitude in the uncertainty.
of superconducting materials, we developed a new measurement bridge, the Cryogenic Current Comparator. The system uses different properties of superconducting materials and incorporates a SQUID magnetic field sensor that allows the comparison of two resistances with an uncertainty of parts in 10^ 9.
More info: https://inma.unizar-csic.es/en/transferencia/transferred-technology/#metrologia-cuantica
