Thermalization of a cryogenic flex cable using a thermally conductive cladding

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12548694-B2
Application number	US-202318534439-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 8, 2023
Priority date	Dec 8, 2023
Publication date	Feb 10, 2026
Grant date	Feb 10, 2026

Abstract

A system includes a cable passing from a first plate to a second plate via an intermediate plate, an attachment coupling the cable to the intermediate plate, and a conductive cladding connected to an outer surface of the cable and extended a first length from the attachment toward the second plate. The total length of the thermally conductive cladding is larger than the total length of the attachment, and the cable is thermally connected to the first plate, the second plate, and the intermediate plate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A system comprising:
a cable passing from a first plate to a second plate via an intermediate plate, wherein the cable is thermally connected to the first plate, the second plate, and the intermediate plate; an attachment coupling the cable to the intermediate plate; and a thermally conductive cladding connected to an outer surface of the cable and extended a first length from the attachment toward the second plate, wherein a total length of the thermally conductive cladding is larger than a total length of the attachment.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the cable comprises an intermediate layer separating the outer layer and an inner layer, and wherein a length of the thermally conductive cladding is determined by L c =AL t and

L
t

=

(

K
w

K
i

⁢

t
w

⁢

t
i

n
sides

)

1
/
2

wherein:
K w and K i are thermal conductivities of the inner layer and the intermediate layer, respectively;
t w and t i are thicknesses of the inner layer and the intermediate layer, respectively;
n sides is 1 when the thermally conductive cladding is applied on one side of the flex cable, and 2, when the thermally conductive cladding is applied on two sides of the flex cable; and
A is a multiplier between 2 and 6.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the multiplier A is determined by

A
=

3.4

log
⁢

(

L
0

/

L
t

)

wherein L 0 is a distance from the intermediate plate to the second plate.

4 . The system of claim 2 , wherein a length of the thermally conductive cladding is determined by finite element calculations to minimize heat flow to the second plate.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the thermally conductive cladding includes a first material with a first thermal conductivity; the outer layer includes a second material with a second thermal conductivity; and
wherein the first thermal conductivity is higher than the second thermal conductivity.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the first plate is at a first temperature; the second plate is at a second temperature; and the second temperature is lower than the first temperature.

7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the intermediate plate is at a third temperature that is between the first temperature and the second temperature.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the thermally conductive cladding is configured to decrease a heat load to the second plate when the thermal conduction to the intermediate plate is increased.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the thermally conductive cladding is further extended a second length from the attachment toward the first plate.

10 . A system comprising:
a cable connecting a first plate and a second plate via an intermediate plate, wherein the first plate is at a first temperature and the second plate is at a second temperature, the second temperature being lower than the first temperature; an attachment connecting the cable to the intermediate plate; and a thermally conductive cladding connected to the cable, wherein the thermally conductive cladding is extended a first length from the attachment toward the first plate and a second length from the attachment toward the second plate.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the intermediate plate is at an intermediate temperature between the first temperature and the second temperature.

12 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the cable comprises an intermediate layer separating an outer layer and an inner layer, and wherein a length of the thermally conductive cladding is determined by L c =AL t and

L
t

=

(

K
w

K
i

⁢

t
w

⁢

t
i

n
sides

)

1
/
2

wherein:
K w and K i are thermal conductivities of the inner layer and the intermediate layer, respectively;
t w and t i are thicknesses of the inner layer and the intermediate layer, respectively;
n sides is 1 when the thermally conductive cladding is applied on one side of the flex cable, and 2, when the thermally conductive cladding is applied on two sides of the flex cable; and
A is a multiplier between 2 and 6.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the multiplier A is determined by

A
=

3.4

log
⁢

(

L
0

/

L
t

)

where L 0 is the distance from the intermediate plate to the second plate.

14 . The system of claim 12 , wherein a length of the thermally conductive claddi

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Rettner Charles Thomas
• Yeh Jen-Hao
• Rugar Daniel

Classifications

• H01B13/227

  Pretreatment · CPC title

• H10N60/81

  Containers; Mountings · CPC title

• F25B9/12

  using 3He-4He dilution · CPC title

• H01B12/14

  characterised by the disposition of thermal insulation · CPC title

• F25D19/006

  Thermal coupling structure or interface · CPC title