cryoscience...stronger, cooler, longer

[StopGap]

I have cyro'd small things like lathe tooling and end mills in the past, significantly improving their life.

I have never heard of freezing spark plugs.. I can understand how hardening would make them wear less and extend their life.

I'm having a tough time wrapping my pee brain around a 9HP increase over the same type new plugs. Can anyone explain how that works ? It kind of sounds like another "magnets on the fuel line" to improve mileage

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

I cryo'd my fuel line magnets and got an additional 10 hp. Gonna cryo my Tornado on the intake next.



j/k... interesting stuff. I guess they probably do mower blades too.

 

[Dave 2000]

Soo what you are saying is I could Cryo a jeep and it would last almost as long as my LC>

regards

Dave

 

[firetruck41]

I have cyro'd small things like lathe tooling and end mills in the past, significantly improving their life.

I have never heard of freezing spark plugs.. I can understand how hardening would make them wear less and extend their life.

I'm having a tough time wrapping my pee brain around a 9HP increase over the same type new plugs. Can anyone explain how that works ? It kind of sounds like another "magnets on the fuel line" to improve mileage

Don't forget the hydrolyzer and acetone in the tank!

 

[xprmntl]

Science Speak

Ah...there is where the difference in companies and/or equipment makes a difference. As I am told, for metal to be properly treated it has to be frozen to -320F. To do this, your equipment has to be engineered to maintain that type of temp. Many companies buy used semen freezers from genitics labs (used for livestock genetic management). The vessels are designed to only go down to about -100 or so. Also, the material being frozen needs a certain amount of time (based on density) to go from room temp to -320 where it needs to stay for a period of time, before it is raised slowly back to room temp. IIRC, this process can take a couple of days to complete.

This is a bit confused knowledge. Most cryogenic coolers rely on liquid nitrogen as the coolant which is naturally about -320F (-196C or 78K) at atmospheric pressure (it's boiling point!). This is analogous to boiling water--it maintains 100C until it evaporates.
The only thing one needs to contain liquid nitrogen is a material that won't be too brittle and/or weak to contain it at this temperature. Something like an aluminum can or styrofoam cup works nicely, with the latter doing a much better job of insulating. Vacuum flasks, aka Dewars, are generally used for containment as the vacuum doesn't allow passage of infrared (heat) radiation. Dewars are expensive, especially large ones, as they have to be engineered to provide a continuous vacuum space around the interior of the container. A heat exchanger using liquid nitrogen as the cool side can provide a way to do the slow, controlled cooling.

One thing to keep in mind with spark plugs: because the treating process effects the carbon atoms the most, avoid materials that have less carbon in them - platinum and iridium, as there is little benefit with these types of plugs. I've had great success with the OEM Denso's.

It's not that the heat treatment effects the carbon atoms the most, it's that steel is iron which contains various amounts of carbon atoms that affect its metallurgy (structure) dramatically. This structural change with carbon addition is what makes steel steel. Its structural properties are further enhanced controlled through cooling/heating treatment (tempering to control the austenitic-martensitic structural transition and microstructure). Desirable tempered properties are apparently enhanced by going to subambient temperatures, which is not a surprise because there's nothing special about room/ambient temperature in the materials world.