Improved Flange Design for Cryogenic Vacuum O-Ring Seals

A compact spring-loading design has been proposed to increase the reliability of seals in the joints of vacuum cryogenic systems. Heretofore, such joints have been, variously, compact or reliable, but not both, for the following reasons: In all such joints, sealing is effected by compression of soft metal (typically, indium or alloys of indium) O rings between flanges. Over time, the soft O-ring metal flows, with consequent reduction of preload, sometimes leading to loss of seal. To ensure reliable seals, it is necessary to spring-load the flanges to maintain compression of the O rings. However, spring-loaded joints of traditional design are not compact.