What helium can do, or the industrial use of liquid and gaseous helium
Buying helium today may be necessary for applications in a variety of areas. Its various types are popular in the medical, scientific, aeronautical, aerodesign, advertising and entertainment segments. Modern innovative productions cannot do without it. It is an important remedy for asthma, a protective medium for welding, a component of artificial air for divers, and performs many other important tasks. Covering the full spectrum of applications is difficult and time-consuming, so we’ll focus on the basics. Let’s take a closer look at the main industrial uses of helium in gas and liquid form.
Automotive industry
With the help of helium, they test the quality of various auto parts and car systems, in particular, check radiator heat exchangers, climate control, fuel tanks, torque converters, etc. The helium-argon mixture is increasingly used to inflate airbags.
Electronic industry
Production of semiconductors, liquid crystal panels, fiber optic cables and other processes are processes in which helium plays a significant role. Thanks to it, it is possible to maximize heat transfer and cooling down, reduce the amount of waste. In the production process, it serves as a carrier gas.
Welding + mechanical engineering
Aluminum, stainless steel, copper and magnesium alloys, that is, those materials characterized by high thermal conductivity, are well welded with the help of helium. All because of the substance retains the properties of an inert gas even at the temperature of the electric arc. Helium is also used in heat treatment, such as gas quenching. And its presence in the furnace atmosphere is the key to obtaining high-quality parts with minimal deviations. A notable difference from the nearest competitor in the specified direction – argon – is a greater ionization potential and better thermal conductivity, and therefore in providing a wide seam profile and increased heat deposition.
Aviation and aerospace industry
In this case the use of helium is very widespread. It is involved in literally all production stages, starting with the manufacture of parts and ending with flights. It is used to blow hydrogen systems during space travel. It is used as a displacing gas agent in ground and air liquid systems. It serves as an additive to rocket fuel and an oxidizer in hydrogen and oxygen condensation tanks. Another notable process in which the material is used is the raising of various probes into the air, for example, meteorological, observational, etc.
Health care, medicine
The value of helium in this direction is primarily in the ability to take pictures of internal organs at high magnification. The substance turns magnets into a state of superconductivity, thanks to the achievement of t -268 °C, and thus contributes to the functioning of nuclear magnetic resonance and magnetic resonance tomography devices.
Production of refrigeration equipment
The complex of helium with a heavy gas, for example with xenon, is used in refrigeration systems, due to its high heat capacity coefficient and low Prandtl number. Since helium is inert, the environmental benefits are unquestionable when comparing such cooling systems with classic ones that thin the ozone layer and contribute to global warming.
Other
The low solubility in nervous tissues of helium compounds (trimix, heliox, etc.) explains their popularity in this segment (the goal is to reduce the effects of narcosis). At a depth of more than 150 meters, the combination of hydrogen with helium-oxygen materials is an effective way to prevent the negative effects of high pressure on the nervous system. Due to the low density of helium, breathing effort can be significantly reduced at these depths.
For the sake of fairness, we note that gaseous helium is used more often and in a larger list of directions and processes than liquid helium. However, their total set of application areas is considerable. Nowadays, various industries cannot do without one of them. Microelectronics, science, medicine, nuclear magnetic resonance research. Cooling of nuclear reactors, manufacturing of lasers, chromatography, filling of cryogenic devices and systems, detection of leaks. Keeping the balloons and airships running and eventually filling the balloons. All thanks to the unique properties of the material, such as low density, non-flammability, superfluidity, thermal conductivity, etc.
To buy liquid or gaseous helium for use in any of the segments mentioned above, please contact our managers. We guarantee quick processing of the application, provision of all necessary information about the product and comfortable cooperation!
