Thermal conductivity studies of epoxy-aluminium composites (300 K - 4.5 K) for the development of cryosorption pumps

Cryosorption pumps are the only solution to achieve ultra-high vacuum in nuclear fusion environment. An important aspect in their development is the proper adhesion of the activated carbon granules onto the metallic cryopanel and their cooling to the lowest possible temperature by using high thermal conductivity adhesives. Hence, the thermal conductivity data of the select adhesives and activated carbons down to 4.5 K are quite essential, but they are not available in open literature. This paper deals with the studies on thermal conductivity of epoxy-aluminium composites to enhance the pumping speed of cryosorption pump. The thermal conductivity data for pure epoxy and epoxy-aluminium composites from 300 K to 4.5 K have been presented in this paper. The above studies will enable to make the right choice of adhesives for the development of cryosorption pumps.