4. Conclusion

The use of materials at low temperatures requires knowledge of how their electrical, thermal and mechanical properties change with temperature. Today, these characteristics are known and quantified experimentally. Similarly, several physical models can be used to explain the behavior of materials as a function of temperature.

For several years now, a certain rationalization in the supply of metal construction materials has significantly reduced the number of steel grades available for use in cryogenic equipment. On the other hand, the development of new composite materials (glass fibers, carbon fibers, filled materials, etc.) is sometimes an advantageous replacement for metallic materials, opening the way to new applications requiring a very low mass-to-fracture strength ratio.

What's more, the usual metal machining and assembly techniques...