Industry, research institutes and universities, such as the semiconductor industry, large-scale research facilities (GSI Darmstadt, CERN, etc.), as well as small and medium-sized companies.

ILK Dresden develops cryogenic refrigeration systems for research and industry. Depending on the application, cooling is supplied by liquid nitrogen, helium or active refrigeration systems – preferably using natural refrigerants such as air. This results in efficient solutions down to very low temperatures.

The design of low-temperature systems requires a precise understanding of heat transfer, fluid flow, phase change and transient temperature profiles. Cryogenic applications in particular involve high temperature differences, temperature-dependent material properties, radiation heat transfer, pressure losses and critical boiling conditions occurring at the same time. ILK Dresden uses analytical calculations, numerical simulations (with ANSYS Fluent) and experimental validation to design complex thermal processes safely and efficiently. One key focus is the CFD-based optimisation of flow and temperature distributions. For thermal shields in space simulation chambers, for example, large-area heat exchanger plates with channel heights of only a few millimetres, complex welding-point geometries and strongly varying boundary conditions are analysed. Simulation helps to evaluate flow paths, reduce pressure losses, identify local temperature deviations and improve temperature homogeneity. The calculations are always compared with measurement data. Pressure loss measurements, temperature profiles and performance data from real systems are used to validate simulation models and reliably assess design variants. This results in robust solutions for research and industry – from space simulation chambers and cloud chambers to superconducting systems and cryogenic heat exchangers.