Cryogenics 80 (2016) 174–180

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Cryogenics
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Research paper

Pyrolytic graphite film thermal straps: Characterization testing

Ian M. McKinley ⇑, Colin H. Smith, Perry G. Ramsey, Jose I. Rodriguez
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper reports on the experimentally-measured conductance, stiffness, and particulate contamina-
Received 7 September 2016 tion of pyrolytic graphite film thermal straps. This work was aimed at assessing the feasibility of replac-
Received in revised form 8 October 2016 ing standard aluminum foil in thermal straps with graphite film, which is more conductive and lighter.
Accepted 10 October 2016
Four different U-shaped straps with similar cross-sections and terminals were tested in the study.
Available online 1 November 2016
Three of the straps had a three-inch long flexible section. One of these was made from aluminum
1100 foil, and two were made from Pyrovo pyrolytic graphite film (PGF). One of the PGF straps was fab-
Keywords:
ricated with an aluminized mylar blanket that was sealed at the terminals. The last strap was made from
Pyrolytic graphite film
Flexible thermal link
PGF, was blanketed, and was six inches long. The conductance of each strap was measured as a function
Annealed pyrolytic graphite of mean strap temperature ranging from 60 K to 300 K. The peak measured conductance of the three-inch
PGF and aluminum straps were 1.0 W/K at 162 K and 0.28 W/K at 64 K, respectively. The conductance of
all straps converged to around 0.3 W/K as the mean strap temperature approached 60 K. In addition, the
peak conductance of the six-inch PGF strap was 0.83 W/K at 150 K. The fact that its peak conductance was
near the conductance of the three-inch PGF strap indicated that the thermal resistance of the terminals in
the PGF straps was significant. For a given temperature, the conductance varied by as much as 15% for
two units of the same strap design. One of the straps was thermally cycled from 300 K to 60 K ten times.
Its conductance was unchanged by the thermal cycling. Furthermore, one of the six-inch long PGF straps
was subjected to random vibration. The random vibration spectrum was designed so that one terminal
achieved a maximum displacement of
0.25 in. from its neutral position in three orthogonal axes while
the other was held stationary. The conductance of this strap was unaffected by the random vibration test.
The straps were also tested for the level of contamination introduced to the environment. The bare
aluminum and bare PGF straps had equal particulate cleanliness levels while the encapsulated PGF strap
had a lower one. Finally, the dynamic stiffness of one of the six-inch strap was measured to be less than
0.5 lb/in. in all directions for temperatures between 200 and 300 K.
Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction and background
Thermal straps are intended to achieve a thermal coupling and
a structural decoupling between cryogenic components [1]. They
often physically connect a mechanical cooling source, such as a
cryocooler, to infrared (IR) detectors and focal planes possessing
highly critical alignment requirements. Mechanical flexibility of
the strap is needed to accommodate launch loads as well as isolate
the forces exported by the cryocooler to the IR detector or focal
plane. In addition, small mass is needed to minimize the launch
loads on thin-walled cryocooler coldfingers. Large thermal
conductance of the strap is needed for efficient operation of the
⇑ Corresponding author at: 4800 Oak Grove Drive M/S 157-316, Pasadena, CA
91109-8099, USA.
E-mail address: ian.m.mckinley@jpl.nasa.gov (I.M. McKinley).
cryocooler. Finally, the strap must not introduce other
contaminants onto the focal plane.
Thermal straps consist of two rigid end-pieces (terminals) sep-
arated by a flexible middle section composed of numerous thin lay-
ers of foil or film. The flexible elements and terminals are thermally
linked by soldering, swaging, welding, or other proprietary meth-
ods [1]. The thermal performance of a thermal strap is evaluated
in terms of its thermal conductance, G (in W/K) [1]. Pure copper
straps provide excellent thermal performance, however they suffer
from large mass and stiffness. The thermal conductivity of pure
aluminum is 40% smaller than that of pure copper at 300 K [2].
However, pure aluminum possesses density and stiffness that are
30% and 60% than that of pure copper, respectively [3]. Aluminum
thermal straps often meet the mass, conductivity, flexibility, and
reliability requirements needed [4]. However, Pyrovo pyrolytic
graphite film (PGF) has emerged as a new candidate for the flexible
material in thermal straps. Its thermal conductivity at 300 K is

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cryogenics.2016.10.002
0011-2275/Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 I.M. McKinley et al. / Cryogenics 80 (2016) 174–180
approximately 3.5 and 6 times greater than pure copper and pure
aluminum, respectively [2]. In addition, its thermal conductivity at
100 K is approximately 10 and 16.5 times greater than pure copper
and pure aluminum, respectively [2]. Furthermore, its density is
much smaller than that of copper and aluminum. The specific ther-
mal conductivity of a material, defined as its thermal conductivity
divided by its density, provides a figure of merit for thermal strap
comparison. The specific thermal conductivity at 300 K of pyrolytic
graphite, pure aluminum, and pure copper are 0.63, 0.088, and
0.045 W m2/kg K, respectively [2]. In addition to being an excellent
thermal conductor, PGF is highly flexible possessing a modulus of
elasticity of 23 GPa at 300 K as measured by beam deflection [5].
The modulus of elasticity of PGF is 5 and 3 times less than that
of pure copper and pure aluminum, respectively [3].
Although PGF meets the requirements of providing excellent
thermal coupling per unit mass as well as providing sufficient
mechanical decoupling, there are uncertainties related to (i) the
contamination it introduces to its environment and (ii) its reliabil-
ity. One approach to eliminating contamination is to encapsulate
annealed pyrolytic graphite (APG). Thermacore Inc. has developed
and patented an APG material that can be encapsulated by any
number of metals, composites, plastics, or ceramics. However,
the encapsulating shell is thick and causes the resulting structure
to be stiff and unsuitable as a thermal strap material. Alternatively,
Thermotive LLC builds straps out of PGF and blankets them with a
thin, sealed mylar blanket that does not increase the stiffness of
the PGF. In addition, the sealed mylar blanket is equipped with a
high-efficiency particle air (HEPA) filter to allow venting of the
blanket during pressure changes without allowing particles to pass
through it. This blanket serves to (i) contain graphite contamina-
tion that could exist, (ii) protect the edges of the PGF from damage
during handling, (iii) facilitate cleaning, and (iv) reduce the
exposed surface area by a factor of 100. The goal of this study
was to assess the thermal performance and contamination charac-
teristics of Pyrovo PGF thermal straps in comparison to ones made
from aluminum 1100. Moreover, the reliability of the PGF straps
was assessed by subjecting them to thermal cycling and random
vibration.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Thermal strap design
The thermal strap design consisted of a U-shaped flexible sec-
tion made of 180 foils that were 0.001 in. (0.0254 mm) thick and
0.75 in. (19.05 mm) wide. Four versions of the thermal strap were
conceived and two of each version were purchased from Thermo-
tive LLC. Fig. 1 shows a photograph of versions 2, 3, and 4. Table 1
Fig. 1. Photograph of different versions of the straps.
175
specifies the strap material, centerline length, blanketing, mass,
and conductance measured by Thermotive at 304 K of each strap.
The blanketing consisted of a 4 lm thick sealed mylar blanket
equipped with a HEPA filter to allow venting and mitigate potential
particle contamination. Version 1 was a standard aluminum strap
against which various characteristics of the Pyrovo PGF straps
could be compared. This version was made from aluminum 1100
foils which feature a thermal conductivity of 340 W/m K at 60 K
which is 32% lower than that of 99.999% (5-nines) aluminum [1].
Each terminal had five 3.6 mm diameter mounting holes in a circu-
lar pattern with a diameter of 33 mm. Version 3 had the same
geometry as version 1 and was approximately twice as expensive.
Also, the electrical conductance of the PGF straps varied from 1.0 to
134.2 ohms. Note that this was not a parameter that was con-
trolled for this study. Finally, note that Thermotive Pyrovo PGF
straps typically do not have any exposed graphite. However, Ther-
motive agreed to fabricate a pair of PGF straps (version 2) without
the standard mylar blanketing for this study.
2.2. Conductance test
The conductance of straps 1-I, 3-I, 3-II, 4-I, and 4-II was tested
as a function of temperature between 60 K and 300 K in a vacuum
chamber held at a pressure less than 1  105 torr (1.33 mPa).
Fig. 2 shows a schematic and Fig. 3 shows a picture of the experi-
mental apparatus used to test conductance. The bottom of each
strap was mounted to a copper plate, which was attached to the
cold tip of an APD DE-102 Gifford-McMahon (GM) cryocooler
inside a vacuum chamber. The temperature of the copper plate
was controlled by a Lake Shore 340 Temperature Controller and
heated by Dale resistors. The top of the strap was heated by a Dale
resistor providing constant heat load through an interface plate.
This resistor had two wires connected to each terminal. One set
of wires supplied the current and the other measured the voltage
at the resistor. In addition, the wires were used to suspend the
top terminal so that it did not make contact with the bottom ter-
minal. The top and bottom terminal of the straps each had two
Lake Shore DT670 diodes mounted on bolt holes. The temperature
of each terminal was defined as the mean reading of the two
diodes. The strap was enclosed in a temperature-controlled alu-
minum radiation shield in order to minimize radiative heat trans-
fer with the walls of the vacuum chamber. The temperature at the
bottom of the shield was approximately the same as the bottom
strap terminal. The temperature of the top of the shield was con-
trolled to within 5 K of the top terminal of the strap by a Lake Shore
340 using Minco 180 ohm Kapton film heaters. The temperature of
the top of the shield was such that the mean of the top and bottom
shield temperatures was the same as the mean strap temperature.
In addition, the inside of the shield was lined with multi-layer
insulation (MLI) to further reduce radiative heat transfer between
the shield and the strap. Moreover, the aluminum strap was spiral
wrapped with 3 layers of 20 lm thick aluminized mylar as it would
be in a flight configuration. The mylar wrap served as a radiative
heat transfer shield between the strap and its surroundings. The
Pyrovo PGF straps were not spiral wrapped because their mylar
shield blanketing served as a radiative heat transfer shield. Finally,
the outside of the aluminum radiation shield was covered with MLI
to reduce heat transfer with the vacuum chamber.
For each conductance test, a constant heat load of 4 W was
applied to one end of the strap as the copper plate temperature
varied between 50 K and 300 K, and then a 6 W heat load was
applied to each strap for at least five temperatures between 50 K
and 300 K. Furthermore, strap 3-I was thermally cycled between
300 K and 60 K ten times. The conductance was measured at
60 K and 300 K during each cycle.
176 I.M. McKinley et al. / Cryogenics 80 (2016) 174–180

Table 1
Strap properties. Conductance G reported by Thermotive, LLC.

Version Unit Strap material Length (in.) Blanketed Mass (g) G at 304 K (W/K)
1 I Aluminum 1100 3 No 79.32 0.22
II 81.08 0.24
2 I Pyrovo PGF 3 No – 1.08
II 62.58 1.09
3 I Pyrovo PGF 3 Yes 64.07 1.11
II 64.57 1.04
4 I Pyrovo PGF 6 Yes 78.19 0.68
II 76.75 0.67

Fig. 2. Schematic of the conductance test apparatus.

2.3. Contamination test

Fig. 4 shows the test apparatus used to measure the contamina-

tion introduced to the environment by the thermal straps as a
result of simulated handling. One terminal of the strap was bolted
to a G10 standoff and the other was bolted to an interface plate
attached to the shaft of a solenoid linear actuator. A hinge was used
to reduce the amount of stress induced on the strap when the shaft
was actuated. The apparatus shown in Fig. 4 was placed in a lam-
inar flow hood for the duration of the tests. First, a control test was
performed with no strap in place. The entire apparatus was cleaned
with isopropanol, a three-inch (76.2 mm) diameter silicon wafer
witness plate was rested on the bottom of the aluminum box,
and an aluminum cover was placed over the box. Then, the sole-
noid was actuated with stroke of approximately 4.4 mm for two
minutes at 15 Hz. Next, the control witness plate was removed
and strap 1-II was unsealed from its as-delivered packaging and
placed in the test apparatus. The bottom of the aluminum box
was cleaned with isopropanol prior to inserting a new witness
Fig. 3. Photograph of the test apparatus used to measure the conductance of the
thermal straps. The strap in the photograph is version 4. The inner MLI that lined
the walls of the radiation shield is not shown.
plate, replacing the aluminum cover, and operating the actuator
for two minutes. This process was repeated for straps 2-II and then
3-II. The witness plates were analyzed for particles using JPL Ana-
lytical Chemistry Technical Procedure #136 (Standard Procedure
for Determination of Cleanliness Levels and Particle Percent Cover-
age Using Silicon Wafer Witness Samples) in accordance with the
Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology Contamina-
tion Control Division Standard 1246E (IEST-STD-CC1246E) [6]. In
addition, the conductance was measured for strap 3-II following
the contamination test in order to compare with the values prior
to being subjected to the actuation and also with the other unit
of the same version.
 I.M. McKinley et al. / Cryogenics 80 (2016) 174–180
Fig. 4. Photograph of the test apparatus used to measure the particle contamination
of the thermal straps. Cover and witness plate are not shown.
2.4. Random vibration tests
Fig. 5 shows the test apparatus used to subject strap 4-I to ran-
dom vibration in the vertical direction in three different orthogonal
mounting orientations. One terminal of the strap was mounted to
the support frame that was fixed relative to the ground. The other
terminal of the strap was mounted to an LDS V722 single axis sha-
ker that moved vertically relative to gravity. The fixed ends of the
support frame were bolted to the vibration shaker saddle. Table 2
lists the specified output acceleration of the shaker as a function of
frequency. This spectrum was designed so that the moving strap
terminal achieved a
0.25 in. (6.35 mm) maximum displacement
from its neutral position. In each orientation, the shaker was run
for 20 s at 6 dB, 20 s at 3 dB, and then two minutes at 0 dB.
The output acceleration of the shaker was continuously controlled
by a single axis control accelerometer. In addition, single axis
response accelerometers mounted on the support frame in the cen-
ter and at the joint of the vertical and horizontal beams continu-
ously measured the vertical acceleration of the support frame.
High definition video was recorded during each test run to verify
that the stroke of the moving terminal did not exceed 0.5 in.
(12.7 mm). A witness plate was placed below the flexible section
of the strap during each test run in order to measure the contam-
ination production of the strap during the test. The shaker was also
run prior to attaching the strap with a control witness plate in
place. The witness plates were analyzed in accordance with
standard IEST-STD-CC1246E [6]. Finally, the conductance was
re-measured for strap 4-I following the random vibration test to
Fig. 5. Photograph of the test apparatus used to subject strap 4-I to random vibration.
177
Table 2
Random vibration spectrum.
Frequency (Hz) g2/Hz
5 0.01
8 0.01
9 0.1
20 0.1
2000 0.0001
Overall 2.2 grms
verify that the random vibration test did not alter the thermal
performance of the strap.
2.5. Stiffness test
The stiffness of strap 4-II was measured in two directions at
room temperature and at 200 K. This test was performed by Moog
CSA Engineering. Random excitation was applied to one end of the
strap while the other end was held fixed. The test setup was similar
to that of the random vibration tests except with different instru-
mentation. The two directions tested correspond to the left
(X-direction) and bottom right (Z-direction) photographs in
Fig. 5. Measurements included the force through the strap and
the displacement across the strap. The stiffness as a function of
frequency was computed from these measurements.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Conductance
Fig. 6 shows steady-state temperatures measured at different
locations in the test apparatus shown in Fig. 2 as a function of
mean strap temperature. The temperatures shown were measured
for the aluminum strap 1-I with 4 W of input power on the strap
heater. The mean strap temperature T strap;mean was defined as the
mean temperature of the four diodes mounted on the strap termi-
nals. The mean shield temperature T shield;mean was defined as the
mean temperature of the two diodes on the shield, and T strap;C
and T strap;H were defined as the mean temperatures of the two
diodes on the cold and hot terminal, respectively. Fig. 6 demon-
strates that the mean temperatures of the strap and the shield
were nearly indistinguishable during conductance measurements
of the aluminum strap 1-I indicating that there was minimal radia-
tive heat transfer between the shield and the strap. The mean
shield and strap temperatures were also nearly indistinguishable
during conductance measurements of the other thermal straps.
178 I.M. McKinley et al. / Cryogenics 80 (2016) 174–180
Fig. 6. Temperatures measured in different locations as a function of mean strap
temperature with 4 W applied to the aluminum strap 1-I. The maximum temper-
ature differences T shield;C  T strap;C and T strap;H  T shield;H were approximately 4 K.
Furthermore, the maximum temperature difference between the
cold temperatures of the strap and shield ðT shield;C  T strap;C Þ as well
as the hot temperatures of the strap and shield ðT strap;H  T shield;H Þ
were approximately 4 K.
Fig. 7 shows the measured conductance as a function of mean
strap temperature for all of the thermal straps tested. The conduc-
tance was measured over at least ten minutes, and the mean is
shown. The conductance of the 3 in. (76.2 mm) PGF straps was
approximately 3.5 and 5 times greater than that of the 3 in. alu-
minum strap at 300 K and 160 K, respectively. The conductance
of the PGF straps peaked between 150 and 160 K while that of
the aluminum strap was largest at 60 K. In addition, the conduc-
tance of all the straps measured was approximately 0.3 W/K at
60 K. The conductance was not measured at lower temperatures
because they converged at 60 K. In fact, the thermal conductivity
of aluminum 1100 increases with decreasing temperature from
60 K to 40 K while that of pyrolytic graphite decreases [1]. Further-
more, the conductance measured with 4 W and 6 W applied to the
strap heater was indistinguishable; in fact, Fig. 7 contains conduc-
tances measured at both heat loads. Finally, the conductance of
Fig. 7. Measured conductance as a function of mean strap temperature.
PGF strap 3-I at 60 K and 300 K did not change after the strap
was cooled to 60 K ten times.
Fig. 7 also shows that, for a given mean strap temperature, the
difference in conductance between two PGF straps of the same ver-
sion was as large as 15%. This variability was likely due to differ-
ences in the thermal resistance between the PGF strap and the
terminals because all other strap characteristics are well-
controlled. In fact, the bond between the strap and the terminal
was achieved using both chemical bonds and mechanical means.
On the contrary, aluminum thermal straps typically have a pres-
sure weld bond swaged strap to terminal interface that provides
a highly repeatable, small thermal resistance [1,7]. The fact that
the conductance of the 600 (152.4 mm) PGF straps was much greater
than half the conductance of the 300 PGF straps indicates that the
strap-terminal thermal resistance is significant. The trends of the
measured conductance of these straps as a function of temperature
closely follow those of thermal conductivity versus temperature
for 5-nines aluminum and PG [1]. However, for any given temper-
ature between 60 K and 300 K, the ratio of the conductance of the
300 PGF straps to that of the 300 aluminum strap was not as large as
the ratio of the thermal conductivity of PG to 5-nines aluminum
[1]. This is further evidence that the strap-terminal interface on
the PG straps has a large associated thermal resistance. Further-
more, the conductance of the PGF straps measured in this study
around 300 K differed from that measured by Thermotive at
304 K. This difference was due to the fact that the strap tempera-
tures were defined differently in the two tests. The conductance
reported by Thermotive defined the strap temperature using a sin-
gle temperature sensor on each terminal located in its center, and
the conductance reported by Thermotive was verified in this study
by placing temperature diodes at these locations. Moreover, the
conductance of the aluminum strap 1-I was the same regardless
of how the strap temperature was defined. In other words, the
temperature gradient in the terminal of the aluminum straps was
negligible while that in the PGF straps was not.
Fig. 8 shows the specific conductance as a function of mean
strap temperature for the 300 straps 1-I, 3-I, and 3-II. The specific
conductance was defined as the conductance shown in Fig. 7
divided by the strap masses in Table 1. The mass of the aluminum
strap 1-I reported in Table 1 included the three-layer spiral
wrapped mylar that was applied during the conductance test. In
addition, the mass of the aluminum strap 1-II reported in Table 1
did not include a mylar wrap. Fig. 8 captures the superiority of
Fig. 8. Measured specific conductance as a function of mean strap temperature.
 I.M. McKinley et al. / Cryogenics 80 (2016) 174–180
the PGF straps over aluminum for temperatures above 60 K. In fact,
the specific conductance of the PGF straps was as large as six times
greater than that of the aluminum strap. Moreover, a 300 copper
strap tested by Sparr et al. [8] weighing 200 g had a conductance
of 0.029 W/K at 80 K corresponding to a specific conductance of
0.15 W/kg K. The larger specific conductance of the PGF straps
was due to the fact that they were not only more conductive, but
also lighter than the aluminum strap occupying the same volume.
Note that the specific conductance of the 600 PGF straps was not
included in Fig. 8 because these straps did not occupy the same
volume as the 300 straps.
3.2. Contamination
Table 3 shows the contamination results. The percent area cov-
erage (PAC) was defined as the fraction of a surface that is covered
by particles [6]. It was reported as the total particle projected area
per 0.1 m2. The particulate cleanliness level (PCL) was defined
according to Table 1 in Ref. [6]. Note that the control test results
were not included in Table 3 because the PCL of this test was
greater than that of the tests with the straps in place. The larger
PCL of the control test was likely due to a larger solenoid stroke
combined with greater hinge movement. Since the results of the
control test were non-conclusive, the cleanliness levels of the
straps in Table 3 are relative, not absolute. The PCL of the bare alu-
minum and bare PGF strap was the same indicating that the PGF
strap did not contaminate more than the standard aluminum strap.
In addition, the blanketed PGF strap had a smaller particulate
cleanliness level than the bare straps. This indicates that the
vented mylar shield blanketing effectively contained any particles
that may have been discharged from the PGF strap during simu-
lated handling. Furthermore, Fig. 7 shows that, for a given mean
strap temperature, the conductance of the blanketed PGF strap 3-
II that was subjected to the contamination test was greater than
or equal to that of the PGF strap 3-I that was not subjected to sim-
ulated handling. This indicates that the simulated handling con-
tamination test did not affect the thermal performance of the
PGF strap.
3.3. Random vibration
The strap 4-I was subjected to random vibration in order to
assess how exposure to a spaceflight launch environment affected
the thermal performance, cleanliness, and vibration isolation/
attenuation of the strap. Fig. 9 shows the output spectrum of the
shaker as measured and as specified in Table 2. It also shows the
measured responses of the support frame in the vertical direction
at the center and corner of the cross beam. The measured shaker
spectrum closely matched that specified in Table 2. Fig. 9 illus-
trates that the vibration responses in the support frame were lar-
gely attenuated demonstrating that the strap acted as a vibration
isolator between the shaker and the support frame. The measured
large amplification in the support frame near 300 Hz was due to
the resonant frequency of the cross bar being excited as was pre-
dicted by a finite element model (FEM) of the thermal strap and
support frame test fixture. In addition, the support structure
responses were extremely low in the range of 1–50 Hz indicating
Table 3
Contamination test results including percent area coverage (PAC) and particulate
cleanliness level (PCL).
Strap PAC (%) PCL
1-II: bare aluminum 1100 0.0004 300
2-II: bare Pyrovo PGF 0.0003 300
3-II: encapsulated Pyrovo PGF 0.00003 100
179
Fig. 9. Random vibration spectrum specified in Table 2 and measured by the
control accelerometer as well as the measured response of the fixed support
structure.
that the structure was sufficiently stiff to not exceed the desired
stroke of 0.500 . In fact, review of the HD video of the tests confirmed
that the maximum stroke was 0.500 for all three test orientations.
Furthermore, analysis of the witness plates revealed that the PCL
was less than or equal to 300 for all three test orientations. Note
that the background witness plate had a PCL of 500. Similar to
the contamination test, the PCL of the background plate being lar-
ger than that of the plates with the straps in place inhibited the
absolute particulate cleanliness level of the straps from being
determined. In this case, the larger background PCL may have been
due to the fixture settling during the first operation of the shaker.
Finally, the conductance of strap 4-I measured before and after the
random vibration test was identical.
3.4. Stiffness
The strap was extremely compliant in both directions at both
temperatures tested. In fact, the stiffness and loss factor of the
strap could only be accurately measured between 5 and 10 Hz. In
the Z-direction shown in the bottom right photograph of Fig. 5,
the stiffness remained below 0.5 lb/in. (1 lb/in. = 175.3 N/m)
between 5 and 10 Hz at both room temperature and 200 K. In
the X-direction shown in the left photograph of Fig. 5, the stiffness
remained below 0.25 lb/in. at both temperatures. In both direc-
tions at both temperatures, the damping was too low to measure.
Finally, in a given direction, the measured stiffness did not change
appreciably with temperature indicating that the stiffness can be
considered independent of temperature between 200 and 300 K.
4. Conclusion
This work determined that it is feasible to replace the standard
aluminum foil in thermal straps with lighter and more conductive
graphite film. The peak measured conductance of the three-inch
PGF and aluminum straps were 1.0 W/K at 162 K and 0.28 at
64 K, respectively. The conductance of all straps converged to
around 0.3 W/K as the mean strap temperature approached 60 K.
Fibers
In addition, the peak conductance of the six-inch PGF strap was
None
0.83 W/K at 150 K. The fact that its peak conductance was near
None
None the conductance of the three-inch PGF strap indicated that the
thermal resistance between the film and the terminals in the PGF
180 I.M. McKinley et al. / Cryogenics 80 (2016) 174–180
straps was significant. For a given temperature, the conductance
varied by as much as 15% for two units of the same strap design.
Furthermore, the conductance of the six-inch long PGF strap 4-I
was unchanged after the strap was subjected to random vibration
that displaced one terminal a maximum of
0.25 in. from its neu-
tral position in three orthogonal axes while the other was held sta-
tionary. The conductance was also not affected by thermally
cycling the strap from 300 K to 60 K ten times. The bare aluminum
and bare PGF straps had equal particulate cleanliness levels while
the blanketed PGF strap had a lower one. Finally, the dynamic stiff-
ness of the six-inch PGF strap was less than 0.5 lb/in. in all mea-
sured directions for temperatures between 200 and 300 K.
Acknowledgements
The work described in this paper was carried out at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under a
contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
In addition, the authors would like to thank Jerami Mennella, Euge-
nio Urquiza, Ramesham Rajeshuni, Tim McCann, Howard Tseng,
Charles Phillips, Andres Andrade, Paul MacNeal, and Jim Post for
their contributions to this work.
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