Company Profile

A startup, Hyperboloid handles development of high force spring clamps to compress and seal the metallic gaskets on Superconducting Radio Frequency Cavities. Addressing what is the the greatest problem source of particle generation in the SRF Cavity assembly clean room – the bolt and nut fasteners – and substitutes highly sprung “C” shaped spring clamps. Hyperboloid is structured around design, manufacture, development and testing to prove that the clamping concept can reliably seal an SRF cavity. Specifically an example of the clamps will be mounted between the bolt holes of existing flanges on a research SRF cavity to demonstrate that the clamps produce the high force necessary to crush a standard diamond section, aluminum alloy gasket just as the bolts do. In so doing, the Spring Clamp should establish the required superfluid helium/vacuum tight seal. The seal should establish with minimum particle generation because minimal rubbing of metallic surfaces is involved in clamp application. The System minimizes contamination of the production clean room environment where subsequent seals are established on a string of cavities. In use, the clamps are initially sprung open beyond their final sprung state using Hydraulic Clamp Openers and are slid over their positions on the flanges in opposing pairs. This simultaneous clamping avoids any tipping of the flanges about the metallic seal as when only one clamp is applied. When released, the clamp’s tips close the gap to the flange and apply their substantial remaining spring force to press the flanges together and crush the gasket. Additional pairs of clamps fill all the positions. Those clamps and their installation tooling are in their second stage of development as Model 1. They are shown in the site's photo gallery successfully installed on a Research Cavity at the SRF Institute at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility as of