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Recent rapid progress in cryogen-free technology has become possible due to a new generation of commercial cryo-coolers developed during the last decade. The most successful example is the pulse tube refrigerator (PTR). A unique feature of the PTR is the absence of cold moving parts. This considerably reduces the generated noise and vibration and increases the reliability of the cold head, as expensive high-precision seals are no longer required and the cold head can be operated without service inspection. In this paper we present preliminary test results of a development system, based on the PTR, which provides a low temperature sample environment for neutron scattering experiments. The main aim of the development is to create a cryogen-free system suitable as a substitute for the conventional ILL-type Orange cryostat, the cryogenic workhorse of the neutron community for many years.

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The ENGIN-X beamline is a dedicated engineering science facility at ISIS. It is optimized for the measurement of strain, and thus stress, deep within crystalline materials using the atomic lattice planes as an atomic 'strain gauge'. Internal stresses in materials have a considerable effect on material properties including fatigue resistance, fracture toughness and strength. The growing interest in properties of materials at low temperatures may be attributed to the dynamic development in cryogenic technology. This paper will describe a novel cryogenic testing chamber for neutron scattering measurements of internal stress in engineering materials under load at temperatures from 30 K to 300 K.

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