Patent ID: 8448455

Claim:
A method for cooling a cryostat configuration during transport thereof, the cryostat configuration having a superconducting magnet coil in a helium tank containing liquid helium and surrounded by at least one radiation shield, wherein cooling inside the cryostat configuration in stationary operation is performed entirely without liquid nitrogen by means of a refrigerator, the method comprising the steps of: a) switching-off the refrigerator prior to transporting the cryostat configuration; b) removing the refrigerator from the cryostat configuration; c) conveying, at a beginning of transport and following step b), liquid nitrogen from an external nitrogen vessel to the cryostat configuration via a supply tube; d) establishing thermal contact between the liquid nitrogen and the radiation shield in the cryostat configuration using a thermal contact element; e) deactivating the supply of liquid nitrogen at an end of transport; and f) reinstalling the refrigerator following step e).