The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to suspension systems, such as suspension systems used to support an inner vessel inside an outer vessel of a cryostat.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems typically include cryostats to cool coils and/or magnets of the MRI systems. The cryostats include an inner vessel filled with helium suspended within an outer vessel that provides a low pressure atmosphere or vacuum around the inner vessel. The inner vessel may be referred to as a helium vessel and the outer vessel as a vacuum vessel.
In order to suspend the helium vessel within the vacuum vessel, some known cryostats include straps that are coupled to the helium vessel and vacuum vessels at various locations around the perimeter of the helium vessel. The straps are coupled with the helium vessel and the vacuum vessel such that the helium vessel is suspended within the vacuum vessel. For example, the helium vessel may be suspended by tensioning the straps such that the helium vessel is approximately equidistant from the interior surface of the vacuum vessel and able to account for thermal contraction due to temperature differences between the helium vessel and vacuum vessel.
Some known cryostats use clevis fasteners to secure the straps to the helium vessels and the outer vessels. In some known cryostats, the clevis fasteners are multiple pieces such as having a clevis, a stud, a spool, pins, and nuts. The clevis is an approximately U-shaped body having holes on the ends of the U-shape that receive the spool. The pins are inserted through the spool to prevent the spool from being removed from the clevis. The stud is coupled with the clevis and is inserted into a through hole in a block coupled with the vessel. The stud may have a threaded end that receives the nuts to prevent the stud and clevis from being removed from the block. The strap is looped around the spool of one clevis connected to the inner vessel and around the spool of a clevis connected to the outer vessel to interconnect the vessels.
These known clevis fasteners include several components to secure the clevis fasteners to the straps and to each other. Several clevis fasteners may be required to suspend a helium vessel inside the vacuum vessel. As a result, a significant number of components may be required to suspend the helium vessel within the vacuum vessel. The relatively large number of components may increase the cost and/or maintenance requirements of the cryostats.