ServiceCryoLab – Cryogenic Research, Development & Industry Consulting
PEOPLE
- Manager
- Principal Researcher
- Mechanical Engineering
- Principal ResearcherMechanical Engineering
Dr Alan Caughley leads the CryoLab research team at the University of Canterbury. He has extensive experience in developing cryogenic refrigerators and refrigeration for superconductivity and small-scale nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen gas liquefaction systems.
Alan worked for 9 years in industry in product R&D, manufacturing and industrial design. He has 25 years of experience at IRL and Callaghan Innovation performing a mix of government research and consulting for industry. His general mechanical engineering experience, combined with thermodynamics and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling, has been used by firms for diverse applications such as non-Newtonian fluid flow, heat exchangers, pumps and Stirling machines.
His current research is on the refrigeration of superconducting aircraft motors for electric aviation. He is the leader of Workstream 2, Cryogenic Systems, for the MBIE project " High power electric motors for large-scale transport'. He has authored over 40 technical papers and reports and has 7 patents.
Dr Alan Caughley leads the CryoLab research team at the University of Canterbury. He has extensive experience in developing cryogenic refrigerators and refrigeration for superconductivity and small-scale nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen gas liquefaction systems.
Alan worked for 9 years in industry in product R&D, manufacturing and industrial design. He has 25 years of experience at IRL and Callaghan Innovation performing a mix of government research and consulting for industry. His general mechanical engineering experience, combined with thermodynamics and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling, has been used by firms for diverse applications such as non-Newtonian fluid flow, heat exchangers, pumps and Stirling machines.
His current research is on the refrigeration of superconducting aircraft motors for electric aviation. He is the leader of Workstream 2, Cryogenic Systems, for the MBIE project " High power electric motors for large-scale transport'. He has authored over 40 technical papers and reports and has 7 patents.
- Faculty of Engineering
- 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
- 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Technical expertise & support
- Consulting & advisory services
- Collaborative research projects
- Industry partnerships & innovation
Fields of Research- Computational methods in fluid flow, heat and mass transfer (incl. computational fluid dynamics)
- Hydrodynamics and hydraulic engineering
- Energy generation, conversion and storage (excl. chemical and electrical)
- Electronic and magnetic properties of condensed matter; superconductivity
- Experimental methods in fluid flow, heat and mass transfer
- Aerospace engineering
- Fluid mechanics and thermal engineering
- Engineering
- Team member
- Senior Research Engineer
- Mechanical Engineering
- Senior Research EngineerMechanical Engineering
Lan Le-Ngoc is a member of the CryoLab research team at the University of Canterbury.
He has 35 years of experience in theoretical and experimental research on dynamic systems, machine learning, and AI in engineering, computational mechanics, instrumentation and controls, and digital signal processing. Specific applications include ocean wave mechanics and wave energy converters, cutting processes of natural materials, dynamic behavior of continuous band cutting devices, active vibration control, machine tool dynamics, dynamic properties of wood, coupled human-machine systems, and upper limb motion and strength assessment for rehabilitation, as well as mobile robot navigation.
Commercial services include finite element stress and vibration analyses; developing simulations for dynamic systems (e.g., large motion swing dynamics, stress propagation in timber poles, ocean wave energy converters, internal ballistics for gun silencers, and hydrodynamics of jet pumps); and developing instrumentation and software for data acquisition and analysis for various experiments, including the performance of boats and propulsion systems, impact testing of timber poles, wireless systems for measuring cryogenic temperatures in rotating systems, vibration analyses of wind turbines, band saws, and circular saws, and battery-powered corers for hardwood.
He is familiar with Fortran, C/C++, LabVIEW, LabWindows CVI, Visual Basic, MATLAB, Python and its scientific packages, and Julia.
Lan Le-Ngoc is a member of the CryoLab research team at the University of Canterbury.
He has 35 years of experience in theoretical and experimental research on dynamic systems, machine learning, and AI in engineering, computational mechanics, instrumentation and controls, and digital signal processing. Specific applications include ocean wave mechanics and wave energy converters, cutting processes of natural materials, dynamic behavior of continuous band cutting devices, active vibration control, machine tool dynamics, dynamic properties of wood, coupled human-machine systems, and upper limb motion and strength assessment for rehabilitation, as well as mobile robot navigation.
Commercial services include finite element stress and vibration analyses; developing simulations for dynamic systems (e.g., large motion swing dynamics, stress propagation in timber poles, ocean wave energy converters, internal ballistics for gun silencers, and hydrodynamics of jet pumps); and developing instrumentation and software for data acquisition and analysis for various experiments, including the performance of boats and propulsion systems, impact testing of timber poles, wireless systems for measuring cryogenic temperatures in rotating systems, vibration analyses of wind turbines, band saws, and circular saws, and battery-powered corers for hardwood.
He is familiar with Fortran, C/C++, LabVIEW, LabWindows CVI, Visual Basic, MATLAB, Python and its scientific packages, and Julia.
- Faculty of Engineering
- Registered to supervise Master's/Doctoral students
- Team member
- Senior Research Engineer
- Mechanical Engineering
- Senior Research EngineerMechanical Engineering
Ryan McKinlay is a member of the CryoLab research team at the University of Canterbury.
Ryan’s work involves analysis and performance evaluation of mechanical systems, combining hands-on testing and numerical analysis. He is experienced in the design of test rigs and test procedures, fluid simulation, and structural simulation.
He has more than ten years' experience providing and managing R&D services. At Callaghan Innovation he delivered a range of design-and-build projects, consulted on fluid and structural simulation, and led teams of engineers and scientists.
Ryan’s role in the CryoLab team is a mix of government funded research, and contract R&D for industry. The CryoLab team’s research focus is industrial cryogenic refrigeration, but they also offer expertise in fluids, thermodynamics and machine dynamics as a service.
Ryan McKinlay is a member of the CryoLab research team at the University of Canterbury.
Ryan’s work involves analysis and performance evaluation of mechanical systems, combining hands-on testing and numerical analysis. He is experienced in the design of test rigs and test procedures, fluid simulation, and structural simulation.
He has more than ten years' experience providing and managing R&D services. At Callaghan Innovation he delivered a range of design-and-build projects, consulted on fluid and structural simulation, and led teams of engineers and scientists.
Ryan’s role in the CryoLab team is a mix of government funded research, and contract R&D for industry. The CryoLab team’s research focus is industrial cryogenic refrigeration, but they also offer expertise in fluids, thermodynamics and machine dynamics as a service.
- Faculty of Engineering