General Electric Company

Francis P Bundy

Gary L Leonard

Joe Wong

Robert C De Vries

Robert H Wentorf, Jr

Apparatus for transmitting pressure from hydraulic fluid to a slurry material includes a housing having a piston chamber defined therein surrounded by a piston chamber wall. The housing also contains an inlet port and an outlet port, through which ports slurry material enters and leaves the piston chamber. A piston is slidably disposed in the chamber so that sliding movement of the piston produces pressurization of the slurry material and movement thereof through the outlet port. A hydraulic fluid channel is disposed in the housing so that pressurized hydraulic fluid therein produces a force on the piston which causes sliding movement thereof, so as to produce a pressure in the slurry material which is proportional to the pressure in the hydraulic fluid. Preferably, the hydraulic fluid channel is further disposed in the flow communication with the clearance gap between the outer surface of the piston and the corresponding surface of the piston chamber wall, so that at least a portion of the pressurized hydraulic fluid passes through the clearance gap and flushes solid particles therefrom. In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus further includes means for counterbalancing the force produced by the slurry material on the interior surface of the piston chamber wall, with an oppositely directed force on the opposite surface of the piston chamber wall.

Apparatus for transmitting pressure from a hydraulic fluid to a material

Apparatus for transmitting pressure from a hydraulic fluid to a slurry material includes a housing having a piston chamber defined therein surrounded by a piston chamber wall. The housing also contains an inlet port and an outlet port, through which ports slurry material enters and leaves the piston chamber. A piston is slidably disposed in the chamber so that sliding movement of the piston produces pressurization of the slurry material and movement thereof through the outlet port. A hydraulic fluid channel is disposed in the housing so that pressurized hydraulic fluid therein produces a force on the piston which causes sliding movement thereof, so as to produce a pressure in the slurry material which is proportional to the pressure in the hydraulic fluid. Preferably, the hydraulic fluid channel is further disposed in flow communication with the clearance gap between the outer surface of the piston and the corresponding surface of the piston chamber wall, so that at least a portion of the pressurized hydraulic fluid passes through the clearance gap and flushes solid particles therefrom. In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus further includes means for counterbalancing the force produced by the slurry material on the interior surface of the piston chamber wall, with an oppositely directed force on the oposite surface of the piston chamber wall.

Extensive development of deformation bands in diamond crystals results from subjecting diamond material properly confined to reduce or eliminate brittle fracture thereof to the simultaneous application of high pressure and temperature in a defined region on the carbon phase diagram, the pressures and temperatures being incapable of bringing about significant crystal-to-crystal bonding of diamond. Plastic deformation resulting in work-hardening of these diamonds can be made to occur at temperatures as low as 900.degree. C. at pressures of about 60 kb. A work-hardened diamond for use in a single-point diamond tool would, for example, be prepared by embedding the diamond in diamond powder to fill the volume thereby inhibiting brittle fracture of the diamond being work-hardened.

Method for the work-hardening of diamonds and product thereof

The leakage current in metal oxide varistor bodies is found to vary as a function of applied pressure in the 0.5 kbar to 10 kbar range. A pressure sensing device is conditioned by first prestressing a metal oxide varistor to a pressure above the range of measurement and then releasing the prestress pressure. Upon application of subsequent pressures equal or less than the prestress pressure, the leakage current in the device is found to vary as a function of pressure.

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Alplaus, NY, United States of America

Francis P Bundy