Westinghouse Electric Corporation

The United States of America as Represented by the United States

James E Bauerle

Edgar Berkey

William H Reed

Robert E Witkowski

John Hrizo

A process and device using back-diffusion for sampling a gas from an environment containing an aerosol of tramp material. The device cleans the tramp material from a barrier by the flow of a purge gas. The purge gas flow prevents diffusion of the tramp material through ports in the barrier through which the sample gas diffuses against purge gas flow. The purge gas continuously cleans the barrier, retards tramp material diffusion, and gathers and transports the sample gas.

Gas sampler for aerosol atmosphere

A calibration filament containing a sodium-bearing compound is included in combination with the sensing filament and ion collector plate of a sodium ionization detector to permit periodic generation of sodium atoms for the in-situ calibration of the detector.

Alkali ionization detector

In a system employing flowing liquid metal as a heat transfer medium in contact with tubular members containing a working fluid, i.e., steam, liquid metal leaks through the wall of the tubular member are detected by dislodging the liquid metal compounds forming in the tubular member at the leak locations and subsequently transporting the dislodged compound in the form of an aerosol to a detector responsive to the liquid metal compound. In the application to a sodium cooled tubular member, the detector would consist of a sodium responsive device, such as a sodium ion detector.

Technique for detecting liquid metal leaks

Variations in the conventional filament and collector electrodes of an alkali metal ionization detector, including the substitution of helical electrode configurations for either the conventional wire filament or flat plate collector; or, the substitution of a plurality of discrete filament electrodes providing an in situ capability for transferring from an operationally defective filament electrode to a previously unused filament electrode without removing the alkali metal ionization detector from the monitored environment. In particular, the helical collector arrangement which is coaxially disposed about the filament electrode, i.e. the thermal ionizer, provides an improved collection of positive ions developed by the filament electrode. The helical filament design, on the other hand, provides the advantage of an increased surface area for ionization of alkali metal-bearing species in a monitored gas environment as well as providing a relatively strong electric field for collecting the ions at the collector electrode about which the helical filament electrode is coaxially positioned. Alternatively, both the filament and collector electrodes can be helical. Furthermore, the operation of the conventional alkali metal ionization detector as a leak detector can be simplified as to cost and complexity, by operating the detector at a reduced collector potential while maintaining the sensitivity of the alkali metal ionization detector adequate for the relatively low concentration of alkali vapor and aerosol typically encountered in leak detection applications.

Alkali metal ionization detector

An oxide coated filament exhibiting surface ionization and electron conductivity characteristics is employed in alkali metal ionization detectors to provide extended filament operating life.

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Plum Borough, PA, United States of America

James E Bauerle