United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

James F Pollock

John M North

Vincent K Hewinson

Roy F Preston

Peter D Bentley

Keith R Linger

Graham Rice

Basil Dixon Power

Alan Briggs

Leonard L Wassell

Peter Douglas Dunn

Gerald B Cole

A filter unit (10) for removing particulates from exhaust gases for example from a diesel engine, includes several filter elements (24) arranged so the gas flows through them are in parallel and that no individual element carries more than a fifth of the total flow. Each element (24) comprises a tubular heating element (50) of high voidage electrically conducting material, with a secondary filter layer (52) adjacent to its upstream surface, and with means (53-63) to ensure the gas flow and particulate deposition are substantially uniform over the upstream surface. At intervals the heating elements (50) are electrically energized, in turn, to burn off deposited particulates. At any one time only a subset of the elements (24) is energized through which at that time no more than a fifth of the total gas flow passes. The unit (10) might have thirteen such elements (24), energized one at a time. Alternatively it might have fewer such elements (24) along with a valve to reduce the flow of gas through the element or elements which are at that time being energized.

Exhaust particulate filter

A heating element comprises a body provided by fibrous tubes of an electrically conductive material, a voidage between the tubes providing a path for a fluid to be heated. The material may be silicon, silicon carbide, or silicon rich-silicon nitride. The heating element is manufactured by coating a fibrous carbon precursor with the material, and heating the coated precursor in an oxidizing environment so as to remove the carbon precursor by oxidation. The heating element has one application for a heat transfer system for controlling the temperature of a hot working device. The system comprises a fluid circuit including the hot working device, the heating element through which the fluid is driven by a pump, and a temperature controller for sensing the temperature of the device and controlling the temperature of the heating element as a function of the device temperature.

Fluid permeable porous electric heating element

A method of gas ignition comprises energizing a permeable, porous electric heating element to an appropriate temperature for igniting a gas, and allowing the gas to contact the heating element.

Gas ignition

A panel, which may form a wall or a door (12) of a fire resistant cabinet (10), consists of an outer casing (16, 26) and an inner panel (14, 24) spaced apart by zig-zag shaped bridging members (20, 22, 28). The inner panel is double-walled and contains a material which undergoes a phase change at a temperature below that at which the contents of the cabinet might suffer damage. The space between the outer casing and the inner panel contains a number of metal foils (32, 34) parallel to the outer casing which acts as radiant heat shields. The bridging members may be of ceramic material of low thermal conductivity, and may be slotted to increase their resistance to heat flow.

Fire resistant cabinet

An apparatus or a method for heating a component by the condensation thereon of a suitable vapor, for example to make a soldered connection in condensation soldering. The vapor is produced by passing a heat transfer oil through a vaporizer comprising permeable electrically conductive material, and is introduced into a heating chamber containing the component. The heating chamber is held at a pressure below atmospheric pressure, and a condenser chamber is connectable to the heating chamber for condensing the vapor at the end of the heating cycle.

Condensation heating apparatus and method

An apparatus or a method for heating a component by the condensation thereon of a suitable vapor, for example to make a soldered connection in condensation soldering. The vapor is produced by passing a heat transfer oil through a vaporizer comprising permeable electrically conductive material, and is introduced into a heating chamber containing the component. The heating chamber is held at atmospheric pressure by a bellows connected to the heating chamber.

Condensation heating apparatus

A method of manufacturing a fluid permeable electrical resistance heater element having a structure that promotes uniformity of flow of fluid through the element and a uniformity of heating throughout the element. The method comprises forming a fluid permeable body of unbonded carbonizable fibres. A latent solvent is applied to the fibres and the solvent is subsequently caused to dissolve at least a surface of the fibres so as to effect bonding of the fibres together. The carbonizable fibres are subsequently carbonized to produce a fluid permeable carbon body.

Porous electrical resistance heaters

The invention relates to thermally insulating, fire resistant material and its production. A problem associated with fire resistant material comprising refractory material and a binder is the tendency, in use, of the material to disintegrate due to bond failure. In the invention, hollow particles of a glass or of a ceramic are combined with a binder to give a material where the proportions of binder are such that the material is capable of deformation at high temperatures (e.g. up to 1100.degree. C.) without fracture or loss of cohesion. A specific example consists of 93% by weight of hollow spherical particles of pulverized fuel ash and 7% by weight of sodium silicate binder. The material is particularly useful in the protection of steel structures.

Method for making thermal insulating, fire resistant material

Fluid heating arrangements and methods are provided wherein liquid is caused to flow through a fluid permeable electrical resistance heater body. Prior to the heater body, the liquid passes through a fluid permeable flow control member which offers a uniform resistance to the entire flow of the liquid. Static pressure head of the fluid varies over the entry surface of the flow control member, and the permeability of the combination of the heater body and the flow control member are such as to cause a pressure drop in the fluid greater than the variations in static pressure head of the fluid at the entry surface of the flow control member. This promotes a uniform flow of the fluid through the heater body even in the presence of significant differences in static pressure head over the fluid entry surface of the flow control member. The permeability of the flow control member may be such that the pressure drop across the flow control member alone is greater than the variation in the static pressure head of the fluid over the entry surface of the flow control member.

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Hook, United Kingdom

James F Pollock