EP0934493B1 - Thermoplongeur pour des liqudes corrosif et son utilisation - Google Patents

Thermoplongeur pour des liqudes corrosif et son utilisation Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0934493B1
EP0934493B1 EP97913689A EP97913689A EP0934493B1 EP 0934493 B1 EP0934493 B1 EP 0934493B1 EP 97913689 A EP97913689 A EP 97913689A EP 97913689 A EP97913689 A EP 97913689A EP 0934493 B1 EP0934493 B1 EP 0934493B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
heater
sheath
flow passage
fluid
fluid flow
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP97913689A
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German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0934493A1 (fr
EP0934493A4 (fr
Inventor
Daryl J. Yane
Howard J. Base
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Tom Richards Inc
Original Assignee
Tom Richards Inc
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Tom Richards Inc filed Critical Tom Richards Inc
Priority claimed from PCT/US1997/018816 external-priority patent/WO1998016783A1/fr
Publication of EP0934493A1 publication Critical patent/EP0934493A1/fr
Publication of EP0934493A4 publication Critical patent/EP0934493A4/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0934493B1 publication Critical patent/EP0934493B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
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  • the present invention relates to immersion heaters for corrosive fluids and particularly to a grounded gas purged immersion heater.
  • the invention relates further to the use of such an immersion heater.
  • An immersion heater according to the preamble of claim 1 is knowen from document EP-A-419 351.
  • Tubular electric heating elements are known in the art to consist of a resistance wire coil or ribbon wound in such a way as to provide an exact electrical resistance for a given length of coil.
  • the coil is generally inserted in a sheath, usually a tube made of metal, and filled with an electrically insulating material, such as magnesium oxide.
  • the assembly is then roll reduced or swaged to compact the fill material and eliminate any voids with the assembly so as to facilitate heat transfer.
  • the entire structure is then annealed to eliminate stresses built up during roll reduction.
  • the finished heating element can then be formed into an unlimited variety of shapes or configurations as needed for the process requiring heat.
  • watt densities or the amount of heat which can be transferred from a given length of tubular heating element varies depending upon the process for which the heater element is used.
  • an oil based liquid transfers heat much more slowly than does a water based liquid. Since the resistance wire must stay well below its melting point to provide economical, useful life, the amount of power (or watts) for a unit area must be varied.
  • a common "watt density" known in the art for heating an oil type liquid is 20 watts per square inch of heater sheath area. For a water based liquid, watt densities can be as high as 90 watts per square inch.
  • tubular heater sheaths Many shapes have been used for tubular heater sheaths. It is common in the art to use triangular, oval or even flat surfaces on the sheaths in order to increase heater efficiencies. Protrusions along the heater sheath, such as fins, splines or pins, have also been used and work very well for certain applications. Each of the shapes described, however, has specific limitations. Flat and oval sheaths lack the ability to maintain sufficient compacting of the fill material. This in turn can produce voids within the heater element thus limiting heat transfer. Fins and other protrusions increase the amount of surface area but also require additional manufacturing steps, as well as additional material. Both of these increase costs. It would be desirable to increase the surface area of a tubular heating element without adding material or requiring additional shaping.
  • Electrical resistance heaters formed of a continuous flexible cable are particularly suitable for immersion in corrosive chemical baths since the exterior of the flexible cable may be jacketed with a suitable plastic material having satisfactory resistance to the corrosive nature of the chemical bath being heated.
  • An example of a flexible cable resistance heater is shown and described in U. S. Patent No. 4,158,764.
  • an immersion heater for corrosive fluids comprising: an electrically resistive material strand operative upon connection to a source of power to provide heat, and a thermally conductive electrically insulating fill material disposed around said electrically resistive material strand; an electrically conductive sheath disposed around said fill material; a tubular jacket of a flexible chemically inert material encasing said electrically conductive sheath; a fluid flow passage defined between said tubular jacket and said sheath for allowing a fluid to flow therethrough; characterised by: a source of a pressurized purge fluid medium connected to said fluid flow passage to enable the purge fluid to flow therethrough.
  • a knurled pattern comprising sets of first and second helically extending channels which spiral in opposite directions, is provided on the outer surface of the electrically conductive sheath to allow for a purge fluid to flow over the outer surface of the sheath and between the sheath and the jacket in order to remove any corrosive fluid which may have penetrated the jacket.
  • a tubular jacket is provided with a series of spaced internally extending ribs which contact the outer surface of the sheath. The valleys between the ribs cooperate with the outer surface of the sheath to form channels through which a purge fluid can flow.
  • a braid material is disposed between the sheath and the tubular jacket in order to form fluid flow channels for the purge fluid.
  • the heater is preferably manufactured by providing an electrically resistive material strand and a tubular sheath of electrically conductive material.
  • the strand is inserted into the sheath.
  • a thermally conductive electrically insulating material is packed between the strand and the sheath in order to isolate the strand from the sheath. Any voids in the fill material located in the sheath are removed.
  • a tubular jacket of a chemically inert material is slipped over the sheath.
  • a channel is formed between an outer periphery of the sheath and an inner periphery of the jacket.
  • the present invention provides a heater element with an electrically conductive sheath for grounding and a chemically inert outer covering or jacket wherein flow channels are formed between the sheath and the covering to allow a purge fluid to flow therebetween.
  • An embodiment of the present invention also provides a technique for increasing the surface area of a tubular sheath without adding additional material or needing additional manufacturing steps.
  • An embodiment of the present invention can also provide a heater element sheath which is provided with integral flow channels while maintaining the structural integrity of the sheath because no material is removed from the sheath.
  • the heater element can also provide a heater element sheath with an increased heating efficiency but which sheath is capable of being readily compacted so as to eliminate any voids in a fill material held within the sheath.
  • One embodiment of the present invention provides a heater element having a tubular jacket provided with internally extending ribs.
  • the ribs cooperate with an outer surface of a heater element sheath to define fluid flow channels to allow a purge fluid to flow therethrough.
  • a heater element including a heater element sheath, a tubular jacket and a braided sleeve of material disposed between the sheath and the jacket.
  • the braided sleeve cooperates with the inner surface of the jacket and the outer surface of the sheath to define flow channels for a purge fluid to flow therethrough.
  • the preferred embodiments of the present invention also provide a heater element which allows for monitoring the integrity of the outer chemically resistant tubular jacket by measuring either loss of flow or loss of pressure, if no flow is desired.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a heater cable A according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the cable comprises a heater element 10 which can be a conventional cylindrical heater wire.
  • the heater wire is surrounded by a fill material 20.
  • the fill material is an electrically insulating thermally conductive material.
  • the material comprises magnesium oxide or another conventionally known such material.
  • Enclosing the fill material is a conductive, sheath 30, preferably made from a conventional deformable metal.
  • the sheath includes an inner periphery 32 which contacts the fill material 20 and an outer periphery 34. Located in the outer periphery are a plurality of grooves 36.
  • the grooves comprise a series of parallel helically spiralling left hand grooves 38 and a series of parallel helically spiralling right hand grooves 40.
  • the two sets of grooves intersect at a number of locations around the outer periphery 34 of the sheath 30 to form a plurality of diamond-shaped islands 42.
  • a knurled pattern is provided on the outer periphery 34 of the sheath 30.
  • the knurled pattern can be manufactured by using a conventional set of dies during final roll reduction of the sheath element 30 so as to compact the fill material 20 and remove any voids within the heater element. Such voids are undesirable since they limit heat transfer.
  • the method of producing this knurled pattern does not remove any material from the sheath 30 and thereby maintains the structural integrity of the tubular element.
  • the knurled pattern can be produced by using conventional dies and allows for increased cost savings. It has been found that the knurled pattern provides an increase in surface area of the sheath of approximately 17%.
  • the casing or jacket 50 can be slipped over the sheath 30.
  • An inner periphery 52 of the casing 50 contacts the several islands 42 of the sheath 30 in order to enhance heat transfer.
  • An outer periphery 54 of the casing 50 is in contact with the solution which is to be heated.
  • the casing is preferably made from a suitable chemically inert thermoplastic material, such as polytetrafluoroethylene sold under the brand name Teflon.
  • the sheath 30 is made of a suitable conventional metal.
  • the heater cable A is used to heat a corrosive type liquid, such as deionized water or another type of liquid used in the manufacture of e.g., computer chips
  • the sheath 30 is preferably made of a suitable corrosion resistant material, such as stainless steel, titanium, incaloy or copper.
  • a suitable corrosion resistant material such as stainless steel, titanium, incaloy or copper.
  • other types of metals such as zirconium or columbium can be employed.
  • the heater cable comprises a heater element 80 which can be a conventional cylindrical heater wire that is surrounded by a known fill material 84. Enclosing the fill material is a conductive sheath 90, preferably made from a conventional metallic material.
  • the sheath includes an inner periphery 92 which contacts the fill material 84 and an outer periphery 94.
  • a casing or jacket 100 encloses the sheath 90.
  • the casing includes an inner periphery 102 on which there are provided a plurality of spaced longitudinally extending ribs 104. Defined between the ribs are respective valleys 106. Since the ribs 104 contact the outer periphery 94 of the sheath 90, the valleys 106 can serve as longitudinally extending flow channels for a purge fluid which flows through the jacket 100.
  • An outer periphery 108 of the jacket 100 is in contact with the solution which is to be heated. As in the previous embodiment, the heater element sheath 90 can be forced into the jacket 100. Alternatively, the jacket 100 can simply be pulled over the sheath 90. Also, if desired, the jacket 100 could be extruded over the sheath.
  • the cable comprises a heater element 120, preferably in the form of a conventional wire which is surrounded by a known fill material 124.
  • Enclosing the fill material is a conductive sheath 126 made from a suitable known metal.
  • the sheath has an outer periphery 128 which is contacted by a braid layer 130.
  • the braid layer can comprise one or more strands 132 of a suitable conventional strand material.
  • Enclosing the braid is a tubular jacket 134.
  • the jacket has an inner surface 136 which contacts an outer surface of the braid layer 130 while the inner surface of the braid layer contacts the outer surface 128 of the sheath 126.
  • a plurality of flow channels 140 which allow a purge fluid to flow therethrough.
  • the jacket 134 can be pulled over the remaining elements of the heater. Alternatively, the jacket can simply be extruded over such elements.
  • the braid layer can be made of any suitable conventional material, whether it is thermoplastic or metallic strand material. The only requirement is that the material be capable of accommodating and transmitting high temperatures. Another material which may be suitable for this purpose would be an insulating glass or quartz material.
  • the heater cable A can be employed in an open liquid container 140.
  • the heater cable is shown to be immersed in a liquid held in the container 140.
  • the flexible heater cable A has its ends extending out of the liquid bath and through a suitable mounting arrangement 144 provided on the rim of the container.
  • thermocouple which can extend into the heater cable A to allow for sensing of an overheating condition to prevent the melting of the thermoplastic casing 50.
  • the thermocouple has a pair of leads 156, 158 which extend longitudinally through the heater cable A and longitudinally outward of the casing 50.
  • the casing 50 is connected to a tee 160 to make pressure tight connection.
  • One branch of the tee 160 is connected to a pressure fitting tubing 162 connected to the inlet of a pressure relief valve 164.
  • the other branch of the tee 160 is closed by a pressure type fitting tubing 162 connected to the inlet of a pressure relief valve 164.
  • the other branch tee 160 is closed by a pressure tight fitting and resilient grommet 166 and has one power lead 168 of the heater cable extending therethrough and connected via lead 170 to one side L1 of the power line.
  • the thermocouple leads 156, 158 also extend through grommet 166 and are connected via leads 172, 174 to the input terminals of a temperature controller 176.
  • the controller is connected via a junction 178 to one side of power line L1 and via junction 180 to the other side L2 of the power line through controller terminals 182 and 184.
  • the opposite end of the heater cable A is connected to a bracket 144 and has suitable pressure type fittings connected to a conduit tee 186 which has one branch thereof connected to a flexible tube 188 which is connected to a tee fitting 190.
  • One branch of tee 190 is connected to a fluid conduit 192 to the outlet of meter 194 which receives a pressurized, gaseous medium from a reservoir 196.
  • the remaining branch of tee 190 is connected to a fluid pressure fitting tube 198 which is in fluid contact with a sensing cavity of a pressure switch 200.
  • the gaseous fluid supply 196 is connected to provide a supply of purged gas through tee 190, tubing 188 and tee 186 through the cable heater 142 and thus, through relief valve 164 to thereby provide a continuous gas purge between the inner periphery 52 of the casing and the outer periphery 34 of the sheath 30.
  • the pressure switch 200 is connected electrically in series via leads 202, 204 to terminals 206, 208 of a relay indicated generally at 210.
  • Terminal 206 of the relay is connected to one signal output terminal 212 of the temperature controller 176.
  • Terminal 208 is connected through relay coil 214 to terminal 216 of the temperature controller.
  • the relay coil 214 has an armature operably connected to a movable switch contact member 218 connected to junction 220.
  • the stationary contact 222 of relay 210 is connected to terminal 224 and lead 226 to a heater power lead 228 out of tee 186.
  • the temperature controller 176 energizes the relay coil 214, and closes contacts 218, 222. Coil 214 is thereby energized.
  • the decrease in the gas purge is sensed by a pressure -switch 200.
  • This breaks the circuit in relay coil 214 thereby de-energizing the coil and opening switch contacts 218, 222 to turn off power to the heater cable.
  • the increase in temperature of the heater cable jacket is sensed by the thermocouple. This causes controller 176 to deenergize relay coil 214 and break the power connection to the heater cable.
  • pressure could be used without benefit of purge fluid flow.
  • pressure alone would operate the pressure sensor indicating a sound tubular heater jacket.
  • the pressure sensor would signal a failure of the tubular heater jacket alerting the user prior to catastrophic failure.
  • the purpose for employing a metal sheath 30 is because the heater cable A needs to be grounded in order to obtain Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or Canadian Standards Association (CSA) approval.
  • UL Underwriters Laboratories
  • CSA Canadian Standards Association
  • multiple parallel passages are provided between the sheath and the jacket to allow the flow of a purge fluid between the grounded heater sheath and the outer protective non-conductive tubular jacket.

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  • Resistance Heating (AREA)
  • Instantaneous Water Boilers, Portable Hot-Water Supply Apparatuses, And Control Of Portable Hot-Water Supply Apparatuses (AREA)

Claims (14)

  1. Thermoplongeur pour fluides corrosifs, comprenant :
    un brin de matériau résistant électriquement (10,80,120) actionné lors de la connexion à une source d'alimentation pour fournir de la chaleur, et
    un matériau de charge isolant électriquement thermoconducteur (20,84,124) disposé autour dudit brin de matériau résistant électriquement :
    une gaine conductrice (30,90,126) disposée autour dudit matériau de charge ;
    une chemise tubulaire d'un matériau inerte chimiquement flexible (50, 100, 134) englobant ladite gaine conductrice ;
    un passage de fluide (38,40,106,140) défini entre ladite chemise tubulaire et ladite gaine pour permettre le passage d'un fluide à travers celui-ci ; characterisé par :
    une source d'un milieu fluide de purgé sous pression connectée audit passage de fluide pour permettre le passage du fluide de purge à travers celui-ci.
  2. Élément thermique selon la revendication 1, dans lequel ledit passage de fluide comprend un premier canal s'étendant en hélice (38).
  3. Élément thermique selon la revendication 2, dans lequel ledit passage de fluide comprend en outre un second canal s' étendent en hélice (40) qui coupe ledit premier canal s'étendant en hélice, dans lequel ledit premier canal et ledit second canal forment des spirales dans des directions opposées.
  4. Élément thermique selon la revendication 3, dans lequel ledit premier canal et ledit second canal (38,40) sont situés sur une périphérie extérieure (34) dudit élément de chauffage conducteur.
  5. Élément thermique selon la revendication 1, dans lequel ledit passage de fluide comprend au moins un canal situé sur une périphérie extérieure moletée (34) de ladite gaine conductrice.
  6. Élément thermique selon la revendication 1 comprenant en outre des moyens de transfert de chaleur pour transférer de la chaleur entre ladite gaine et ladite chemise tubulaire.
  7. Élément thermique selon la revendication 6, dans lequel ledit passage comprend au moins un canal (38,40,106).
  8. Élément thermique selon la revendication 7, dans lequel ledit au moins canal comprend une rainure (38,40) définie dans une surface extérieure de ladite gaine.
  9. Élément thermique selon la revendication 7, dans lequel ledit au moins un canal comprend une vallée (106) définie dans une surface intérieure de ladite chemise.
  10. Élément thermique selon la revendication 7, dans lequel ledit au moins un canal s'étend longitudinalement le long d'une portion principale de ladite gaine.
  11. Élément thermique selon la revendication 10 dans lequel ledit au moins un canal s'étend d'une première extrémité de ladite gaine à une seconde extrémité de ladite gaine.
  12. Élément thermique selon la revendication 1 comprenant en outre un conduit (192) pour connecter ladite source de milieu fluide de purge audit passage de fluide.
  13. Élément thermique selon la revendication 1 comprenant en outre une couche de tresse (130) située entre ladite chemise tubulaire (134) et ladite gaine conductrice (126), dans lequel ladite couche de tresse coopère avec ladite chemise tubulaire et avec ladite gaine pour définir ledit passage de fluide.
  14. Procédé utilisant le thermoplongeur pour fluide corrosif selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 13, le procédé comprenant l'étape consistant à :
    faire couler un fluide de purge à travers le passage de fluide (38,40,106,140).
EP97913689A 1996-10-11 1997-10-10 Thermoplongeur pour des liqudes corrosif et son utilisation Expired - Lifetime EP0934493B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US2792096P 1996-10-11 1996-10-11
US29920P 1996-10-11
US27920P 1996-10-11
PCT/US1997/018816 WO1998016783A1 (fr) 1996-10-11 1997-10-10 Thermoplongeur dote d'une mise a la terre et d'un systeme de purge

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0934493A1 EP0934493A1 (fr) 1999-08-11
EP0934493A4 EP0934493A4 (fr) 2002-09-11
EP0934493B1 true EP0934493B1 (fr) 2005-09-28

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EP97913689A Expired - Lifetime EP0934493B1 (fr) 1996-10-11 1997-10-10 Thermoplongeur pour des liqudes corrosif et son utilisation

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EP (1) EP0934493B1 (fr)
JP (1) JP4001389B2 (fr)
DE (1) DE69734287T2 (fr)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US9562703B2 (en) 2012-08-03 2017-02-07 Tom Richards, Inc. In-line ultrapure heat exchanger

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP4500625B2 (ja) * 2004-08-23 2010-07-14 富士フイルム株式会社 平版印刷版の処理方法及び処理装置

Family Cites Families (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3527293A (en) * 1968-11-13 1970-09-08 Pelt Corp Van Vented duplex tube assembly
US4744412A (en) * 1986-10-01 1988-05-17 Itt Corporation Double-wall tube heat exchanger
DE3706408C1 (en) * 1987-02-27 1988-05-11 Schmoele Metall R & G Heat transfer tube
DE3722878C2 (de) * 1987-07-10 1996-03-07 Leo Roeckert Elektrischer Rohrheizkörper
FR2652225B1 (fr) * 1989-09-19 1991-11-08 Vulcanic Element tubulaire de chauffage electrique et son dispositif de cintrage, et echangeur comportant un tel element.
DE9308202U1 (de) * 1993-06-01 1993-07-15 KM-kabelmetal AG, 4500 Osnabrück Kunststoffummanteltes Kupferrohr

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US9562703B2 (en) 2012-08-03 2017-02-07 Tom Richards, Inc. In-line ultrapure heat exchanger

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0934493A1 (fr) 1999-08-11
JP2002515112A (ja) 2002-05-21
JP4001389B2 (ja) 2007-10-31
EP0934493A4 (fr) 2002-09-11
DE69734287T2 (de) 2006-07-06
DE69734287D1 (de) 2006-02-09

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