Patent Application
20230417451
The present invention relates to an electric heating system for heating a fluid flow and to a method of heating a fluid flow using such a system. The present invention has particular application to the use of such an electric heating system to provide, for example, heaters for resistojet thrusters in spacecraft or flow heaters.
Electrothermal thrusters are a class of electric propulsion thrusters for satellites that convert electric energy into thermal energy, increasing the stagnation temperature of a gaseous propellant. The higher the stagnation temperature, the higher the performance. The resistojet is a technology within the electrothermal thruster class that heats the gas by Joule (or resistive) heating of a solid heating element. High-temperature resistojets are attractive as they provide high performance; however the gas temperature is limited by the operating temperature of the heater.
A conventional resistojet uses an electrical heater to directly or indirectly heat a propellant in gaseous form. The gas flows through a heat exchanger that is employed to maximise the thermal efficiency of the resistojet, by limiting the external temperature of the device. The design of high-temperature resistojets has been obtained in the past using direct heating of the propellant with concentric tubular heat exchangers, which successfully demonstrated operation of this design concept. However, the manufacturing of this design involved the combination of two manufacturing techniques, Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) and Electron Beam (EB) welding. As a result, the assembly procedure was a long and complex process.
A known high-temperature resistojet comprises a concentric tubular heater which consists of a series of long, thin tubular elements fabricated by chemical vapour deposition which are arranged concentrically. The tubes were joined at their ends by means of small struts, attached by electron beam welding. Such a tubular heater structure suffered from the problem of premature failure due to the combination of significant thermal expansion, generated by the extreme heating, and manufacturing defects derived from the numerous welding joints that the heater assembly required.
As disclosed in papers by (1) F. Romei, A. N. Grubišić, D. Gibbon, entitled “Manufacturing of a High-Temperature Resistojet Heat Exchanger by Selective Laser Melting”, Acta Astronaut. 138 (2017) 356-368. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2017.05.020, (2) F. Romei and A. N. Grubišić, entitled “Validation of an additively manufactured resistojet through experimental and computational analysis”, Acta Astronaut. (2020). doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2019.10.046, and (3) M. Robinson, A. Grubišić, G. Rempelos, F. Romei, C. Ogunlesi and S. Ahmed, entitled “Endurance testing of the additively manufactured STAR resistojet”, Mater. Des. (2019) 107907. doi:10.1016/J.MATDES.2019.107907, a concentric tubular heater was manufactured as a single monolithic component using metal additive manufacturing. However, that tubular heater structure also suffered from the problem of premature failure due to the thermal expansion generated by the cycling heater operation.
Further aspects and features of an additively manufactured resistojet are disclosed in the following presentations that were made at the 36th International Electric propulsion Conference, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, 15-20 Sep. 2019: (i) Romei, F., Robinson, M. D., Ogunlesi, C., Gibbon, D. and Grubisic, A. N., entitled “The development and qualification of the STAR resistojet system for telecommunications applications”; (2) Robinson, M. D., Grubisic, A. N., Romei, F. and Ogunlesi, C., entitled “Lifetime investigations of an additively manufactured high-temperature resistojet heat exchanger from tantalum”; and (3) Ogunlesi, C., Romei, F., Robinson, M. D., Grubisic, A. N. And Gibbon, D., entitled “Structural effects on the high temperature performance of the Super High Temperature Additive Manufactured Resistojet (STAR)”.
Despite these extensive efforts to produce a resistojet having a structural design which can overcome the problems described above for the monolithic heater design, nevertheless there remains a need in the art for an electric heating system for heating a fluid flow which can be used as a resistojet and has a high level of reliability, and which preferably can also be additively manufactured, for example by 3D printing.
The present invention therefore aims to provide an electric heater design that reliably operates at high temperatures, for example as high as 3,500 K, and can achieve enhanced reliability as compared to known resistojets.
The present invention also aims to provide an electric heater design that is compact and can be manufactured at low cost, for example using an additive manufacturing process, otherwise known in the art as “3D printing”, which can produce a monolithic electric heater. A preferred additive manufacturing process for use in the present invention is known in the art as Selective Laser Melting (SLM).
The present invention also aims to provide an electric heater design that exhibits a high thermal efficiency.
The present invention also aims to provide an electric heater design that may be used in other applications, in addition to use in a resistojet, for providing a heated fluid flow.
The present invention provides an electric heating system for heating a fluid flow, the system comprising:
The present invention further provides a method of heating a fluid flow using such a system method of producing a high-temperature fluid flow, the method comprising the steps of:
Preferred features of the system and method of the present invention are defined in the respective dependent claims.
The system and method of the present invention may be employed in any application where a fluid is required to be heated to high temperatures, for example as high as 3,500 K.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention can provide an electric heating system for heating a fluid flow comprising a resistive heater which is compact and can be manufactured at low cost, in particular for example by using an additive manufacturing process such as Selective Laser Melting (SLM) which can produce a monolithic resistive heater.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention can provide a resistive heater design which allows the high-temperature elements of the resistive heater to freely expand and contract under thermal load. This improvement is fundamental for the electric heater system to be able to meet typical lifetime requirements for a space mission when the resistive heater is used as a resistojet in a spacecraft. Laboratory environment lifetime tests have shown that the preferred embodiments of the present invention can provide a resistive heater design which can exhibit a heater lifetime in excess of 6,000 cycles of heating/cooling, exceeding the typical mission requirements of a spacecraft such as a satellite.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention can provide a resistive heater which is composed of refractory metals in pure or alloy forms, which can enable heating of the fluid to temperatures as high as 3,500 K. Alternatively, non-refractory metals, e.g. nickel alloys or steels, may be used to manufacture the resistive heater for applications in which the maximum temperature is not the only requirement, for example, where corrosion or oxidation are potential significant problems. The resistive heater of the preferred embodiments of the present invention can be designed to achieve any given exit temperature within this range, while maintaining high thermal efficiency and exhibiting heater integrity over thousands of heating cycles. Additionally, when the resistive heater has an integral monolithic design, the resistive heater can provide greater freedom of design, plus quicker and cheaper production, as compared to conventional assembly methods using multiple parts and materials. Moreover, manufacture of the integral monolithic design, the resistive heater by an additive manufacturing technique has the advantage that the future cost of additive manufacturing techniques (AM) is projected to decrease, while the quality of prints and the choice of materials is projected to increase, enhancing the benefits and advantages of the resistive heater in accordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention can provide improved heat transfer to the fluid through the use of a wall structure in which a first set of walls defines annular flow passages and a second set of walls sits inside the annular flow passages created by the first set of walls.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention can provide electrical terminals which are positioned at the exterior of the resistive heater, where the temperature is low. This simplifies the mechanical connection of the electrical terminals, and reduces conductive heat loss from the resistive heater, improving thermal efficiency.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention can provide that the resistive heater does not form part of a housing, functioning in use as a pressure envelope, of the electric heater system. Therefore, the resistive heater can be manufactured without welding.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention can provide that the resistive heater can be manufactured by an additive manufacturing process such as Selective Laser Melting (SLM) which can produce a monolithic electric heater. Using such a process, large quantities of resistive heaters can be produced in a single printing process, and the resistive heaters can be manufactured with high melting point materials, such as nickel alloys and refractory alloys which are known to those skilled in the art, for example from the publications identified hereinabove.
The resistive heater of the preferred embodiments of the present invention utilises a hybrid of different heat exchanger and heater concepts, particularly when manufactured as a single component in one additive manufacturing (AM) process. The resistive heater has two main functions: the resistive heater generates heat using electrical resistance when a current is passed therethrough, and the resistive heater convectively heats a fluid flowing therethrough. The resistive heater of the preferred embodiments of the present invention can readily be configured to achieve high fluid temperature, at high thermal efficiency, in a compact and low-cost package. High temperature is achieved by means of a circulating flow geometry, whereby the fluid makes a series of passes through the resistive heater, prolonging the fluid heating time.
Using an additive manufacturing process, the resistive heater of the preferred embodiments of the present invention can readily incorporate features such and meshes to increase heat transfer effectiveness, which can maximise the fluid temperature for a given structure temperature. The circulating flow geometry enables high thermal efficiency by introducing cold fluid to be heated at the outside diameter of the resistive heater, which captures radiant heat lost from the resistive heater as the fluid circulates inwardly towards a centre in fluid communication with the fluid outlet of the resistive heater.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings, in which:
Referring to
The system 100 further comprises power electronics 107, located exterior of the housing 104, for providing electrical energy to the resistive heater 108 from a source of electrical energy 106. In the illustrated embodiments of the present invention, the resistive heater 108 is configured to be electrically connected by a wired connection to the source of electrical energy 106.
The source of electrical energy 106 is configured to supply a direct current, or an alternating current at any desired frequency, which heats the resistive heater 108.
The fluid flows through the resistive heater 108, which releases thermal energy and heats the fluid, and the total enthalpy of the outflow 105 is increased with respect to the enthalpy of the inflow 103.
In the illustrated embodiments of the present invention, a single resistive heater 108 is located within the housing 104. However, in alternative embodiments of the present invention a plurality of the resistive heaters 108 are located within the housing 104, and the resistive heaters 104 may be arranged in series or in parallel relative to the inflow 103 and outflow 105. In addition, the plurality of the resistive heaters 104 may be arranged electrically in series or in parallel.
In the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the electric heating system 100 is a resistojet and is configured for installation into a spacecraft, for use in moving the spacecraft in space.
In the embodiments of
In a further alternative embodiment, which is not illustrated, the outlet for the fluid outflow may be straight, without any converging or diverging shape, with an orifice having a smaller diameter than the diameter of the main body of the housing.
The structure of the resistive heater 108 in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention, which may be used in the arrangements of any of
The resistive heater 108 comprises a plurality of annular walls 120 composed of an electrically conductive material. In this specification, the term “annular” means “generally ring-like”, is not limited to geometrically circular shapes, and encompasses shapes that may be circular or other than circular, for example elliptical, polygonal, etc. In the illustrated embodiment, the annular walls 120 have a circular cross-section. However, the annular walls may have any desired cross-sectional shape, which may be any polygonal shape, for example square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, etc., or may be a curved or rounded shape, for example circular, elliptical, etc.
The annular walls 120 are nested to define a plurality of annular flow channels 122 which are serially arranged concentrically about a longitudinal axis L-L. The annular walls 120 extend between opposite first and second ends 124, 126 of the resistive heater 108 which are mutually separated along the longitudinal axis L-L.
The plurality of annular walls 120 are mechanically connected together whereby adjacent flow channels 122 have opposite fluid flow directions and are connected at adjacent ends 128 of the respective channels 122 to define an alternating serpentine flow path 130 which has an input end 132 at the fluid input 112 and an output end 134 at the fluid output 113. The input and output ends 132, 134 are respectively located at radially outer and radially inner positions relative to the longitudinal axis L-L. The fluid input 112 and the fluid output 113 are respectively located at the first and second ends 124, 126 of the resistive heater 108. The alternating serpentine flow path 130 has first and second annular closed sides 131, 133 respectively located at the first and second ends 124, 126 of the resistive heater 108. At the closed sides 131, 133, turns 137, 139 are respectively provided connecting adjacent flow channels 122.
In the illustrated embodiment, the outermost wall 120f is cylindrical, and apart from the outermost wall 120f, each other wall 120a-120e inwardly thereof comprises a cylindrical portion 136 and an adjacent conical portion 138. A free end part 140 of the cylindrical portion 136 is located at the second end 126 of the resistive heater 108 and the conical portion 138 is oriented towards the first end 124 of the resistive heater 108. The conical portion 138 which is closest to the first end 124 of the resistive heater 108 comprises a solid layer 142 which defines a closed end part 144 of the plurality of annular walls 120.
Accordingly, one annular wall 120e, which is inwardly adjacent to outermost wall 120f, is configured to form the closed end part 144 of the plurality of annular walls 120 at the first end 124 of the resistive heater 108. The closed end part 144 closes the ends 128 of the annular flow channels 122 at the first end 124 of the resistive heater 108 to form directional changes in the alternating serpentine flow path 130 at the first end 124 of the resistive heater 108.
Each annular wall 120 is composed of either a solid layer of the electrically conductive material, schematically illustrated by a solid line in
In the embodiment of
Accordingly, each annular wall 120a, 120c, 120e composed of the solid layer 125 of the electrically conductive material has adjacent thereto, on at least one or both of a radially outer and a radially inner side thereof, an annular wall 120b, 120d, 120f composed of the perforated layer 127 of the electrically conductive material, and each annular wall 120b, 120d, 120f composed of the perforated layer 127 of the electrically conductive material has adjacent thereto, on at least one or both of a radially outer and a radially inner side thereof, an annular wall 120a, 120c, 120e composed of the solid layer 125 of the electrically conductive material. The perforated layer 127 comprises a perforated mesh, but may comprise any other types of perforation.
In an alternative embodiment as shown in
The annular walls 120a-120f comprise n walls which are nested to form a series of the annular walls 120a-120f. The series has a radially innermost wall 120a having n=1 and a radially outermost wall 120f having n=n. The series also has at least one radially intermediate wall 120b-120e between the radially innermost wall 120a and the radially outermost wall 120f. Each radially intermediate wall 120b-120e has a respective value of n between 1 and n.
First and second electrical terminals 150, 152 are provided for connection to the source of electrical energy 106 to heat the walls 120 of the resistive heater 108. The first and second electrical terminals 150, 152 are electrically connected to respective first and second walls 120f, 120e which are mutually adjacent and comprise an outer pair of the walls 120f, 120e which is located at a radially outer side of the resistive heater 108. Therefore, the electrical terminals 150, 152 are connected to the outermost wall 120f and the wall 120e inwardly adjacent thereto. In the preferred embodiment the walls 120 to which the terminals 150, 152 are connected comprise an outer pair of the walls 120f, 120e, although the terminals 150, 152 themselves do not need to be located at or towards a radially outer side of the resistive heater 108. The first terminal 150 may be located at or towards a radially outer side of the resistive heater 108, whereas the second terminal 152 may be located elsewhere at any suitable position separated from the first terminal 150, for example at a centre of the resistive heater 108 beneath the closed end part 144 of the walls 120. However, the terminals 150, 152 may be located at any desired position. As described above, the first and second electrical terminals 150, 152 are configured to be electrically connected to the source of electrical energy 106 by a wired connection.
The plurality of annular walls 120 are electrically connected together to define a continuous electrically conductive path 156 extending between the first and second electrical terminals 150, 152. The conductive path 156 has a first part 158 which extends from the first wall, i.e. the outermost wall 120f, to a centre C of the resistive heater 108 and a second part 160 which extends from the centre C of the resistive heater to the second wall, i.e. the wall 120e inwardly adjacent to the outermost wall 120f.
The annular walls 120a-120f are electrically connected together by first electrical connections 162 which electrically connect walls 120 having n as an even number to form the first part 158 of the conductive path 156 and by second electrical connections 164 which electrically connect walls 120 having n as an odd number to form the second part 160 of the conductive path 156.
In the preferred embodiment, the first and second electrical connections 162, 164 are integral with the walls 120 which are electrically interconnected by the respective electrical connection 162, 164. Each of the first and second electrical connections 162, 164 is either parallel to, or orthogonal to, the longitudinal axis L-L. At least some walls 120 are provided with openings 168 extending therethrough and at least one of first and second electrical connections 162, 164 extends through a respective opening 168. The first and second electrical connections 162, 164 also provide mechanical connections 170 by which the walls 120 are mechanically connected together.
In the preferred embodiment, the first and second electrical connections 162, 164, which also provide the mechanical connections 170, which are orthogonal to the longitudinal axis L-L comprise radially oriented lateral struts 172, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced radially oriented lateral struts 172 are provided around the circumference of the walls 120 for interconnecting the walls 120 where n is even or n is odd. The struts 172 are provided towards both the first and second ends 124, 126 of the resistive heater 108. The struts 172 connect the annular walls 120 both electrically and mechanically, providing structural stiffness and an electrical current path.
In the preferred embodiment, the first and second electrical connections 162, 164, which also provide the mechanical connections 170, which are parallel to the longitudinal axis L-L comprise longitudinally oriented wall portions 174 and either a plurality of circumferentially spaced longitudinally oriented wall portions 174 are provided around the circumference of the walls 120 for interconnecting the walls 120 where n is even or n is odd, in order to provide the openings 168, or a single longitudinally oriented wall portion 174 is provided around the circumference of the walls 120 for interconnecting the walls 120 where n is even or n is odd, and one or more 168 is provided in the single longitudinally oriented wall portion 174.
The resistive heater 108 further comprises an electrical connector 176, composed of an electrically conductive material, located at the centre C of the resistive heater 108 which electrically connects together an inner pair of the annular walls 120a, 120b. The electrical connector 176 is shown in
In the illustrated embodiment the electrical connector 176 is in the form of an inner coil 177 of the resistive heater 108. However, in alternative embodiments of the present invention any other shape and configuration of the electrical connector may be employed to electrically connect the inner pair of the annular walls 120a, 120b. For example, in the alternative embodiment as shown in
In each embodiment, the electrical connector 176, 276 is preferably integral with the annular walls 120 of the resistive heater 108, and the resistive heater 108 is formed as an integral monolithic body, for example by an additive manufacturing process such as Selective Laser Melting (SLM).
The electrical connector 176 comprises a pair of elongate helical elements 178a, 178b which are arranged concentrically about the longitudinal axis L-L and are surrounded by the innermost wall 120a. A first end 180a, 180b of each helical element 178a, 178b is connected to a respective wall 120a, 120b of the inner pair of the walls 120a, 120b and opposite second ends 182a, 182b of the helical elements 178a, 178b are connected together by a connection member 184 of the electrical connector 176. The connection member 184 comprises an annular ring. The first ends 180a, 180b of the helical elements 178a, 178b are located at the second end 126 of the resistive heater 108.
Accordingly, the outermost annular wall 120f is connected to the helical element 178a of the inner coil 177 and the inwardly adjacent annular wall 120e is connected to the helical element 178b of the inner coil 177, and the helical elements 178a, 178b are connected at a bottom end 179 of the inner coil 177 by the connection member 184.
In the illustrated embodiment the solid annular walls 120a, 120c and 120e generate heat and create flow channels for the fluid. The struts 172 pass through the openings 168 provided in the annular walls 120, such that electric current passes from the electric terminal 150 through all perforated annular walls 120f, 120d and 120b in sequence, followed by the central heating coil 177, followed by all solid annular walls 120a, 120c and 120e in sequence to the electric terminal 152 (or vice versa). The terminal 150 comprises both an electric terminal (positive or negative) as well as the means of mechanically connecting the resistive heater 108 to the housing. The terminal 152 comprises an electric terminal (positive or negative) connected to an electric conductor passing through the wall of the housing 104, forming a pressure envelope boundary, and is sealed to the housing by an electrically insulating seal (not shown).
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the resistive heater 108 comprises an integral monolithic body 186. In other words, the annular walls 120, the first and second electrical connections 162, 164, the mechanical connections 170, the electrical connector 176 and the first and second electrical terminals 150, 152 are all comprised in the single integral monolithic body 186.
The integral monolithic body 186 may be fabricated via an additive manufacturing technique, optionally selected from Selective Laser Melting (SLM), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), Neutral Beam Melting (NBM), Electron Beam Welding (EBW), Laser Deposition Welding (LDW), Laser Beam Melting (LBM), Laser Metal Deposition (LMD), Electron Beam Melting (EBM), Direct Energy Deposition (DED), Rapid Prototyping (RP), and Rapid Manufacturing (RM). Preferably, the integral monolithic body 186 is fabricated by Selective Laser Melting (SLM), producing consecutive horizontal slices or layers starting from the second end 126 of the resistive heater 108 and progressively forming the resistive heater 108 to terminate at the first end 124 of the resistive heater 108.
The electric heating system 100 further comprises an annular closure member 188 which is located at the second end 126 of the resistive heater 108. The annular closure member 188 is shown highly schematically in
The annular closure member 188 is composed of an electrically insulating material, for example a ceramic material. The closure member 188 is typically an electrically insulating perforated disk, which comprises one or more holes 190 in correspondence with the fluid outlet 113, and which caps the second end 126 of the resistive heater 108 to close off a side of the alternating serpentine flow path 130. The closure member 188 closes ends of the annular flow channels 122 at the second end 126 of the resistive heater 108 to form directional changes in the alternating serpentine flow path 130 at the second end 126 of the resistive heater 108. The closure member 188 may be in contact with, or spaced e.g. a slight distance from, the resistive heater 108.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the housing 104 is not electrically connected to the resistive heater 108. However, in alternative embodiments of the present invention, the housing 104 may be electrically connected to one of the first and second electrical terminals 150, 152 of the resistive heater 108 whereby the respective electrical terminal 150, 152 is connectable to the source of electrical energy 106 via the housing 104. The respective electrical terminal 50, 52 may be integral with, or separate from, a mechanical connection (not shown) between the resistive heater 108 and the housing 104.
The present invention further provides a method of producing a high-temperature fluid flow. In the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the electric heating system 100 is a resistojet and installed in a spacecraft, and the method is for moving the spacecraft in space.
The method comprises providing an electric heating system 100 as described hereinabove. The fluid to be heated is supplied to the fluid input 112 of the flow resistor 108 and thereby to flow along the serpentine flow path 130 to the fluid output 113 of the flow resistor 108. The supplied fluid has a pressure greater than an external gas pressure surrounding an exterior 192 (see
An electrical potential is applied across the first and second terminals 150, 152 to heat the fluid flow in the alternating serpentine flow path 130 by the resistive heater 108. The fluid flows from the bottom and circulates in series through the flow channels 122 via the upper turns 139 and the lower turns 137, finally reaching the inner coil 177 and the outflow. Then, the heated fluid flow is expelled from the outlet 112 of the housing 104. In the embodiment of
The solid annular walls 120 define the flow channels 122 therebetween. The perforated annular walls 120, typically in the form of a perforated mesh, have an increased electrical resistance and an increased surface area as compared to a solid annular wall of the same dimensions. Consequently, the provision of alternating perforated annular walls 120 adjacent to the solid annular walls 120, and in particular within the flow channels 122, can achieve enhanced thermal transfer into the fluid for a given electrical current.
Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiments the solid annular walls 120 have smooth inner and outer cylindrical surfaces. However, alternatively either or both of the inner and outer cylindrical surfaces may be provided with a relief surface, which may increase the surface area and may achieve enhanced heat transfer. Such surface features can readily be achieved using additive manufacturing processes, such as Selective Laser Melting (SLM). The annular walls 120 may also vary in thickness and cross-sectional shape and dimensions.
The primary application of the electrical heater system of the preferred embodiments of the present invention is for high-temperature resistojets for space applications. Such high-temperature resistojets can be employed in small to large platforms, where the resistojet can be employed as a thruster to provide primary or secondary propulsion respectively.
The electrical heater system of the preferred embodiments of the present invention can provide a greater propellant usage efficiency (specific impulse—Isp) as compared to any other current resistojet. Consequently, electrical heater system of the preferred embodiments of the present invention can provide a highly cost-effective propulsion system for small satellites, including constellations.
The resistive heater in the electrical heater system of the preferred embodiments of the present invention can convert electrical energy to thermal energy, which is transferred to a fluid, with extreme efficiency. The resistive heater both releases energy directly to the flow and forms a recirculating path, which results in the highest temperature being generated in the centre of the resistive heater, achieving a thermal efficiency up to 95%. When the resistive heater is composed of a refractory metal, the resistive heater can heat a fluid to a temperatures as high as 3,500 K, without relying on combustion or any other chemical reaction. Moreover, the resistive heater in the electrical heater system of the preferred embodiments of the present invention can be fabricated by an additive manufacturing process, for example Selective Laser Melting (SLM), to provide an integral monolithic resistive heater. This additive manufacturing process not only can be used as a single manufacturing process, which reduces cost and complexity during manufacturing, but also can provide a resistive heater which has high in-service reliability since thermal expansion stresses can be minimized or eliminated. This additive manufacturing process can also produce a compact, low cost of the monolithic resistive heater.
In addition, the electrical terminals can be located at, or connected to, an exterior of the resistive heater and connected to a radially outermost pair of annular walls of the resistive heater, which can provide that the outermost annular walls of the resistive heater remain cool and a thermal gradient of increasing temperature generally extends from an outer circumferential periphery of the resistive heater toward a centre of the resistive heater. Such a thermal gradient of increasing temperature also generally extends from an input to the output of fluid flow through the resistive heater. This increases thermal efficiency and enables high exit temperatures for the fluid to be achieved.
In the satellite industry, the electrical heater system of the preferred embodiments of the present invention can be used to replace chemical propulsion systems that use hazardous propellants, which can significantly reduce the costs in satellite assembly integration and testing activities, and can simplify the design of the spacecraft.
In addition, the electrical heater system of the preferred embodiments of the present invention can be used in a variety of other hot-flow applications, other than for satellite propulsion. For example, the present invention may be of use for: as an electric generator of superheated steam for antimicrobial disinfection on biofilms and hard surfaces; food processing; epoxy resin curing; and stripping or cleaning purposes in refining and hydrocarbon industries; as an electric replacement for a gas torch for local heat-treatment; high-precision glass and jewellery working; pre-heating of equipment in the metal cast houses; and start-up heating of solid oxide fuel cells; the ignition of combustion engines; an electric heating source for hot gas welding of plastics and most metal alloys; a generator of highly energetic non-ionised flows in hypersonic wind tunnels, to test flight characteristics of aircraft, launchers and satellite re-entry; and a heat gun of enhanced temperature range, above a typical 600° C. airflow temperature, for wire harness, soldering and de-soldering of circuit boards for electronics devices.
Various improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and these are encompassed by the present invention as defined in the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018469.3 | Nov 2020 | GB | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2021/080614 | 11/4/2021 | WO |
