Claims
- 1. An improved apparatus for producing inorganic fibers, comprising:
- a furnace containing a heating space;
- a crucible having a hole for discharging a stream of fluid material, said crucible being positioned in the heating space of the furnace;
- a nozzle positioned below said crucible for receiving the stream of fluid material and for receiving a primary flow of heated gas for transferring the stream into broken up ligaments, said nozzle having a barrel through which the ligaments fall and solidify into inorganic fibers;
- a heater for heating the primary flow of gas supplied directly into said nozzle; and
- a collection chamber situated to receive the inorganic fibers.
- 2. An improved apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising:
- a filter in said collection chamber for gathering the inorganic fibers; and
- means for directing the inorganic fibers to said filter.
- 3. An improved apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said heater heats the gas to a temperature ranging from between 150.degree. F. to 750.degree. F.
- 4. An improved apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein the heated gas is a member selected from the group consisting of air, steam, nitrogen, argon, and helium.
- 5. An improved apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the heated gas is a member selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, helium, and argon.
- 6. An improved apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the heated gas is a member selected from the group consisting of helium and argon.
- 7. An improved apparatus as recited in claim 2, further comprising means for recycling the heated gas after the inorganic fibers are gathered on said filter.
- 8. An improved apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising means for removing contaminants from gas supplied to said heater.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/648,461, filed Jan. 31, 1991, now abandoned.
Government Interests
This invention was made with Government support under a contract with the Department of Energy (DOE) and Ames Laboratory, Contract No. SC-91-225, our reference number CRD-1272. The Government has certain rights in this invention.
US Referenced Citations (13)
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
648461 |
Jan 1991 |
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