Furnace for the production of spherical particles
AssigneeCommissariat a l'Energie Atomique
InventorJacques Devillard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Particles of perfectly spherical shape are produced within a vacuum-tight furnace chamber of small size by means of a movably mounted screen for stopping the particles discharged from a molten zone of an ingot which is driven in rotation at high speed. The rigid screen is formed of material having high thermal conductivity and is provided with a consumable coating on the surface which is struck by the particles. The coating is capable of producing a vapor atmosphere around the point of impact so as to modify the interfacial surface tension of the particles on the screen by means of a localized process of calefaction.
Claims9
A furnace for the production of spherical particles comprising a vacuum-tight chamber having a vertical axis, means for heating to the melting point an end zone on an ingot of fusible material supported by an adjustable spindle placed along the axis of the chamber and driven in rotation, a container attached to the chamber for the recovery and storage of particles ejected from the molten zone under the action of rotation of the spindle, and a rigid screen which is of revolution about the axis of the chamber and mounted within said chamber around the spindle in order to stop the particles derived from the molten zone prior to solidification of said particles, wherein the screen is formed of material having high thermal conductivity and is provided with a consumable coating in that surface which receives the impact of the particles, said coating being capable of producing around the point of impact a vapor atmosphere which modifies the interfacial surface tension of the particles on the screen by means of a localized process of calefaction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.