Safety fuel admixture apparatus
AssigneeThe Secretary of State for Defence in Her Britannic Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
InventorsKenneth I. W. Bird, Evan S. Thomas
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus for admixing dispersion inhibitive polymer into liquid hydrocarbon fuel and comprising a polymer supply hopper mounted on a fuel feed tube and a rotary mill having a cutting edge for cutting swarf from the polymer and a duct for conveying the swarf to the interior of the tube.
Claims16
In combination with an apparatus for supplying liquid fuel to the fuel tank of a vehicle having a liquid fuel reservior and a fuel pump, safety fuel admixing means comprising:
- a liquid feed tube connected to an outlet from said liquid fuel reservoir,
- a hopper for supplying polymer is solid form and attached to said liquid feed tube, and
- a rotary mill located between said hopper and said liquid feed tube,
- said mill having a cutting edge protruding into said hopper for cutting swarf from the polymer, and an associated duct for conveying the polymer swarf into said fuel feed tube.
On a bowser for supplying liquid fuel to the fuel tank of an aircraft, said bowser having a liquid fuel reservoir and a fuel pump,
- fuel admixing means, comprising:
- a liquid fuel feed tube connected to an outlet from said reservoir,
- a hopper for supplying polymer in solid form and attached to said feed tube,
- a rotary mill in the base of said hopper,
- a beater in said tube and integral with said mill,
- a hopper feed device for (leading) loading said hopper with said polymer, and
- a fuel pump downstream of said beater,
- said hopper comprising a cylindrical tube for receiving the polymer in billet form as a push fit, and having longitudinal guides extending a short way from the base thereof to prevent billet rotation, and
- said mill having a flat circular face with a cutting blade projecting from said face into said hopper, and a slot adjacent said blade for conveying polymer swarf from said hopper to the interior of said beater.
A process for the admixture of polymer dispersion into a liquid fuel while pumping the fuel from a reservoir to the fuel tank of a vehicle such as an aircraft, the process comprising:
- feeding the polymer dispersion in billet form through a hopper attached to a feed tube of the liquid fuel,
- cutting swarf from the polymer by means of a rotary mill having a cutting edge projecting into said hopper and mounted between said hopper and said feed tube, and
- conducting the polymer swarf so formed through a duct in said mill into said liquid feed tube.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.