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AssigneesCommonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Siddons Ramset Limited
InventorsSubramania Ramakrishnan, Walter T. Oppenlander, deceased, Alan E. Mundy, Ian M. Ogilvy
Estimating the term…
An electric arc reactor having a substantially straight feed material passage extending through both the anode and the cathode. Gas is fed into the gap between the two electrodes so as to swirl about the axis of the feed passage and thereby confine the lateral extend of the arc and also confine the location at which the upstream arc root attaches to the upstream electrode. An enlargement of the passage in the gap end of the upstream electrode provides an internal sloping root attachment surface. A similar enlargement may be provided in the downstream electrode, but spaced from the gap, if the downstream electrode forms the cathode. Gas flow in a direction towards the upstream end of the feed passage is used to control the location at which an arc root attaches to the sloping surface of a passage enlargement. Magnetic means is provided to induce rotation of the arc such as to form a hollow arc column which is coaxial with the feed passage and through which feed material can pass.
An electric arc reactor including, an upstream electrode and a downstream electrode which are connectable to a power source such as to enable an arc to be generated between them, a feed material passage extending in a substantially straight path through said electrodes and being connectable to a source of feed material at an injection end thereof, an upstream portion of said feed passage extending through said upstream electrode, an electrode gap formed between adjacent inner ends of said electrodes which are spaced apart in the direction of said passage, said injection end being at an outer end of said upstream passage portion remote from said gap, rotation inducing means whereby said arc is caused to rotate about the axis of said passage to create a hollow arc column through which feed material can pass, and manifold means arranged to direct a flow of gas into said gap so that a component of said flow is in a direction towards said injection end and said gas enters said upstream passage portion at the inner end of said upstream electrode to flow along an inner surface of said upstream electrode, whereby in use the flow along said inner surface is counter to the flow of said feed material and a stagnation zone is thereby created at said inner surface, and the upstream root of said arc is confined to attachment to said inner surface at said stagnation zone.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.