Resistance heaters

With most non-isothemial calorimeters, it is necessary to relate the temperature rise to the quantity of energy released in the process by determining the calorimeter constant, which is the amount of energy required to increase the temperature of the calorimeter by one degree. This value can be detemiined by electrical calibration using a resistance heater or by measurements on well-defined reference materials [1], For example, in bomb calorimetry, the calorimeter constant is often detemiined from the temperature rise that occurs when a known mass of a highly pure standard sample of, for example, benzoic acid is burnt in oxygen. 

Heating and Cooling. Heat must be appHed to form the molten zones, and this heat much be removed from the adjacent sohd material (4,70). In principle, any heat source can be used, including direct flames. However, the most common method is to place electrical resistance heaters around the container. In air, nichrome wine is useflil to ca 1000°C, Kanthal to ca 1300°C, and platinum-rhodium alloys to ca 1700°C. In an inert atmosphere or vacuum, molybdenum, tungsten, and graphite can be used to well over 2000°C. 

The bath is normally at a temperature in the range 620-710°C, depending on whether the coating material is an aluminium-silicon alloy (for use in high-temperature conditions) or pure aluminium (for corrosion prevention). It is heated by inductors, by resistance heaters or by an external flame. The pot will usually be refractory lined unless cast-iron pots are needed to ensure adequate heat transfer from an external flame. As molten aluminium is extremely aggressive towards ferrous metals, replacement of cast-iron pots is fairly frequent. Refractory-lined pots obviously do not have this drawback, although the bath hardware, in particular the sinker roll and support mechanism, will still be attacked and need replacement at intervals. 

Electric resistance heaters. Elements are within the coil or directly under it. 

Low-voltage electric resistance heater cables fixed to the structural floor slab and then protected within a 50 mm thickness of cement and sand to give a suitable surface on which the floor vapour barrier can be laid. The heating is thermostatically controlled, and it is usual to include a distance reading or recording thermometer to give visual indication of the temperature of the floor at several locations below the insulation. 

The next step involves heating the mold while it is rotating. Molds can be heated by a heated oven, a direct flame, a heat-transfer liquid (either in a jacket around the mold or sprayed over the mold), or electric-resistance heaters placed around the mold. With uniform heat transfer through the mold, the plastic melts to build up a layer of molten plastic on the molds inside surface. 

Typically, a FW tank temperature of 180 to 190 °F (82-88 °C) is preferred and can be achieved by the direct application of live steam (from a LP steam supply or from a flash steam recovery system) through a perforated sparge pipe or by indirect heating via steam, gases of combustion, or electrical-resistance heaters. Each temperature rise of 10 °F (5.6 °C) results in at least a 0.3 to 0.4% fuel saving. Tanks should, of course, be properly designed and lagged. 

Elkassabgi and Lienhard (1988) provided an extensive subcooled pool boiling CHF data set of 631 observations on cylindical electric resistance heaters ranging from 0.80 to 1.54 mm (0.03 to 0.06 in.) in diameter with four liquids (isopropanol, acetone, methanol, and Freon-113) at atmospheric pressure and up to 140°C (252°F) subcooling. They normalized <7 ritsub data by Sun and Lienhard s (1970) saturated q"Tix SL prediction in terms of B,... 

To carry out measurements at a fixed temperature, the refrigerator temperature must be kept constant for a suitably long time. The problem of the temperature control depends not only on the refrigerator itself, but on the thermal characteristics of the experiment. Let us now consider an oversimplified case in which heat capacities are neglected the mixing chamber temperature of a dilute refrigerator (DR) is to be controlled by a resistive heater HR and a d.c. power supply. 

Melting point instruments consist of a resistance heater to increase temperature, a sample holder and a temperature-measuring device. In its simplest form, an oil bath can be heated with a Bunsen burner, while a capillary tube with a few milligrams of sample is attached to a thermometer with the sample next to the mercury bulb. 

Figure 12.3 Schemeofa power compensation differential scanning calorimeter. A sample furnace Ar reference furnace B temperature sensor of the sample furnace Br temperature sensor of the reference furnace C resistance heater of the sample furnace Cr resistance heater of the reference furnace D cell S sample R reference.

A cross-sectional schematic of a monolithic gas sensor system featuring a microhotplate is shown in Fig. 2.2. Its fabrication relies on an industrial CMOS-process with subsequent micromachining steps. Diverse thin-film layers, which can be used for electrical insulation and passivation, are available in the CMOS-process. They are denoted dielectric layers and include several silicon-oxide layers such as the thermal field oxide, the contact oxide and the intermetal oxide as well as a silicon-nitride layer that serves as passivation. All these materials exhibit a characteristically low thermal conductivity, so that a membrane, which consists of only the dielectric layers, provides excellent thermal insulation between the bulk-silicon chip and a heated area. The heated area features a resistive heater, a temperature sensor, and the electrodes that contact the deposited sensitive metal oxide. An additional temperature sensor is integrated close to the circuitry on the bulk chip to monitor the overall chip temperature. The membrane is released by etching away the silicon underneath the dielectric layers. Depending on the micromachining procedure, it is possible to leave a silicon island underneath the heated area. Such an island can serve as a heat spreader and also mechanically stabihzes the membrane. The fabrication process will be explained in more detail in Chap 4. 

The coupling of the hotplate to the electronics via a resistive heater consequently alters the equation, and a change in the effective time constant occurs ... 

In order to determine the thermal time constant of the microhotplate in dynamic measurements, a square-shape voltage pulse was applied to the heater. The pulse frequency was 5 Hz for uncoated and 2.5 Hz for coated membranes. The amplitude of the pulse was adjusted to produce a temperature rise of 50 °C. The temperature sensor was fed from a constant-current source, and the voltage drop across the temperature sensor was amplified with an operational amplifier. The dynamic response of the temperature sensor was recorded by an oscilloscope. The thermal time constant was calculated from these data with a curve fit using Eq. (3.29). As already mentioned in the context of Eq. (3.37), self-heating occurs with a resistive heater, so that the thermal time constant has to be determined during the cooHng cycle. 

Fig.4.16. Heating approaches for monolithicaUy integrated microhotplates (pHP) (a) shows a resistive heater with power transistor and (b) shows a PMOS transistor heater fiheat denotes the heating resistor R is the metal-oxide chemiresistor, and Rj is a resistor used as temperaturesensor (see Fig. 4.4)...

Elevated temperatures up to 100°C have also been used with integrated HPLC chips that include both a column and an electrochemical detector [83]. This system used a resistive heater and a mobile phase preheater and was used to separate o-phthaldialdehyde amino acid derivatives. 

Pulverized coal is fed directly from a variable speed auger into the high velocity primary air stream which conveys it to the injector at the top of the furnace. The coal and primary air enter the combustor through a single low-velocity axial jet. Secondary combustion air is divided into two flows which enter the combustor coaxial to the primary stream. Part of the flow is introduced through a number of tangential ports to induce swirl which is necessary for flame stabilization. The remainder enters the combustor axially. The two secondary air streams are separately preheated using electrical resistance heaters. 

---