Cumulative thermal detector

Claim 2

A THERMAL DETECTOR FOR STUDYING THERMAL PROPERTIES OF MIXING REACTANTS COMPRISING FIRST AND SECOND REACTANT DUCT MEANS FOR CIRCULATING A FIRST AND A SECOND REACTANT, EACH REACTANT DUCT MEANS HAVING AN INLET END, AN OUTLET END AND A HEAT EXCHANGE REGION THEREBETWEEN; A MIXTURE DUCT MEANS FOR CIRCULATING THE PRODUCT OF SAID REACTANTS HAVING AN INLET END, AN OUTLET END, AND A HEAT EXCHANGE REGION THEREBETWEEN, SAID MIXTURE DUCT MEANS ALSO DEFINING A REACTANTS MIXING REGION LOCATED BETWEEN ITS INLET END AND ITS HEAT EXCHANGE REGION; AND THE OUTLET ENDS OF SAID REACTANT DUCT MEANS MERGING INTO THE INLET END OF SAID MIXTURE DUCT MEANS; THE THREE HEAT EXCHANGE REGIONS OF SAID REACTANT DUCT MEANS AND MIXTURE DUCT MEANS BEING CLOSELY COUPLED AND DEFINING A COUNTER-CURRENT HEAT EXCHANGER WHEREIN SAID REACTANTS CIRCULATE IN THE FIRST DIRECTION THROUGH SAID REACTANTS DUCT MEANS WHILE SAID PRODUCT CIRCULATES IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION THROUGH SAID MIXTURE DUCT MEANS; THERMAL INSULATION MEANS FOR INSULATING SAID REACTANT AND MIXTURE DUCT MEANS FROM THE ENVIRONOENT, TEMPERATURE SENSING MEANS FOR DETECTING THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID PRODUCT, AND THERMOSTATING MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID REACTANTS AT THE INLET ENDS OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND REACTANT DUCT MEANS.

Claim 3

The thermal detector as defined in claim 1 wherein said reactant duct means and said mixture duct means consist of thin walled small internal diameter tubing, said tubing being of stainless steel at least at the heat exchanger regions of said duct means.

Claim 4

A thermal detector as defined in claim 2 wherein the heat exchange regions of said reactant and mixture duct means made of stainless steel tubing are twisted together longitudinally and silver soldered together.

Claim 5

A microcalorimeter for studying thermal properties of mixing liquids comprising first and second reactant tubes for circulating a first and a second reactant respectively, each reactant tube having an input end, a discharge end and a heat exchange region therebetween; a common return tube connected with the discharge end of said reactant tubes, defining a mixing chamber immediately downstream of the said discharge ends of said reactant tubes, and having a heat exchange region, the three heat exchange regions of said reactant tubes and of said return tube being closely coupled and defining a counter-current heat exchanger through which said reactants circulate in a first direction towards said mixing chamber while the mixing product of said reactants circulates through said counter-current heat exchanger in the opposite direction downstream from said mixing chamber; said microcalorimeter also comprising heat sensing means for detecting the temperature of said mixture product in said mixing region; housing means surrounding said counter-flow heat exchanger and said mixing region as well as the discharge ends of said reactant tubes, means for evacuating said housing means and for maintaining same under high vacuum; said microcalorimeter also including temperature control means for thermostating said reactants upstream of said heat exchange region thereof.

Claim 6

A microcalorimeter for studying thermal properties of mixing liquids comprising first and second reactant tubes for circulating a first and a second reactant respectively, each reactant tube having an input end, a discharge end and a heat exchange region therebetween; a common return tube connected with the discharge end of said reactant tubes, defining a mixing chamber immediately downstream of the said discharge ends of said reactant tubes, and having a heat exchange region, the three heat exchange regions of said reactant tubes and of said return tube being closely coupled and defining a counter-current heat exchanger through which said reactants circulate in a first direction towards said mixing chamber while the mixing product of said reactants circulates through said counter-current heat exchanger in the opposite direction downstream from said mixing chamber; said microcalorimeter also comprising heat sensing means for detecting the temperature of said mixture product in said mixing region; housing means surrounding said counter-flow heat exchanger and said mixing region as well as the discharge ends of said reactant tubes, means for evacuating said housing means and for maintaining same under high vacuum; said microcalorimeter also including temperature control means for thermostating said reactants upstream of said heat exchange region thereof.

Claim 7

A differential microcalorimeter comprising an observation cell and a reference cell, each cell consisting of a thermal detector which comprises first and second reactant duct means for circulating a first and a second reactant, each reactant duct means having an inlet end, an outlet end and a heat exchange region therebetween; a mixture duct means for circulating the product of said reactants having an inlet end, an outlet end, and a heat exchange region therebetween, said mixture duct means also defining a reactants mixing region located between its inlet end and its heat exchange region; and the outlet ends of said reactant duct means merging into the inlet end of said mixture duct means; the three heat exchange regions of said reactant duct means and mixture duct means being closely coupled and defining a counter-current heat exchanger wherein said reactants circulate in the first direction through said reactants duct means while said product circulates in the opposite direction through said mixture duct means; said microcalorimeter also comprising housing means for maintaining said cells under high vacuum for thermally insulating same from the environment; temperature control means for thermostating said reactant duct means of both cells upstream of said heat exchange region thereof; means for connecting the outlet end of said mixture duct means of said observation cell to said inlet ends of said reactant duct means of said reference cell; pumping means for circulating said reactants through said observation cell; first and second sensing means for detecting the temperatures of the products in the mixing regions of the mixing duct means of said observation and reference cells respectively; first circuit means for differentially inter-connecting said heat sensing means and for determining the temperature gradient sensed by said first and second heat sensing means.

Claim 8

A differential microcalorimeter comprising an observation cell and a reference cell, each cell consisting of a thermal detector which comprises first and second reactant duct means for circulating a first and a second reactant, each reactant duct means having an inlet end, an outlet end and a heat exchange region therebetween; a mixture duct means for circulating the product of said reactants having an inlet end, an outlet end, and a heat exchange region therebetween, said mixture duct means also defining a reactants mixing region located between its inlet end and its heat exchange region; and the outlet ends of said reactant duct means merging into the inlet end of said mixture duct means; the three heat exchange regions of said reactant duct means and mixture duct means being closely coupled and defining a counter-current heat exchanger wherein said reactants circulate in the first direction through said reactants duct means while said product circulates in the opposite direction through said mixture duct means; said microcalorimeter also comprising housing means for maintaining said cells under high vacuum for thermally insulating same from the environment; temperature control means for thermostating said reactant duct means of both cells upstream of said heat exchange region thereof; means for connecting the outlet end of said mixture duct means of said observation cell to said inlet ends of said reactant duct means of said reference cell; pumping means for circulating said reactants through said observation cell; first and second sensing means for detecting the temperatures of the products in the mixing regions of the mixing duct means of said observation and reference cells respectively; first circuit means for differentially inter-connecting said heat sensing means and for determining the temperature gradient sensed by said first and second heat sensing means.

Claim 9

A differential microcalorimeter as defined in claim 5 additionally comprising heat generating means for heating the products in the mixing region of said observation and reference cells, second circuit means connected to said heat generating means and coupled to said first circuit means for defining a thermal feedback arrangement equalizing the temperature sensed by said first and second heat sensing means.