Measuring and testing – Sampler – sample handling – etc. – Withdrawing through conduit or receptacle wall
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-23
2002-03-26
Raevis, Robert (Department: 2856)
Measuring and testing
Sampler, sample handling, etc.
Withdrawing through conduit or receptacle wall
C137S613000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06360619
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates in general to valve assemblies, and in particular to valve assemblies useful in sampling liquid chemical streams in conduits during passage of a liquid stream through the conduit without an attendant interruption of the flow of the liquid. The assemblies of the invention are particularly well suited to assist in the sampling of reactive and/or hazardous liquid streams such as flammable liquids including gasolines. The valve assemblies of the invention are also anticipated as being useful in the sampling of gaseous streams in addition to liquid streams.
BACKGROUND
Since the first manufacture of chemical materials, perhaps by ancient Egyptians of the refining of gold, there has existed a need for a means by which the quality of the finished product to be used may be measured. In modern times, with the advent of the construction of chemical plants suitable to produce a wide range of reaction intermediates and finished products, both organic and inorganic, there has been seen an increased need for quality control measures. Such measures typically involve transporting a sample of a material to a laboratory or other facility for analysis, often on the same premises as the manufacture of chemical products themselves. The laboratory typically performs one or a plurality of chemical and/or physical analyses on the sample of material taken, with results being reported back to the workmen operating the chemical manufacturing process who then use the information gained to optimize or otherwise facilitate the production of materials.
Quite often, it is the case that the materials being sampled are hazardous or otherwise dangerous to personnel or the environment. In such instances extra care must be exercised to make certain that there are no releases of materials to the surroundings and that workmen in the manufacturing area are not exposed to even miniscule amounts of chemical streams involved. For example, as is known in the art, the manufacture of sulfurized olefins used in the transportation industry involves the reaction of molten sulfur under conditions of elevated temperature and pressure with hydrogen sulfide gas and an olefin such as butylene. During such a reaction, it is necessary to monitor the progression of the reaction, since the desirable product may consist in one having either two, three, four or more sulfur atoms per molecule. Since the reaction, if permitted to proceed unabated, would ultimately result in a sulfurized product containing more than the optimum desired amount of sulfur, a means by which the reaction mixture may be sampled without release into the atmosphere and without contacting a workman is necessary.
Another situation in which it is desirable to provide a means for sampling a chemical stream during the flow of a material through a conduit is in the sampling of aviation gasolines, turbine engine fuels, or the like, for contaminants at their point of use. The Federal Aviation Administration in the United States, and other analogous governmental agencies in countries foreign to the US have prescribed maximum levels of impurities permissible in various aviation fuels at their point of use. The determination of whether a particular fuel stream meets the required quality standards is typically carried out by performing an analytical test on the fuel stream near its point of use. During the carrying out of such test, it is necessary for an operator to extract a sample quantity of fuel from a conduit through which the fuel passes, desirably in such fashion that the workman is not exposed to the fuel and that none of the fuel is permitted to escape into the surroundings.
American Standard Test and Measurements (“ASTM”) method ASTM D 2276, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference, proscribes a standard test method by which particulate contaminants in aviation fuel by line sampling may be determined. The method involves the filtration of a known volume of fuel through a pre-weighed test membrane filter in a field monitor. During the filtration process, the membrane traps a mass of particulant contaminants, and the mass of the contaminants may be determined by a subsequent gravimetric analysis procedure. The official test method utilizes a field monitor to filter a sample of fuel that is taken in the field by the sampling method that is detailed in ASTM test method D5452, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference thereto.
Typically, the filtration step involves the passage of a known volume of fuel through a Millipore™ type filtration membrane, which has a nominal pore size of approximately 0.8 microns. Therefore, it is desirable to have at hand a convenient means for controllably dispensing a specific sample quantity of fuel for filtration according to the standardized test method of determination of particulant contaminants. It is also desirable to have at hand a convenient means for extracting a sample of aviation fuel from a conduit through which it passes during normal use of the conduit, such as for example while it provides a source of fuel for commercial aircraft at busy airline hubs. It is thus seen to be highly desirable to provide for an uninterrupted flow of aviation fuels to their end users while also providing a means for extracting a sample for the above-described filtration test. The present invention provides a device especially well suited for such use.
The prior art provides devices for the sampling of fuel for the filtration test, and provides a means by which a representative sample of fuel may be removed from the conduit. For example, fuel sampling kits are available from Gammon Technical Products, Inc. of 2300 Highway 34, Manasquan, N.J., 08736, including those known as GTP-7; GTP-7T; GTP-3; GTE-5; and GTP-1, to name but a few. These kits are described in Fuel Sampling Equipment Bulletin 3 (12-95), available from Gammon Technical Products, Inc., the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference thereto. The kits typically include a main body portion (which includes a linear, tubular probe portion) that is adapted to be affixed to the external wall of a conduit in such fashion to permit the probe portion to extend to substantially the center of the conduit, so as to provide for the liquid removed to have come from the center of the conduit, thus providing a representative sample. The kits also include a quick-disconnect coupling that is equipped with a poppet valve, in addition to a ball valve. During use in extracting a fuel aliquot, the user connects the field filtration unit, which includes the Millipore™ type filter to the quick disconnect coupling. A ball valve is actuated by turning the handle, thus permitting fuel to flow until the valve is subsequently closed.
Assemblies produced from the aforementioned kits have the disadvantages in that they contain several joints, four (4) to be exact, between the various components of the sampling valves. Each such joint potentially serves as a point for leaks of fuel or otherwise the introduction of impurities into the system. Test procedure ASTM D-2276 specifies that the sampling valve connection “must have a minimum of internal recesses which could cause the holdup of contaminant”. Therefore, if a means for providing the removal of representative sample aliquots of chemical streams, including aviation fuels, while the overall flow of material to its end users could continue unabated and while reducing the number of potential leak points and having a unibody construction to reduce manufacturing costs, such a device would be welcomed by those personnel and companies who regularly engage in the evaluation of fuels, in addition to the environmental authorities interested in maintaining the cleanliness of the surroundings, as well as regulatory agencies such as OSHA and various labor organizations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed at a valve device for providing representative samples of a fluid material from a conduit through which the fluid material is normally housed or caused to pass
Raevis Robert
Whewell Christopher
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