CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority of: U.S. provisional patent application no.

62/569,180, titled "Ring Plating Methods," filed on October 6, 2017; and U.S. provisional patent application no. 62/585,123, filed on November 13, 2017, entitled Hydrogen- Absorbing Insert for the LENR Tube," both of which are incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to thermally reactive surfaces and methods and devices for producing such surfaces. More particularly, this disclosure relates to thermally reactive surfaces and inserts for use inside a tubular reaction chamber.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Different types of exothermic reactors are or will be commercially available to generate energy and produce heat. For example, a device in which exothermic reactions can be triggered as described in International Publication Number WO 2017/127423 A2 can use hydrogen-absorbing material plated onto the inner wall of a tube or onto a slender central electrode.

[0004] In the aforementioned example or other examples, a reactor can include a metal tube with a reactive material or catalyst in its interior. In earlier, technologies, a powder-based catalyst would fill the interior of a cylinder, but that deprived the system of using plasma during operation of the reactor. Thus, in some examples, a hydrogen-absorbing material is plated electrochemically on the interior walls of a reactor device, after which the interior of the tube is pumped to high vacuum and then filled with deuterium gas at sub-atmospheric pressure. High voltage can then be applied to the electrodes, the purpose of which is to ionize the deuterium and drive it into the plated sidewalls to prepare the sidewalls as reactive surfaces where heat-producing reactions can occur.

[0005] While plating materials onto the inner wall of the reactor is in some ways an

improvement over the powder-fill based arrangements, the amount of catalyst available for use is difficult to accurately determine during plating. Further, a plated catalyst is not mechanically robust and it is challenging to plate large amounts of catalyst. Removing and replacing the plated catalyst is time-consuming, for example as the sidewalls are scraped with a metal brush prior to re-plating. The material collected by scraping is then typically sent to a lab for species analysis to determine if nuclear ash can be found. The amount of material plated and subsequently removed from the inner walls is typically small, which limits the ultimate power output of the reactor and limits the extent of the analytical methods used to study the spent material.

[0006] In some examples, hydrogen- absorbing material is plated onto the interior wall of a tube in a separate electrochemical bath, where electrochemical processes control the quality of the plating. When the plated material is to replenished or replaced with different plated material, the used or spent material is removed as carefully as possible from the inner wall or from the central removable electrode while attempting to in some uses to recover as much of the plated material as possible for analysis after reactor operation. However, where the primary structural or containment components of the reactor device themselves directly host the plating to be removed and replaced, these operations are complicated by either the bulk or complexity of the device.

[0007] Thus, there are problems with existing technologies. Plating methods have been effective in producing usable heat; however, there are some disadvantages associated with plating the inner wall of the tube or the slender central electrode. Plating the inner wall of the tube does not provide good visibility of the plated surface or analytical access to the deposit. Plating the slender central electrode provides for a reduced volume of plated deposit and limits thermal coupling to the reactor walls, where the heat is most useful, and generally plated deposits are not as robust as solid materials.

[0008] By whatever method reactive surfaces are prepared, their direct preparation or application onto or as the structural wall of a reactor device limits reusability and complicates removal or isolation of the reactive surfaces from other reactor components for inspection, testing, or even just replenishment or replacement.

SUMMARY

[0009] This summary is provided to introduce in a simplified form, concepts that are further described in the following detailed descriptions. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it to be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[00010] According to at least one embodiment, a catalyst insert for a tubular reactor device includes an insert body having a rigid heat-conducting exterior shell and an interior surface having hydrogen and a metal. The interior surface may be a hydrogen loaded metal surface.

[00011] The insert body may have a cylindrical shape. The heat-conducting exterior shell may include, for example, copper or nickel. The metal interior surface may include a hydrogen- absorbing metal. [00012] The insert body may be formed by directing a stream of heated atomized particles from a thermal spray head onto a first side of a plate, and forming the plate into the insert body with the first side of the plate defining the hydrogen loaded metal interior surface. The thermal spray head may include a nozzle through which an oxygen fuel gas mixture flows to heat and melt a metal stock and a compressed gas flow propels the stream of heated atomized particles. The interior surface may also be prepared by sputtering.

[00013] The catalyst insert may include a hook or loop attached to the insert body for extracting the catalyst insert from a tubular reactor device. Holes may be formed in the insert body for engagement with a tool for manipulation of the catalyst insert in a tubular reactor device.

[00014] The insert body is preferably electrically conductive, and may be formed of or include copper.

[00015] The interior of the insert body may include a gold layer, which may be deposited by electroplating. The interior of the insert body further may have a second layer that includes palladium. The second layer may further include yttrium.

[00016] The interior surface may be magnetized. The insert body may include magnetic sections, each shaped as a partial cylinder, for example a half cylinder. The two magnetic sections may together form at least one of the exterior shell and interior surface. The two magnetic sections may together form a cylindrical layer between the exterior shell and interior surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[00017] The previous summary and the following detailed descriptions are to be read in view of the drawings, which illustrate particular exemplary embodiments and features as briefly described below. The summary and detailed descriptions, however, are not limited to only those embodiments and features explicitly illustrated.

[00018] FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a catalyst insert, according to at least one embodiment, placed in a reactor device tube as an example of use.

[00019] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the catalyst insert of FIG. 1 taken at the line 2-2.

[00020] FIG. 3 is cross-sectional view of a metallic spraying apparatus, according to at least one embodiment, by which for example reactive surfaces of the catalyst insert of FIGS. 1 and 2 can be prepared.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS

[00021] These descriptions are presented with sufficient details to provide an understanding of one or more particular embodiments of broader inventive subject matters. These descriptions expound upon and exemplify particular features of those particular embodiments without limiting the inventive subject matters to the explicitly described embodiments and features. Considerations in view of these descriptions will likely give rise to additional and similar embodiments and features without departing from the scope of the inventive subject matters. Although the term "step" may be expressly used or implied relating to features of processes or methods, no implication is made of any particular order or sequence among such expressed or implied steps unless an order or sequence is explicitly stated.

[00022] Any dimensions expressed or implied in the drawings and these descriptions are provided for exemplary purposes. Thus, not all embodiments within the scope of the drawings and these descriptions are made according to such exemplary dimensions. The drawings are not made necessarily to scale. Thus, not all embodiments within the scope of the drawings and these descriptions are made according to the apparent scale of the drawings with regard to relative dimensions in the drawings. However, for each drawing, at least one embodiment is made according to the apparent relative scale of the drawing.

[00023] Descriptions herein relate at least in part to providing a hydrogen- absorbing material that can be, for example, inserted into a tube or prepared as a tube in which exothermic reactions can be triggered, as further described in PCT application PCT/US2017/013931, titled "Methods and Apparatus for Triggering Exothermic Reactions," published as International Publication Number WO

2017/127423 A2 on July 27, 2017, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Furthermore, these descriptions relate to providing hydrogen- absorbing materials and structures, for example embodied in removable inserts that can be for example inserted into an LENR tube for heat generation. As LENR processes are considered as catalytic, an insert having a reactive surface where hydrogen loading and heat-producing reactions can occur is described herein as a catalyst insert.

[00024] According to at least one embodiment, a catalyst insert 100 for placement in a tubular reactor device 50, as diagrammatically represented in FIG. 1, includes an insert body 102 having a rigid and durable heat-conducting exterior cylindrical shell 104 (FIG. 3), and a hydrogen loaded metal interior surface 106. The insert body 102 in the illustrated has a circular cylindrical outer shape for placement in a correspondingly circular cylindrical interior of a tubular reactor device. Other columnar shapes are within the scope of these descriptions. The outer diameter 110 (FIG. 2) and longitudinal length 112 of the catalyst insert can vary among embodiments to suit their uses in reactor devices of various dimensions and other applications.

[00025] The illustrated embodiment of the catalyst insert 100 is shown as sealed or sealable at opposing longitudinal ends by a bottom plate 114 and a top cap 116. While terms such as top, upper, bottom, lower and other relative terms are used herein to describe and nominally identify features of the catalyst insert 100, the use of such terms does not limit the described structures or their use to any particular absolute orientation or order. The bottom plate 114 and top cap 116 maybe fixed to or pressed into the ends of the cylindrical shell 104. In the illustrated embodiment, a hook or loop 124 is attached to the top cap 116 of the insert 100 for use in placing and extracting the catalyst insert from a tubular reactor device or for other manipulation of the insert 100.

[00026] While the catalyst insert 100 in some embodiments is sealed or sealable, in other embodiments, the bottom plate 114 and/or top cap 116 may have perforations or openings to serve as a grate through which gases or fluids can pass or be vented. Thus, the insert 100 can have sealed and unsealed embodiments. The cylindrical shell 104 can also be provided as an open-ended sleeve without the bottom plate and top cap. In such embodiments the hook or loop 124 is attached elsewhere the insert 100.

[00027] The interior space 120 of the insert body 102 as shown in FIG. 2 can be cylindrically shaped corresponding to the exterior cylindrical shell 104 and according to a uniformly thick wall of the shell 104, or may have other internal configurations and arrangements. In the illustrated embodiment, an interior surface 106 of the insert body 102 defines a reactive surface where hydrogen loading and heat-producing reactions can occur, for example in LENR processes.

[00028] By varying dimensions of embodiments of the insert 100, the volume of the insert and areas of its hydrogen loaded surface(s) are controllable. As reactor power is proportional or at least positively related to hydrogen-loading capacity of the interior of the insert 100, the power generation capability of the insert 100 can be thus varied in various embodiments by selection of the volume of the insert and areas of its hydrogen loaded surface(s).

[00029] The insert 100 can be made more robust than the present plated deposits. As shown in

FIG. 3, the cylindrical insert 100 can be placed, for example by press-fit, into the tube of the reactor device 50 and maintain good thermal contact with the walls, where heat is most useful. The hydrogen loaded insert 100 thus serve as a removable and replaceable fuel module for the reactor device. The insert can be removed using an extractor tool. The insert can be easily removed from the reactor device 50 and transferred to an analytical lab for testing for example by use of the hook or loop 124. As the insert 100 can be inserted into and removed from the reactor device 50 intact, all of the interior active or spent material is contained and can be recovered for testing or safe disposal. Other holes or engagement features may be formed in or on or may be attached to the insert body for engagement with a tool for manipulation of the catalyst insert in a tubular reactor device.

[00030] Since each insert 100 can be dimensioned and designed to fit snuggly into a tube of any particular reactor device for proper electrical and thermal connection, an extraction tool may aid in insert manipulation. To aid insertion and extraction, in one embodiment, the tubes have two quarter inch holes drilled 180 degrees apart. An extraction tool can be fabricated using a 6 inch inside caliper, as used by machinists, adapted by bending the tongs to a right angle and then grinding to fit the insert tube. This allows the caliper to be expanded to fit the insert holes for easy removal and insertion into the tube. It should be noted that other similar modifications by those skilled in the art can be made to aid in manipulating the insert.

[00031] For structural integrity, the insert body 102 may be fabricated in part from a band rolled into a cylindrical form or from a cylinder machined out of a non-precious metal with good thermal conductivity. This could be, for example, 316L stainless steel because of its hydrogen containment advantages and because it would match the thermal expansion properties of some examples of reactor device tubes into which the insert 100 is to be placed. The insert body 102 can be machined to provide a snug fit into a reactor device tube, perhaps using a thermal coating such as Wat-Lube provided by Watlow to aid in metal extraction and thermal transfer. The insert length is variable and is limited by the length of the tube and by how much catalyst volume or area is required. Reactor power is dependent upon, and may be directly proportional to catalyst volume or area. The length of the insert band might range from one to six inches in some examples.

[00032] The heat-conducting exterior shell 104 may instead or additionally include other metals, for example, copper or nickel. The interior may be metal or metallized, and may include a hydrogen- absorbing metal, alloy, matrix, or compound. The insert body is preferably electrically conductive, and may be formed of copper or include a copper layer. The interior of the insert body may include a gold layer, which may be deposited by electroplating. The interior of the insert body further may have a second layer that includes palladium. The second layer may further include yttrium. The interior surface 106 of the insert body 102 serves as a reactive surface for hydrogen loading using plating or any other metallurgical process.

[00033] For preparation of insert 100, the insert body 102 can be plated in an external bath where the deposit can be easily viewed or analyzed. The insert 100 can also be processed using any known metallurgical technique to provide the desired solid state or crystalline properties, such as by using a metallic spraying apparatus 200 as depicted in FIG. 3. Nano surfaces or layered surfaces can be created. Complete control over the metallurgical aspects of the insert can be obtained. The insert 100 can be placed into a tube reactor for testing and operation. An extraction tool can be used to remove the insert and replace it with a new insert. In this way, various insert configurations can be tested, or a depleted insert could be replaced as necessary

[00034] Various methods are within the scope of these descriptions for preparation of the interior surface 106 of the insert body 102 as a reactive surface where hydrogen loading and heat-producing reactions can occur. A stream of heated atomized particles may be directed for example from a thermal spray head onto a first side of a plate, and the plate then formed into the cylindrical insert body with the first side of the plate defining the hydrogen loaded metal interior. The thermal spray head may include a nozzle through which an oxygen fuel gas mixture flows to heat and melt a metal stock and a compressed gas flow propels the stream of heated atomized particles.

[00035] FIG. 3 is cross-sectional view of a particular metallic spraying apparatus 200, according to at least one embodiment, by which for example reactive surfaces of the catalyst insert of FIGS. 1-2 can be prepared. In using the illustrated metallic spraying apparatus, which uses thermal spraying, plating is accomplished by feeding a pure metal or alloy feed stock 212 by way of rolling or feeding mechanism 210 into a thermal spray head 202. The metal 212 is melted and propelled forward by controllable compressed airflow 216. An oxygen fuel gas mixture 224 flows through the nozzle 214. An air cap 218 cups the forward end of the nozzle 214. A spray stream 220 of molten atomized metal particles is directed onto the plate 226 and a deposit 222 accumulates.

[00036] The speed of the airflow, the thickness of the metal wire 212 and its transport speed control the properties of the deposit 222. Varying the wire thickness and its transport speed can control the thickness and coarseness of the deposit. The formation of vacancies in a metal deposit may produce a higher thermal density, which is desirable. Deposit coarseness lowers the vacancy formation energy so more vacancies can be formed in the deposit. The metallic spraying apparatus 200 and methods of use thereof depicted schematically in FIG. 3 can control deposit coarseness and in turn influence the concentration of vacancies in the deposit.

[00037] The plate 226 and deposit 222 may be formed into, respectively, the hydrogen loaded interior surface 106 and the structural cylindrical shell 104 of the catalyst insert 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2. In other embodiments, the plate 226 can be attached as a layer or foil onto the interior of the structural cylindrical shell 104 so as to serve as the interior surface 106 with the deposit 222 facing into the interior space 120.

[00038] Variations from the wire feed stock arrangement depicted in FIG. 3 can be alternatively used. For example, a metal powder from a reservoir can be fed into the heated area of the thermal spray head. Metal powder can be fed into the heated area of the thermal spray head. Metal powder could then be used as the feedstock and has the advantage of alloying. A mixture of powders can be used to create a deposited alloy. Metal powder is also likely to provide more variations in deposit thickness, as the powder can be obtained in varying mesh sized ranging from coarse to fine.

[00039] The above-described metallic spraying apparatus 200 operates by thermal spraying, which refers to melting metal in the form of powders or wire as illustrated in FIG. 3, and propelling the metal onto a substrate. There are other metallizing methods by which a deposit such as 222 can be made upon a surface such as the plate 226. For example, sputtering can be used. Sputtering is a slower process where metal layers are built up on a substrate in a vacuum. A metal is heated in vacuum and its ions are released into the vacuum where they are directed toward a substrate. Thus, sputtering is an option, in addition to thermal spraying, within the scope of these descriptions for preparing reactive surfaces of the catalyst insert of FIGS. 1-2.

[00040] These descriptions relate also to useful improvements in methods for producing a thermally active insert for placement in a reactor device. As reactor output may be directly and linearly proportional to an applied external magnetic field. In practice, magnets may be placed externally with respect to the hydrogen- absorbing catalyst insert, which provides for a weakened magnetic field at the reactive surface of the catalyst insert.

[00041] A hydrogen- absorbing catalyst can be electroplated directly onto a magnetic surface, for example, of about 3000 Gauss in one embodiment. This provides a magnetic field within the catalyst that is 15 times stronger than using external magnets of about 200 Gauss. Subject to mechanical limitations, this configuration has the potential to produce thermal power at a level several times greater than other configurations. Thus, the interior surface 106 can be magnetic or magnetized.

[00042] In some embodiments, curved cylindrical magnets each having of a north pole and a south pole are utilized. The curved magnets can be electroplated with a hydrogen- absorbing metal or sprayed as depicted in FIG. 3. The magnetic pole piece sections can then be inserted into a cylindrical reactor to serve as the inserts, for example as described above with reference to FIG. 1. In at least one embodiment according to FIGS. 1 and 2, the two magnetic sections 130 and 132 are each shaped as channel or half cylinder, and when combined form portions of the cylindrical insert body 102. A seam line 134 marks their junction along the foreground side of the insert body in FIG. 1. In various embodiments, the two magnetic sections may together form the shell 104 or may be layers thereof, along the exterior, interior, or therebetween. As other embodiments of the insert body 102 are formed by machining or rolling, not all embodiments will have the two magnetic sections and seam line.

[00043] While other polar configuration for the magnetic sections 130 and 132 in FIGS. 1 and 2 are within the scope of these descriptions, in at least one embodiment the ends of the sections 130 and 132 closest the upper end of the shell 104 are magnetic North pole (N) ends, and the lower ends of the sections 130 and 132 are magnetic south pole (S) ends. In this embodiment, a diverging magnetic field emanates from the upper end of the catalyst insert 100 and converges into the lower end as illustrated. A concentrated magnetic field 138 is thus formed within the interior space 120 and may enhance thermal reactor operations. Upper and lower refer here to the illustration of FIG. 2 without limiting the described structures or their use to any particular absolute orientation.

[00044] Various metal tubing can be used for construction of the inserts depending on the requirements for specific utilizations. Electrical conductivity is preferred in many embodiments.

[00045] In one embodiment, ¾ inch nominal type L copper plumbing tube is used. This allows for good electrical conductivity and also a good substrate onto which the active materials can be plated. Six inch length tubes can be machined and sanded down to 0.86 inches to snuggly fit into the approximately 7/8 inch reactor device tubular housing. The tubes can be wire brushed and then cleaned with 3N HC1.

[00046] In one insert embodiment, the inside surface is plated with gold using a gel brush plating. For example, a commercially available gel brush plating from Gold Smith, Inc. can be used. This can be used as a control insert for calibration purposes. In another embodiment, gold plating as above is first used and then plated with a palladium-based material. This is accomplished by using a platinum plated quarter-inch titanium anode and a solution of palladium chloride containing an additional 2% yttrium fluoride. The yttrium is added to enhance the diffusion rate of hydrogen in and out of the palladium.

[00047] In another embodiment, both rubidium and thorium nitrate at 1% is added to lower the required ionization potential needed to strike discharges to the surface.

[00048] The inserts have been found to be active within a reactor tube and yielded approximately

2 to 5 watts of power with sporadic bursts of up to 20 watts. [00049] Particular embodiments and features have been described with reference to the drawings. It is to be understood that these descriptions are not limited to any single embodiment or any particular set of features, and that similar embodiments and features may arise or modifications and additions may be made without departing from the scope of these descriptions and the spirit of the appended claims.