Method of improving the effectiveness of an oxygen removal unit for a fuel supply system and the resulting oxygen removal unit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11801479-B2
Application number	US-202117169742-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 8, 2021
Priority date	Feb 8, 2021
Publication date	Oct 31, 2023
Grant date	Oct 31, 2023

Abstract

Disclosed is a method of improving the effectiveness of an oxygen removal unit for a fuel supply system. The method includes contacting a tube bundle with a repair liquid at 20 to 40° C. for less than two hours. The tube bundle includes tubes having an air permeable, non-porous polymer layer with discontinuities. The repair liquid includes a solvent and a curable thermoset material. The curable thermoset material is deposited in the discontinuities of the air permeable, non-porous polymer layer and cured. Also disclosed is a fuel system oxygen removal unit including a tubular bundle formed of tubes having an air permeable, non-porous polymer layer disposed on a microporous support wherein the air permeable, non-porous polymer layer includes discrete segments of a cured thermoset material.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of improving the effectiveness of an oxygen removal unit for a fuel supply system and having an inlet, the method comprising:
placing a tube bundle in the oxygen removal unit, the tube bundle including a microporous support structure covered by an air permeable, non-porous layer;
introducing a repair liquid into the oxygen removal unit though the inlet;
drawing the repair liquid through the oxygen removal unit and the tube bundle such that it passes through the microporous support structure and the air permeable, non-porous layer, wherein the repair liquid is drawn through the bundle under pressure and at 20 to 40° C. for less than two hours, wherein the repair liquid comprises a solvent and a curable thermoset material;
wherein drawing results in deposition of the repair liquid in the pinhole defects of the air permeable, non-porous layer;
draining the tube bundle of excess repair liquid;
evaporating the solvent; and
curing the curable thermoset material located in the pinhole defects of the air permeable, non-porous layer;
wherein the solvent comprises a hydrocarbon having 5 to 7 carbons or a mixture of hydrocarbons having 5 to 7 carbons.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the curable thermoset material is a curable silicone mixture.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the curable silicone mixture comprises a vinyl polydimethylsiloxane, a siloxane crosslinker and a platinum catalyst compound.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the repair liquid comprises 1 to 20 wt % of the vinyl polydimethylsiloxane based on the total weight of the repair liquid.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the air permeable, non-porous layer is a fluoropolymer layer.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the fluoropolymer layer has a thickness of 0.1 to 2 micrometers.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tube bundle is contacted with the repair liquid for less than one hour.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein curing comprises holding the curable thermoset material at 40 to 90° C.

Assignees

• Hamilton Sundstrand Corp

Inventors

• Cordatos Haralambos
• Lokhandwalla Murtuza

Classifications

• B01D65/108 Primary

  Repairing membranes · CPC title

• B01D19/0031

  by filtration · CPC title

• F02C7/22

  Fuel supply systems · CPC title

• F23R3/40

  characterised by the use of catalytic means · CPC title

• B01D63/02

  Hollow fibre modules · CPC title