Abstract: An adhesion pad assembly for tracked vehicles includes a resilient adhesion pad having a ground engageable face, the pad being laterally confined by an encasement having side walls of a material having greater tear strength and less abrasion resistance than the material of the pad. The encasement provides protection to the pad from tearing by stones as well as reducing deformation heating.

Abstract: A process for removing radioactive species such as technetium from surfaces of components such as those formed from aluminum, and a process of treating the resulting effluents. For example, technetium trapped under an oxide layer present on an aluminum component is removed by removing the oxide layer with sulphuric acid, and treating the exposed technetium with a complexing agent such as citrate in the presence of an oxidizing agent. An oxide scavenger may be added to prevent reformation of the oxide layer. Actinides can be removed from the effluent by use of a chelating ion exchange material, and technetium by oxidation and use of a basic ion exchange material.

Abstract: Pistons for internal combusion engines are described. The pistons comprise a crown component and a skirt component wherein the crown component consists of an iron or nickel based alloy annular portion having fitted directly therein a ceramic insert, the crown component being joined to the skirt component by an annular composite laminated member of steel and aluminium alloy the steel of the laminated member being energy beam welded to the annular portion of the crown component and the aluminum alloy of the laminated member being energy beam welded to the skirt component there being after welding a sealed, hollow, annular chamber disposed at the junction between the crown component and the skirt component. Embodiments are described having ceramic inserts of silicon nitride and including combustion bowls.

Abstract: A proportion of the liquid metal flow passing through a fast reactor steam generator unit (SGU) is diverted past the outlet to a quiescent zone in the region of immersed tube-to-tubeplate welds at the water entry ends of the tubes, into which zone are given off any hydrogen bubbles which may result from a water leak into the liquid metal. The liquid metal in this zone is caused to flow through a weir system above which there is a gas space for collection of hydrogen, suitable means being provided for detection of hydrogen in this space. The hydrogen is entrained at the water inlet tube plate, the invention making use of the slow solution rate of hydrogen in sodium at lower temperatures prevailing in the quiescent zone at the water inlet end.

Abstract: A gripping device which simulates the action of a human finger comprises three pivotted sections 3, 5, 7 having the middle section 5 linked to the tip section 7 by a bar 9 so that its rotation causes rotation of the tip section. Rotation of the lower section 3 is preferentially effected by a motor 11 via a sliding cross-head 15, an equalizer bar 18 and a rod 19. If this rotation is stopped by an object 25 to be gripped, the drive transfers via rod 20, crank 21 and rod 23 to the middle section 5, causing the middle and tip sections to rotate and grip the object against the lower portion as shown at 26. A robotic hand comprising four such fingers and a thumb is usable as a substitute for a human hand in a glove-box glove.

Abstract: A baffle (12) is provided for the gaps between a pair of surfaces (10, 14). The baffle has a lantern configuration and comprises a number of spring steel foils (15) arranged in side-by-side relation with overlap between adjacent foils. Each foil (15) is of shallow V-configuration. The ends of the V are attached by stud and slot connections (22, 24, 26, 28) to one of the surfaces separated by the gap at axially spaced locations and the midpoint of the V bears against the opposing surface. The stud and slot connections afford limited axial movement of the ends of the V to compensate for irregularities in the gap width.

Abstract: A pipe connector comprising a moulded thermoplastics sleeve and a captive annular sealing ring.So that a root portion of the sealing ring is firmly bonded to the thermoplastics material of the sleeve, the materials are mutually compatible and the injection of the thermoplastics material during moulding has cleansed and/or scoured the root portion of the sealing ring.

Abstract: Pistons are described having oval polar profiles or both oval polar profiles and axial profiles machined to asymmetric curvatures about the plane which includes both the piston axis and the minor axis over at least a part of the skirt length, the asymmetry of the polar profile comprising a greater convexity about the major axis on the thrust face over at least part of the axial length of the skirt region.

Abstract: A liquid-liquid extraction column for use for example, in the solvent extraction of uranium and/or plutonium from an aqueous phase, comprises a perforated plate packing in which each plate (10) has flanges (18) associated with its perforations, which flanges (18) project upstream with respect to the disperse phase flow direction (arrows 14) so as to define a collecting zone (20) for disperse phase droplets (16) which thereby form a film or layer of the disperse phase component on the upstream face of each plate (10). In this way, droplet formation at the perforations of each plate (10) is not significantly influenced by variations of the wetting characteristics of the plate with time.

Abstract: Positioning of the individual portions is no longer effected on the laminating station but on a positioning station which is arranged upstream of the laminating station. In the positioning station the individual portions of a layer are deposited and positioned by being pushed against each other. The finally positioned individual layer is then delivered as a closed unit to the laminating station and laminated to form a transformer core. The individual portions are stacked on a stacking station in such a way that they are already arranged in the correct relative position with respect to each other.

Abstract: A heat transfer system has a rotary machine 22 with compressor and expander regions and gas is first compressed in machine 22, passes through heat exchanger 23, is heated in combustor 24, then expands in machine 22, then passes through heat exchanger 23 to heat the gas, then passes through heat exchanger 107 to heat fluid in line 108. The machine 22 drives a heat pump 110 to heat fluid in line 111. Arrangements having two rotary machines are also described. A rotary machine has a rotor eccentrically mounted in a casing having axial end parts and a circumferential part and with vanes defining compartments with the casing and providing a compression region and an expansion region, valve means in the circumferential part adjacent the upstream edge of the outlet from one or both of the regions and responsive to pressure in the adjacent compartment to reduce or avoid excess pressure in the compression region or suction in the expansion region.

Abstract: A liquid treatment apparatus suitable for dewatering a radioactive sludge includes a cylindrical housing (14) open at one end and defining two ports (24, 26) for the sludge, one near the open end and the other at the closed end. A plug (30) locates in the open end of the housing and supports a module (44) comprising a sealed permeate-collecting chamber (46) through which extend a number of permeable-walled tubes (54), open at each end. The plug defines a header chamber (40) for the tubes (54) which communicates with the one sludge port (24); and defines an outlet duct (62, 38) for the permeate liquid. The apparatus can be installed remotely within a shielded enclosure (12), and the plug and module can be withdrawn without risking contamination of the permeate liquid.

Abstract: Connecting elements (4) can be inserted into the ends of the individual bar-shaped elements (2), the connecting elements having a projection (13) which engages into an opening (8) at the end of the tube. In that way each individual connecting element (4) can be released even in a framework construction which has already been assembled. The bar-shaped elements (2) are exchangeable and the framework can be broken down into all individual parts.

Abstract: A method for the etching of chromium-coated piston rings comprises the steps of producing relative movement and rubbing contact between the chromium-coated surface of a piston ring which is anodic and a cathode having a porous material on the rubbing surface thereof, supplying an electrolyte to the porous material between the anodic ring surface and the cathode, establishing an electrical potential therebetween and supplying an electrical current for a period of time during the relative movement.

Abstract: A gold sorting plant in which the gold content of lumps of ore is measured by means of a neutron activation analytical technique. Separate lumps of gold ore are graded in two sizes which are presented to an irradiator such as to irradiate them uniformly. The energized lumps of ore are conveyed to an analyzer/sorter station where the intensity of .gamma.-rays having an energy of 297 KeV from each lump of ore is measured, and it is accepted or rejected for further processing. Various forms of irradiator and analyzer/sorter are described.

Abstract: Range finding equipment is employed in a nuclear reactor to monitor the spacing between structural components (22, 24) of the reactor which are under stress. A manipulator (32) carries a pair of send-receive ultrasonic transducers (30) arranged back to back so as to direct ultrasound signals towards reflectors (26, 28) associated with the structural components to be monitored. The transducers are pulsed with signals derived by gating a few cycles of a sustained reference signal of sine wave form and the resulting echo signals can be used to provide transit time and phase displacement information from which the spacing between the relectors (26, 28) can be derived with a high degree of precision.

Abstract: A microwave probe for determining properties of a fluid medium, and particularly for separating measuring dielectric constant and dielectric loss, comprises an insulating substrate metallized on one face, an electrically isolated, ring-shaped, resonant element defined on the opposite face, and shielded means to couple microwaves into and from the element such that the element can undergo a resonance. The resonant frequency depends on the dielectric constant of an adjacent medium, while the Q-factor of the resonance depends on the dielectric loss of the medium. In one method of operation microwaves are coupled into the element to force an oscillation, and the driving frquency is varied to obtain a resonance.

Abstract: The electrical response of a transducer contains a data-providing signal or signals superimposed on an unwanted time-variable background signal which is independent of the data-providing signal or signals. A system processing the transducer response utilizes an electronically stored digital simulation of the background components whereby combination of the transducer output with the digital simulation, after digital to analogue conversion of the latter, substantially frees the transducer output of the background component to facilitate detection of the data-providing signals.

Abstract: A wide track vehicle with improved skid steering by having a chassis (1) supported upon two independently drivable tracks (2) by side support wheels (3) engaged with each track adjacent the outer edges only. Downwardly projecting rubbing strips (11, 12, 13) are attached to the underside of the chassis (1) to engage slideably with each track only when the track is upwardly deflected by uneven terrain. The tracks (2) each rotate upon a plurality of full width direction-changing rollers attached to the chassis and each having a rolling surface which is provided with mud-cutting, helical ridges (18).

Abstract: A method of assessing the depth to which a crack extends below the surface of an object, or the thickness of a ligament (12) covering a crack (14), in which a thermal imager )26) is used to obtain a surface temperature profile along a line extending across the crack or ligament as heat is flowing across the surface and through the ligament. There is a steep drop in temperature across the crack or ligament, and the size of this drop at a predetermined time after the start of the heat flow may be simply related to the crack depth or ligament thickness.