Abstract: An assembly of a first expansion stretch, a first throttle, a second throe and a second expansion stretch have respective metal casings and elements defining the flow paths therein composed of engineered ceramics. The throttle are adjustable and the assembly can be used effectively to control pressure and flow rate of compressible or incompressible fluids which can have solid particles entrained therein.

Abstract: A valve has a housing having an inlet connection and an outlet connection d formed with a valve seat having spaced inlet and outlet ports connected to the respective connections and a valve element formed with a throughgoing passage having an upstream end and a downstream end. This valve element fits in the seat and is displaceable therein between an open position with its passage aligned between the respective inlet and outlet ports and a closed position with its passage out of alignment between the ports. The passage is formed upstream of its downstream end and downstream of its upstream end as a restriction and is of larger flow cross section at its downstream end than at the restriction so that on fluid flow through the valve from the inlet to the outlet pressure drops in the passage downstream of the restriction.

Abstract: A method of making a joint implant prosthesis which has a shaft adapted to fit into the bone cavity of a tubular bone and having a core region and a shaft region. The geometry of the bone cavity is determined by an irradiation method and based upon the detected geometry, the shaft is dimensioned. First a geometric centroid axis of the bone passage is determined and then the core region built up by computer around this axis with the aid of finite element analysis based upon geometry of the bone cavity. The boundary conditions of an undercut-free shaft and uniform distribution of the normal stresses in the shaft bone transition region are observed. The second boundary condition is also used as a control in the coating of the core with synthetic bone material and in the configuration of the surface region.

Abstract: A valve in which the movable valve member, e.g. a ball or slider, has at st one valve seat braced thereagainst and is composed of an engineering ceramic which differs from the engineering ceramic of the valve seat with the two ceramics being paired to reduce adhesion between them. One of the ceramics can be an oxide ceramic while the other is a nitride or carbide ceramic or one can be a nitride ceramic while the other is a carbide ceramic.