Abstract: Sulphuric acid plants, separators for separating entrainment for process gas, and gas treatment processes for generating sulphuric acid are provided. The sulphuric acid plant comprises a source of process gas, an entrainment eliminator, a gas rotator located downstream of the gas-liquid contactor, and a separator located downstream of the entrainment eliminator and upstream of the gas rotator. The separator comprises a plurality of passages. Each passage comprises a vane extending longitudinally along the passage, wherein each vane rotates a process gas flowing through the separator. The process comprises transferring process gas from an entrainment eliminator to a separator located downstream of the entrainment eliminator, rotating the process gas through the separator to separate entrainment, and transferring the separated process gas from the separator to rotating equipment located downstream of the separator.

Abstract: Gas treatment systems and processes for reducing tail gas emissions such as SO2, SO3, H2SO4, NOx, HC, CO, and other pollutants are provided. The processes include transferring tail gas from at least one source of tail gas to at least one destination sulphuric acid plant via a tail gas transfer system, wherein the tail gas replaces or supplements one or more of the combustion gas, air feed, dilution gas, and quench gas used by the destination sulphuric acid plant. The systems include at least one destination sulphuric acid plant and a tail gas transfer system for transferring tail gas from at least one source of tail gas to the at least one destination sulphuric acid plant. The systems and processes described herein may be used to eliminate start-up emissions and/or convert sulphur-containing species present in tail gas emissions into commercial H2SO4.

Abstract: Sulphuric acid plants, separators for separating entrainment for process gas, and gas treatment processes for generating sulphuric acid are provided. The sulphuric acid plant comprises a source of process gas, an entrainment eliminator, a gas rotator located downstream of the gas-liquid contactor, and a separator located downstream of the entrainment eliminator and upstream of the gas rotator. The separator comprises a plurality of passages. Each passage comprises a vane extending longitudinally along the passage, wherein each vane rotates a process gas flowing through the separator. The process comprises transferring process gas from an entrainment eliminator to a separator located downstream of the entrainment eliminator, rotating the process gas through the separator to separate entrainment, and transferring the separated process gas from the separator to rotating equipment located downstream of the separator.

Abstract: Gas treatment systems and processes for reducing tail gas emissions such as SO2, SO3, H2SO4, NOx, HC, CO, and other pollutants are provided. The processes include transferring tail gas from at least one source of tail gas to at least one destination sulphuric acid plant via a tail gas transfer system, wherein the tail gas replaces or supplements one or more of the combustion gas, air feed, dilution gas, and quench gas used by the destination sulphuric acid plant. The systems include at least one destination sulphuric acid plant and a tail gas transfer system for transferring tail gas from at least one source of tail gas to the at least one destination sulphuric acid plant. The systems and processes described herein may be used to eliminate start-up emissions and/or convert sulphur-containing species present in tail gas emissions into commercial H2SO4.

Abstract: A computer-based method of designing a guide vane formation is provided. The vane formation is for use in a gas turbine engine which has a cascade of circumferentially arranged identical guide vane formations. The vane formation has radially inner and radially outer chordal seals. The method allows the elimination of “saw-tooth” leakage gaps between inner chordal seals of neighbouring vane formations and between outer chordal seals of neighbouring vane formations even when the inner and outer chordal seals are axially offset from each other.

Abstract: A computer-based method of designing a guide vane formation is provided. The vane formation is for use in a gas turbine engine which has a cascade of circumferentially arranged identical guide vane formations. The vane formation has radially inner and radially outer chordal seals. The method allows the elimination of “saw-tooth” leakage gaps between inner chordal seals of neighboring vane formations and between outer chordal seals of neighboring vane formations even when the inner and outer chordal seals are axially offset from each other.

Abstract: A computer-based method of designing a guide vane formation is provided. The vane formation is for use in a gas turbine engine which has a cascade of circumferentially arranged identical guide vane formations. The vane formation has radially inner and radially outer chordal seals. The method allows the elimination of “saw-tooth” leakage gaps between inner chordal seals of neighbouring vane formations and between outer chordal seals of neighbouring vane formations even when the inner and outer chordal seals are axially offset from each other.

Abstract: A tablet case with a cover, the tablet case comprising a housing having three upstanding walls, at least one of the three upstanding walls having a flange, the housing being adapted to receive and retain a tablet. The tablet case further comprises a cover having a substantially rectangular foldable planar member and an elongated member which extends from the cover into an indentation on the inside of the housing. A section of the elongated member is secured to the indentation to form a substantially planar surface arranged to abut the rear wall of a tablet. First and second magnetic means are provided on the housing and cover respectively to allow the cover to be folded into a stand and secured to the housing or to allow the cover to simply shield a tablet screen.

Abstract: The gas blast from a directed rocket motor transfers an impulse vector to a space target object thereby altering the target's orbit. Preceding the gas blast, a lower level of rocket exhaust may be directed to the target object for profile imaging that may include center of gravity determination using a pulse Doppler radar sighted along the exhaust stream. A deflector may be deployed to redirect a portion of the gas blast. In some cases, a special non-shrapnel nosecone warhead may be substituted for or used in conjunction with the rocket motor as a source of a gas blast.

Abstract: A vortex ring is used to produce a flow of fluid through a flexible tube, to remove surface deposits from a surface, and to transfer heat from a platen to a ring vortex. In pumping a fluid through a flexible conduit or tube, a vortex ring is launched along the tube so that the vortex ring encircles the tube. The vortex ring compresses and expands the flexible tube utilizing a high circumferential pressure formed at the bow of the vortex ring and a low pressure at the wake of the vortex ring. In removing deposits from a surface, a vortex ring launched along the surface mechanically abrades the surface and fractures the adhesion bonds of the surface deposits. In transferring heat from a heated surface to a vortex ring, the vortex ring removes the heat from the surface of the heated platen by forced convection.

Abstract: Several methods are presented for extracting useful work from a ring-vortex moving at high angular and axial velocities. The key components are a ring-vortex generator or launcher, a platen that penetrates the ring-vortex centroid along the axis of revolution, and a collector. Typical applications that utilize different parameters of a ring-vortex include a pump, filter, and heat exchanger.

Abstract: A communications protocol interface is arranged at a central station of a telecommunications network and is responsive to a control message received from a network controller in accordance with a first message protocol to transmit the control message in accordance with a second message protocol to subscriber stations and is responsive to a control message received in accordance with the second message protocol to transmit the control message to the network controller in accordance with the first message protocol. The first message protocol is a balanced protocol with the communications protocol converter or the network controller able to initiate an exchange of information. The second message protocol is a master-slave protocol with the communications protocol interface acting as master. The second control message protocol operates over central station bus for communicating with at least one network element in the central station.

Abstract: The present invention provides a system for handling telecommunications signals passed between a first and second element of a telecommunications network, the first element having an interface for transmitting and receiving signals in a first protocol, and the second element having an interface for transmitting and receiving signals in a second protocol. The system of the present invention comprises a first interface unit for receiving a first telecommunications signal transmitted in one of said first and second protocols between said first and second elements, the first interface unit being arranged to separate traffic bearing channels from non-traffic bearing channels within the first telecommunications signal.

Abstract: A wireless telecommunications systems (1) includes a central terminal (10) for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals to and from a subscriber terminal (20). A downlink communication path is established from a transmitter (200) of the central terminal (10) to a receiver (202) of the subscriber terminal (20). A downlink signal (212) is transmitted from the transmitter (200) to the receiver (202) during setup and operation of the wireless telecommunications system (1). The receiver (202) of the subscriber terminal (20) compares a code and phase of a master code sequence that includes an orthogonal code in the downlink signal (212) to a code and phase of a slave code sequence of the receiver (202). The receiver (202) adjusts the phase of the slave code sequence until a match is obtained with the master code sequence.

Abstract: A first aspect of the invention discloses a local server station for controlling a wireless telecommunications system comprising a plurality of remote server stations and client stations, the local server station comprising: an object based control system maintained at the local server station for controlling the wireless telecommunications system wherein the local server station is connected by way of an interface with at least one control station of the wireless telecommunications system, and a reconfigurable dynamic interface for communication with at least one of the remote servers and/or client stations.

Abstract: The present invention provides a central terminal (10), and method of operation of such a central terminal (10), for managing calls between a telephone exchange (500) connectable to the central terminal (10) and a plurality of subscriber terminals (520), the central terminal being arranged to communicate with the subscriber terminals (520) via wireless links (515). According to the invention, the central terminal (10) comprises a call manager (560) for receiving a call from the telephone exchange (500) or from subscriber terminals (520), and for generating a call instance to represent said call, the call instance having a plurality of attribute fields to store attributes defining the call, at least one attribute being provided by the call.