Abstract: An air heating system is for use with a mechanism for flowing air. The system includes a plenum and a solar absorber. The solar absorber defines a first boundary of the plenum. The solar absorber is permeable to air. The mechanism for flowing air is for pulling air into the plenum through the permeable solar absorber. The plenum has an axial direction, wherein along a cross section of said plenum normal to the axial direction the permeable absorber has an average shape that is substantially convex when the permeable absorber is viewed from outside of the plenum.

Abstract: A method for increasing the efficiency of additive drag reduction by establishing a drag-reducing viscoelastic coating on a surface. The method includes mixing a polymer into a concentrated solution that has approximately the same density as a fluid flowing over the surface, ejecting the mixture/solution into the flowing fluid in a manner such that a coating of polymer, which initially grows thicker with time, is adsorbed onto the surface, and reducing the ejection rate of the first fluid such that the coating of polymer then grows thinner with time. These steps may be repeated so that a desired minimum coating thickness is maintained over an extended period of time. The method reduces the polymer expenditure rate for a given drag reduction. Moreover, the produced viscoelastic coating impedes the attachment and growth of drag-producing natural organisms and may be applied without “down-time” (e.g., while underway).

Abstract: An air heating system is for use with a mechanism for flowing air. The system includes a plenum and a solar absorber. The solar absorber defines a first boundary of the plenum. The solar absorber is permeable to air. The mechanism for flowing air is for pulling air into the plenum through the permeable solar absorber. The plenum has an axial direction, wherein along a cross section of said plenum normal to the axial direction the permeable absorber has an average shape that is substantially convex when the permeable absorber is viewed from outside of the plenum.

Abstract: A method for increasing the efficiency of additive drag reduction by establishing a drag-reducing viscoelastic coating on a surface. The method includes mixing a polymer into a concentrated solution that has approximately the same density as a fluid flowing over the surface, ejecting the mixture/solution into the flowing fluid in a manner such that a coating of polymer, which initially grows thicker with time, is adsorbed onto the surface, and reducing the ejection rate of the first fluid such that the coating of polymer then grows thinner with time. These steps may be repeated so that a desired minimum coating thickness is maintained over an extended period of time. The method reduces the polymer expenditure rate for a given drag reduction. Moreover, the produced viscoelastic coating impedes the attachment and growth of drag-producing natural organisms and may be applied without “down-time” (e.g., while underway).

Abstract: In an apparatus and method for ejecting an additive for significantly reducing the drag of a first fluid moving relative to a wall, a drag-reducing substance is conditioned by causing a second fluid, which includes the drag-reducing substance as a dispersed solid, liquid or gas, to flow through a nozzle. The second fluid is then passed by a vortex chamber prior to ejection of the second fluid into the first fluid via an aperture that includes a Coanda surface on a portion thereof. Additional techniques are also disclosed which increase the effectiveness and efficiency of ejecting a drag-reducing substance into a fluid that is moving relative to a wall, and which thus enable multiple layers to be established without the undesirable disruption of the boundary layer and without the rapid diffusion of the additives across the boundary layer that occur in prior art ejection techniques.

Abstract: A male urinary catheter and method of making same. The catheter employs a condom like sheath of silicone rubber which sealingly engages the penis of the patient. A catheter stem at the distal end of the sheath couples to a urine collection system. The sheath is sealed to the penis by an adhesive which is applied to the outer surface of the sheath at the time of manufacture. A surface preparation layer is applied over the adhesive. The sheath is rolled up from the proximal end. The sheath is unrolled to apply it to the patient. During the unrolling process, the adhesive layer is removed from the outer surface and deposited on the inner surface of the sheath.

Abstract: The invention is directed to overprinting a poly(vinyl chloride) resin substrate whose surface, or portion thereof, is colored by solvent soluble dye or by way of a mass solvent soluble dye, with a coloring agent made up of a liquid halogenated hydrocarbon solvent having 1-4 carbon atoms, pigment dispersed in said halohydrocarbon solvent, and a film former, dissolved in said halohydrocarbon solvent, consisting essentially of (a) acrylic resin or (b) a combination of acrylic resin and chlorinated polyolefin, at least 50% by weight of acrylic resin; and heat treating said overprinted substrate to adhere said film former and associated pigment.

Abstract: This invention is directed to inks (coloring solutions) for polyvinyl resin surfaces, particularly PVC wire insulation color coding, where the ink consists essentially of a Color Index Solvent dye dissolved in a liquid halogenated hydrocarbon solvent having 1-2 carbon atoms. A preferred solvent is dichloromethane.