Custom Circulation Heaters To Heat Fuel In Large EnginesAs part of a new design ship development project to heat fuel in large engines, Durex was asked to provide a newly designed in-line circulation heater that was light weight, very compact and could operate on AC or DC power. It also needed an integrated explosion proof control system.The only way to meet the challenging design criteria was to use all aluminum tubular heater elements, circulation vessel, custom machined fittings and control box to house the control electronics. We developed a unique nested coil design to optimize heater surface area as well as allow for independently controlled AC and DC circuits. Multiple temperature sensor points were incorporated to ensure redundancy of primary and limit controls as well as test circuits that could be remotely tested from the ship bridge. Durex's design solution passed all destructive and nondestructive tests and complied with all MIL spec, weight and footprint requirements. The heater has performed flawlessly during tests, sea trials and now into ship production.
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