A new fireproof control valve could help prevent dangerous leaks caused by
fires in industrial plants. Most control valves are designed with a fail-safe
mechanism, in which a spring can force a valve actuator shut in the event of a
system failure. But in a fire, the spring can crystallise and the fail-safe
mechanism pack up. So Samson AG of Frankfurt has developed a heat sensitive
cartridge that fits in the spring and consists of two cylinders of slightly
different diameters, placed so one can slide inside the other. The gap between
them is filled with a material that swells on heating, pushing the outer
cylinder against the actuator and triggering the fail-safe mechanism.
More from 51¶¯Âþ
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Health
The mysterious reason why women get hotter from age 18 to 42
51¶¯Âþ
Comment
This is the most underrated sci-fi film franchise of the 21st century
Culture
Comment
Shiver me timbers: Do we have to worry about space pirates now?
Regulars
Life
PMOS shows us why many scientific terms need to be renamed
Leader
Popular articles
Trending 51¶¯Âþ articles
1
The Selfish Gene at 50: Why Dawkins’s evolution classic still holds up
2
Mystery of the ancient giant stone jars of Laos may have been solved
3
The ‘doomsday’ glacier’s giant ice shelf is about to break away
4
The distant world that is our best hope of finding alien life
5
We may finally know why dinosaurs like T. rex evolved tiny arms
6
First test of CO2 removal with green sand finds no harm to marine life
7
After news about Oliver Sacks's "lies", we revisit his best-loved book
8
We could generate hydrogen from rocks while storing CO2 in them
9
Solar farm on the ocean outperforms land-based solar in Taiwan
10
The mysterious reason why women get hotter from age 18 to 42
