Fluidised bed treatment

摘要

An apparatus for the treatment of a component using a fluidized bed of powder fluidized by a gas flow has a treatment chamber for receiving at least a treatment part of the component and for containing the fluidized bed. A fluidizing gas inlet provides fluidizing gas to the treatment chamber and a fluidizing gas outlet removes used fluidizing gas from the treatment chamber. A powder screen is located between the treatment chamber and the fluidizing gas outlet, the powder screen operable substantially to prevent loss of powder from the fluidizing bed entrained in the fluidizing gas removed from the treatment chamber. The treatment chamber can be small and moveable, and then applied to a part of a component to be treated. Heating of the fluidized bed may be provided by heating of the fluidizing gas in a fluidizing gas reservoir remote from the treatment chamber.

主权项

1. A process for treating a treatment part of a component, the component having the treatment part and a non-treatment part, the process comprising:
providing a treatment chamber having a bed of powder; flowing a fluidising gas into the treatment chamber from a fluidising gas inlet to fluidise the bed of powder; preventing loss of powder from the fluidised bed of powder entrained in the fluidising gas by providing a powder screen between the treatment chamber and a fluidising gas outlet from which the fluidising gas is removed from the treatment chamber; and moving the treatment chamber with respect to a source of pressurized fluidizing gas; moving the treatment chamber to surround only the treatment part of the component; contacting only the treatment part of the component with the fluidised bed of powder to treat the treatment part of the component; wherein: the fluidising gas inlet is supplied with the fluidising gas via a fluidising gas inlet conduit, and the fluidising gas inlet conduit is connected to the source of pressurised fluidising gas.