JPH059458B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

The present invention relates to an actinic ray irradiation device, and more particularly to a highly practical device that has excellent irradiation efficiency and is particularly suitable for continuously irradiating a long object to be irradiated. It has been known to irradiate various synthetic resins, silicone rubbers, and other organic compounds with actinic rays to cause desired modification or chemical reactions. The present inventors have conducted a number of prototype studies on devices that can effectively modify substances by irradiating active rays such as ultraviolet rays, infrared rays, electron beams, or radiation. We have developed an energy-saving active ray irradiation device with a simple structure and excellent irradiation effects. That is, the present invention provides an active ray irradiation device comprising a plurality of active ray radiators arranged in a cylindrical container, in which the main irradiation beam at the center of the focused irradiation rays of each radiator does not directly hit the opposing radiator. The present invention provides an actinic ray irradiation device which is attached to the inner wall of a cylindrical container at appropriate intervals. In the apparatus of the present invention, the cylindrical container constituting the irradiation furnace body is usually cylindrical or rectangular. Examples of rectangular tubes include square tubes and regular polygons of pentagons or more. A shaped body is advantageously used.
The material of the furnace is not particularly limited, but a material that is stable against irradiation, has excellent heat resistance, and corrosion resistance, such as stainless steel, is generally used. Also,
The radiator used for the irradiation source is a long and narrow type that is normally provided and used in industry, and the number of radiators used is selected depending on the size of the furnace, the required irradiation dose, the capacity of the radiator used, etc. Ru. In the device of the present invention, such an elongated radiator is configured such that the irradiation beams form a bundle of irradiation rays having a width equal to the length of the radiator, in which the rays emitted radially from the radiator are focused in a certain radial direction. Applicable. Such focusing can be accomplished, for example, by housing the radiator in a cover-like protective or support element with focusing groove-like openings over the entire length of the radiator, or by leaving openings for the focusing lines on the outer surface of the radiator. For example, a method of forming a reflective coating film of metal or the like is conveniently employed. In the apparatus of the present invention, it is important to use a radiator designed to focus the radiation as described above. A plurality of such radiators are attached to the inner wall of the cylindrical container at appropriate intervals so as to uniformly irradiate the irradiated object placed at the center line from the surrounding area. When installing the radiator, the focused line of each radiator illuminates the axis on which the object to be irradiated is placed, but the main irradiation beam at the center of the focused line, which has the highest dose, should not directly hit the radiator itself attached to the opposing wall. It is extremely important to do so. For example, in the case of a device that uses an infrared radiator that uses infrared lamps that generate strong heat, abnormal heating may occur when opposing infrared lamps directly illuminate each other with their main irradiation rays. This is extremely inconvenient because the lamp itself can easily melt or break and lose its function if it is excessively promoted. Mounting the radiator in such a way that the main radiation does not directly strike other radiators is therefore particularly desirable in the case of infrared radiators, and can also be advantageously and advantageously used with other actinic radiators. In this way, in order to install each radiator in the device so that its main irradiation beam does not directly hit the opposing radiator, the radiator should be aligned with the direction of the long object placed along the axis of the cylindrical container. When installing the lamps at right angles in the length direction, they can be installed staggered on opposing inner walls of a cylindrical shape in a staggered manner, or even if they are installed in opposite positions, they can be installed at an angle so that the main irradiation beam is somewhat inclined. However, when a long and thin radiator is installed parallel to the moving direction of the irradiated object, the cylindrical container used as the irradiation furnace is usually such that the cross section of the container along the plane perpendicular to the moving direction is a circle or a regular polygon. A plurality of radiators are installed and fixed at substantially equal intervals on the inner wall. Each radiator is centered so that the main radiation illuminates the axis of the cylindrical vessel,
Although there is no problem when installing an odd number of radiators, when installing an even number, for example, it is necessary to move the installation position slightly so that the opposing radiators do not directly illuminate each other with their main radiation, or Direct radiation can be avoided by attaching the irradiation direction with a slight inclination using a spacer so that the irradiation line does not coincide with the axis of the reactor vessel. In this way, a device in which the radiator is mounted parallel to the moving direction of the object to be irradiated is convenient as a vertical irradiation device. To install the radiator on the inner wall of the cylindrical container,
Since the length, capacity, and number of radiators are limited to some extent, in order to adapt to continuous irradiation while introducing the irradiator at a moderate speed, or to irradiate in the shortest possible time, A plurality of stages (two or more stages) is usually employed, and the moving speed and the number of radiators to be applied are appropriately selected and used according to the desired dose of the irradiated object. Further, in the apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that a transparent quartz tube is arranged coaxially with the cylindrical container. This transparent quartz tube is installed and operated in such a way that a long object to be irradiated moves along its axis and isolates the object from a group of radiators that surround it on the inner wall of the furnace container. be done. Transparent quartz is highly transparent to light over a wide range of wavelengths, including the ultraviolet, visible, and near-to-far infrared regions, so when using transparent quartz tubes as isolation members, the irradiation efficiency is substantially reduced. In addition, it completely prevents the irradiated object from chemically changing and the various gases generated at that time coming into contact with the inner wall of the furnace or the radiator. In irradiation that uses a heating effect,
It works extremely effectively to equalize the temperature inside the quartz tube and to uniformly change the chemical or physical properties of the irradiated object. In order to realize these desired effects, a quartz tube with a diameter of about 1/4 to 3/4 of the inner wall diameter or average diameter of the furnace is usually advantageously used, and its wall thickness is adjusted to a practical level. The thickness is selected, for example, from a range of 1 mm to several mm in consideration of the above strength and weight. When using a transparent quartz tube in this way, the object to be irradiated and the surface of the tube are each charged with electricity, and the object to be irradiated moving inside the tube is easily attracted to and adheres to the inner wall of the tube due to slight vibrations. often caused. In order to avoid such inconveniences, a quartz tube with a larger inner diameter may be used, but using a quartz tube with a larger diameter than necessary is disadvantageous in terms of equipment and handling, and is not suitable for industrial use. undesirable. The inventors of the present invention have studied methods for solving such inconveniences, and have found that disposing a conductive material in a transparent quartz tube is extremely effective. As the conductive material, a metal mesh is preferably used, and a stainless steel mesh is practically advantageous from the viewpoint of heat resistance and corrosion resistance. The use of such a metal net may partially block the irradiating active rays and reduce the irradiation effect, so it is usually not recommended.
Although it is difficult to imagine, it has surprisingly been found that it is possible to effectively prevent the irradiated object from adhering to the inner surface of the tube without substantially reducing the irradiation effect. In addition, when disposing such a metal mesh in a transparent quartz tube, it can be attached to the inner or outer surface of the tube in contact with it over substantially the entire length of the tube, or it can be embedded in the tube wall. These can also be used in combination. It is not preferable for this metal mesh to have a very dense mesh;
Any material having an appropriate rough shape, for example, a mesh size of about 5 mm x 5 mm, can be suitably used. In addition, the thickness of the wire constituting the net is not particularly limited, but is 0.2~
A diameter of about 1 mm is practically advantageous. Furthermore, the metal mesh may be made in advance in a tubular shape that can be bonded to the surface of the quartz tube, but if it is placed on the inner surface of the tube, for example, the length and inner circumference of the tube may be It can be applied by rolling a rectangular plate-like net with the length of the sides and inserting it into the pipe, and making use of its elasticity.For application to the outer surface of the pipe, use any conventionally known appropriate means. The mesh can be attached in contact with the Moreover, instead of disposing a metal net in contact with the surface of such a tube, a net-like plating layer or a printed layer made of a metal or alloy having corrosion resistance and heat resistance may be formed on the surface of the tube. The cylindrical container irradiation furnace body is usually formed into a longitudinal shape in the direction of transport of the irradiated object, so it is provided as a relatively slender and compact device, but this can be made into a split mold cut on a plane parallel to the axis. Inspection and repair of the device, which used to be extremely troublesome, and setting of optimal irradiation conditions can be easily performed without interfering with the functions of the device. It is sufficient to divide this split mold into two parts, and for example, a combination of two semi-cylindrical pieces is advantageous in terms of production. Can be a combination. Further, one of the halves is integrally connected to a base or a support stand, while the other is desirably combined in a hinge-like manner using a hinge or the like. Since the irradiation device of the present invention uses an active ray radiator, it is important to ensure its safety. Usually, an outer wall for preservation is formed on the outside of the cylindrical container irradiation furnace body with an appropriate gap. In the case of using heating such as an infrared radiator, it is preferable to fill the gap around the outer periphery of the furnace vessel with a heat insulating material. Further, in order to prevent active rays from leaking out of the apparatus, lid members each having an inlet and an outlet for ejecting a long object to be irradiated are usually attached to both ends of the apparatus. In particular, it is practical to make the outer wall a split mold that corresponds to the split mold of the cylindrical irradiation furnace main body and is integrated with this.Also, thermometers etc. are installed at appropriate locations inside the furnace. It is preferable to install other desired equipment. In addition, during irradiation operation of the equipment, the necessary number of radiators can be selectively activated according to the dose required for the irradiated object. for,
In order to quickly discharge this gas out of the system, it is preferable to introduce air, inert gas, etc. from the irradiation material inlet side or the takeout side. It is good to have facilities. The irradiation device of the present invention is particularly suitable for utilizing a radiant heat transfer mechanism, and provides excellent thermal efficiency as an irradiation device for an infrared radiator.
It is suitable as an ultraviolet irradiation device. Furthermore, if the cylindrical container irradiation furnace is divided into two and transparent quartz tubes are arranged coaxially, even better irradiation efficiency and easier operation, inspection, and maintenance can be achieved. Since it can be provided as an extremely compact device, it has high practicality as a portable device. Next, the apparatus of the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of an example of the device of the present invention fixed within the outer cylinder wall. Also, the second
The figure is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing an example of the state in which the radiator is held in the support member. In the figure, a cylindrical container 1 constituting the actinic ray irradiation furnace main body is coaxially and integrally fixed within a cylindrical outer wall 2 for maintenance, and the gap is preferably filled with an electrically insulating heat insulating material 3. ing. On the inner wall of the container 1, active radiators such as infrared radiators 5 are held by holders 6, 6, and a plurality of active radiators (six in the figure) are arranged at equal intervals in the same horizontal zone. In the adjacent horizontal zone, for example just below, a plurality of radiators 5' are also carried by holders 6', 6' and attached to the inner wall of the container by suitable means. Upper radiator 5, 5... and lower radiator 5',
5'... may be arranged in the same straight line, but it is practically preferable to arrange them sequentially and alternately as shown in the figure. Thus, the radiator 5 is protected by a support member 7 having holders 6, 6 at both ends for gripping both ends of the radiator, and a spacer 8 is provided on only one side of the bottom surface of the support member 7. The main beam of the radiator is tilted slightly off-axis. The slightly inclined support member 7 has a length that almost matches the length of the radiator, and is formed along its entire length into a cavity housing the radiator in the center and extending from there to the upper surface. It has grooves 9 to focus the irradiation light of the radiator. When the radiator is attached to such a support member 7 and holders 6, 6, a beam of radiation moderately focused directly upward from the groove 9 formed on the center line of the upper surface of the support member 7 extends over the length of the radiator. Formed throughout. The main irradiation line, which is the center line of the ray bundle focused in the axial direction of the radiator, is tilted by the spacer 8, so it does not irradiate the axis, and all the focused irradiation rays of the radiator irradiate the axial part. However, the main rays do not illuminate the axis and do not directly hit the radiators installed at opposite positions. A transparent quartz tube 10 is coaxially arranged inside the container 1, and the object 11 to be irradiated is irradiated and modified at its center line, that is, its axis. Since this quartz tube highly transmits light in a wide wavelength range, there is virtually no irradiation loss due to the quartz tube 10, and undesirable harmful gases that may be generated from the irradiated object due to irradiation are kept inside the tube. However, since it protects the radiator and the main body of the cylindrical container from being contaminated by contact with these gases, its use is highly desirable from the perspective of improving the durability of the device.Although not shown in the diagram, It is more preferable to attach a metal net in contact with substantially the entire surface of the quartz tube 10, especially the inner surface, or to provide a net-like metal plating layer. Furthermore, although an infrared radiator is accompanied by a heating phenomenon, it also has the advantage of providing a uniform irradiation effect because the heating temperature within the tube is made more uniform. Further, the container main body 1 and the outer wall 2 for maintenance are formed into two halves as shown in FIG. 2, and are constructed so that they can be opened and closed in a hinge-like manner by means of a hinge 4. The other joints are tightly closed and fastened with punch locks (not shown). When configuring it into such a split type,
For example, it is convenient for replacing or repairing a radiator, and it is extremely easy to maintain, manage, and operate the device by cleaning, repairing, etc., and is convenient for practical use. The actinic ray irradiation device of the present invention includes a long object to be irradiated,
For example, it is suitable for continuously irradiating active rays to modify synthetic resins, silicone rubber, etc. in the form of strings, tubes, or tapes. Also, plates 12, 12, each having a hole in the center suitable for picking up, are attached to both open ends of the container for the purpose of maintenance and to obtain a more stable irradiation effect. When a cylindrical container is used vertically, the elongated object 11 to be irradiated may be continuously lowered from above, or may be introduced through a hole at the bottom and taken up at the upper side. Also, during the irradiation operation,
Air or an inert gas may be introduced into the quartz tube from above or below. For vertical use,
It is usually advantageous to place and fix the transparent quartz tube on the lower plate 12. Such an apparatus of the present invention is practically desirable because it has extremely high irradiation efficiency, completes irradiation modification in a short time, and can stably obtain a uniform modified product. Since the device of the present invention is provided as a compact and lightweight device and is extremely easy to move and operate, it can be expected to be used in a wide range of fields. EXAMPLE Silicone rubber was vulcanized using the irradiation apparatus of the present invention as shown in FIG. Inside the cylindrical container of the device is an infrared radiator MWGPR18 x 18 vertical type (trade name, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Quartz Co., Ltd.: a directional infrared generator with a nichrome wire as a light source in a quartz tube with a semi-cylindrical part plated with gold, with a diameter of approx. 15mm, length 225mm,
400W/200V) are arranged at equal intervals in the same horizontal zone (numerals 5 and 6 in Figure 1), and they are also arranged alternately on the lower side (5' and 6' in Figure 1). A total of four stages were installed. The total length of the radiator container (1 in Figure 1) is 1200 mm. In this case, the total electric capacity of the radiator is 9.6KW,
Only every other three of the six radiators in each stage can be energized, and the total electrical capacity in this case is 4.8KW. The diameter connecting the installed radiators on the circumference is 130 mm, and the quartz tube (10 in Figure 1) placed inside it has an inner diameter of 100 mm.
belongs to. Also, inside the quartz tube, a diameter of 0.5 mm is added.
A 5 mm x 5 mm square wire mesh woven from stainless steel wire was placed so as to be in contact with the entire inner surface of the tube. On the other hand, for comparison of irradiation equipment, we also prepared a regular silicone rubber vulcanizer (with a sheathed heater with a total capacity of 10KW, diameter 100mm, height 1000mm). In order to evaluate the performance of the above infrared irradiation device and sheathed heater type device, 100 parts by weight of silicone rubber compound KE151U (trade name, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) and vulcanizing agent C-2 for silicone rubber (trade name, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) were used. A homogeneous mixture of 1.5 parts of This vulcanizing agent-containing compound is used in an extruder to
A tubular body of 5.5 mm and a wall thickness of 1.5 mm was continuously extruded, and the silicone rubber was vulcanized using the above irradiation device. The results are shown in Table 1.

[Table] As is clear from the above results, the infrared radiator method using the device of the present invention consumes less power and requires a relatively shorter heat treatment time than the conventional sheathed heater method, and can obtain better results. , which is found to be extremely desirable industrially.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of an example of the device of the present invention housed and fixed within the outer cylinder wall, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing an example of a state in which the radiator is held in a support member. Codes in the diagram: 1...Cylindrical container, 2...Cylindrical outer wall, 4...Hinge, 5...Radiator, 10...
...Transparent quartz tube, 11...Irradiated object.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an active ray irradiation device comprising a plurality of active ray radiators arranged in a cylindrical container, the main irradiation beam at the center of the focused irradiation rays of each radiator directly irradiates the opposing radiator. The above-mentioned device is attached to the inner wall of a cylindrical container at appropriate intervals to prevent 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the actinic radiation radiator is installed such that its length direction is parallel to the axis of the cylindrical container and the focused radiation irradiates the central axis of the container. 3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a transparent quartz tube arranged coaxially within a cylindrical container. 4. The device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cylindrical container is split into two in the axial direction and configured into a split mold that can be opened and closed like a hinge. 5. The device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the active ray radiator is an infrared lamp or an ultraviolet lamp. 6. The device according to claim 3, wherein a conductive material is disposed over substantially the entire transparent quartz tube. 7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the conductive material is a metal mesh. 6. Claim 6, wherein the conductive material is installed in the transparent quartz tube by being attached in contact with the inner or outer surface of the tube, or by being embedded in the tube wall. equipment.