Today, the industry is developed quite strongly and very often there is a need for local heating. For these purposes, tubular electric heaters were invented. The cartridge heater has become a fairly common model of such a device. They are usually made of stainless steel.
Use of heating elements
Tubular cartridge-type electric heaters are also often called finger-type heating elements or heating elements. What is the difference from other types? They, like other models, can be used to heat metal. However, in addition to working with this material, cartridge heating elements can be used to heat water, oil, air, as well as weak acids and alkaline compounds. Cartridge-type devices are widely used in industry and production, for example, in molds. In addition, they have proven themselves well when used in heating-type household appliances.
Design of the device
Cartridge heating element consists of such an element as a tube made of stainless steel with polishedsurface. This ensures the most dense contact of the heating element with the surface. On the one hand, the cartridge heater is hermetically welded, on the other hand, wires stick out from it. Inside the stainless steel tube is a special spiral, which has a very high resistance coefficient.
The design also includes a special electrical insulating material with a high thermal conductivity. It is located between the inner wall of the tube and the spiral. The material isolates them from each other. The cartridge-type heating element spiral itself is wound on the core with a selected pitch. Its value depends on such parameters as the power and voltage of the heater. It is possible to avoid a short circuit between the spirals themselves thanks to the technology for the production of cartridge-type heating elements.
Since moisture should not get inside the device, the side where the wires come out is sealed with a special compound that does not let it through. Thanks to excellent sealing, the heating element is completely protected from environmental influences, which has a positive effect on its service life.
Heater operation principle
An electric current flows through a tubular electric heater. Passing in a spiral, it causes the emergence of thermal energy. It moves from the center of the device to its shell, and then it is transferred to the heated medium or material. As for the service life of such devices, it completely depends on compliance with all the rules for using this device.
It is important to note here that cartridge fixtures are used for a wide variety of heating media. For this reason, even before buying it or starting production, it is important to determine exactly where the equipment will be used. Each environment requires a certain amount of power, which in this case is measured in Wcm2. If the heating element is used in an environment for which it was not intended by the manufacturer, then, most likely, the device will immediately burn out. The most powerful devices have an indicator of 15 Wcm2.
Terms of use of TENP
For each device, the operating conditions are specified. However, there are general indicators that are the same for any models:
- Firstly, the temperature of the working environment should not exceed 300 degrees Celsius.
- Secondly, relative humidity plays an important role. It should not be higher than 65 percent at an average temperature of 20 degrees Celsius.
- Third, it is important that the environment is not explosive. It may contain corrosive gases, however, only within acceptable limits.
General parameters for the production of heating elements are as follows:
- length is from 40mm to 6000mm;
- diameter is from 6.2mm to 32mm.
Tubular electric heaters have heat-resistant wires, the length of which is usually discussed with the customer, and in the standard assembly is 25 cm. Finger-type devices have a cold part, the length of which reaches 30 mm. Another characteristic is the nominalpower that starts at 12V and goes up to 380V.
Cartridge heating elements "POLYMER HEATING"
The difference between the cartridge devices of this company is that they have a round cross section. This allows high-quality heating of the local area. The maximum temperature for the production of heating elements from this manufacturer reaches 500 degrees Celsius. A few more advantages of the device lie in easy, fast and convenient installation. In addition, in the event of a breakdown, it is possible to replace the heater without interrupting the work cycle of increasing the ambient temperature.
Based on the foregoing, it becomes clear why heating elements have gained wide popularity. They are quite small in size and at the same time can create high temperatures. Due to the design features and due to the possibility of creating devices with different power, they can be successfully used both in industry and in everyday life. This has become a major benefit.
