DEVICES FOR OHMICALLY HEATING A FLUID

A heater for heating a conductive liquid includes a two-dimensional array of rod-like electrodes (22, 122, 322, 422, 522) extending parallel to one another, an electrical power supply having a plurality of poles, and power switches to connect different ones of the electrodes to different poles so that current flows between the poles through the liquid. The array desirably includes outer electrodes defining the boundary (24, 424) of the array and inner electrodes disposed within this boundary. The array may have regular or irregular spacings between the electrodes. The array can provide numerous different connection schemes to vary the electrical resistance between the poles and thus vary the heating rate. The array can be arranged to provide substantially equal currents through three poles of a three-phase power supply. 一种用于加热导电液体的加热器，包括相互平行延伸的棒状电极(22、122、322、422、522)的二维阵列、具有多个极的电源和用于将不同的电极连接到不同的极的连接的电源开关，使得电流通过液体在极之间流动。阵列期望地包括限定阵列的边界(24、424)的外电极和设置在该边界内的内电极。阵列可以在电极之间具有规则或不规则的间隔。该阵列可以提供多种不同的连接方案来改变极之间的电阻，从而改变