umspülen

09:53 Aug 22, 2018 

say "blanketing" is not appropriate here. Maybe the next Stickstoff question.

I would also reserve "purging" for emptying a vessel. I usually purge with vacuum and fill the vessel with nitrogen to create an inert atmosphere.

No need to add "displacing," because it's part of the flushing process.

09:12 Aug 22, 2018 

Danke für den Link zu Linde, der meinen Vorschlag unterstützt. Ich habe mir deshalb erlaubt, ihn zu kopieren und die englische Version anzuhängen.
//
Wie herbalchemist betont, ist es unötig "displacing" hinzuzufügen, weil selbstverständlich (wusste ich natürlich).
In meiner Antwortzeile hatte ich es für den Frager als Erläuterung hinzugefügt, in den Übersetzungsvorschlägen zum ganzen Satz aber darauf verzichtet.

08:38 Aug 22, 2018 

OK, Björn. Took a while, but I've got there. ;) Just found this link:

http://gas.lindeus.com/blog/a-purge-is-a-sparge-is-a-blanket...

19:34 Aug 21, 2018 

No, you're misinterpreting the paragraph and that would be a serious error. You should have posted more than one sentence. Here's the full quote:
"Filling a container or tank with nitrogen excludes oxygen, which prevents oxidation and combustion. Many foodstuffs are now packed in a nitrogen-rich atmosphere, extending shelf life. Another example of a nitrogen blanketing application is the displacement of oxygen otherwise present above the surface of flammable liquid tank-stored liquids."

See parts in bold. It's quite literally a blanket; Spülen, however, is not:
http://www.linde-gas.de/de/processes/inerting_purging_and_bl...

What you're referring to is this here:
http://www.linde-gas.at/de/anwendungen/inertisieren/abdecken...

That is an entirely different process.

Best

13:40 Aug 21, 2018 

with means for introducing nitrogen or some other inert gas into the device, in order for the objects to be flushed with nitrogen.
die Mittel zur Einleitung von Stickstoff oder einem anderen Inertgas in die Vorrichtung versehen ist, um die Objekte mit Stickstoff zu umspülen. https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2014107818A2/de

11:50 Aug 21, 2018 

I don't know what prompted the suggestion of "blanketing" ; here's an example that I think is in line with what John has said:
"Nach Beendigung des Versuch (Versuchsdauer: 5-6 Stunden) wird der Reaktor aus dem Ölbad entnommen und die Gaszufuhr von Sauerstoff auf Stickstoff des gleichen Volumenstroms umgestellt und es werden weitere drei Proben genommen."
https://elib.uni-stuttgart.de/bitstream/11682/1455/1/Gessner...

Similarly:
"In a notable accident in 1981, shortly before the launch of the first Space Shuttle mission, five technicians lost consciousness and two of them died after they entered the Orbiter aft compartment. Nitrogen had been used to flush oxygen from the compartment as a precaution against fire. They were not wearing air packs because of a last minute change in safety procedures."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inert_gas_asphyxiation

Also note that it says "auf...umspülen," not just "umspülen."

Best

11:50 Aug 21, 2018 

Thank you for the explanation John, as I said I'm not an expert and in any event the term here is 'umspülen' like bathing something or flushing the O2 out and replacing it with N2. That sounds convincing.

11:45 Aug 21, 2018 

I'm afraid that I have to disagree with Wendy's suggestion of blanketing, partly because blanketing (from the posted definitions) refers to adding a layer of nitrogen to protect the contents of the vessel (e.g. gasoline) against contact with air or oxygen. In this case, it is not trying to isolate anything, but just to remove the oxygen that's there.

If you look at the next step, which is to pressurise the tank to its maximum operating pressure, I think the reason for removing the oxygen becomes clear; high pressure oxygen is a fire / explosion hazard, and can cause metals to ignite. Therefore if you are pressurising the chamber, it's much safer to remove the O2 and work with an inert gas such as N2 instead, which can be pressurised a lot more safely.

Therefore, what I think we need here is a word which describes displacing the O2 contained in the vessel with inert N2. This is why I think flushing is a more appropriate term than blanketing.

11:30 Aug 21, 2018 

Thanks for adding some explanation. I understand that the same terms are used differently in various fields, and I'm sure flush does have a specific meaning in a medical context.

You mention that you don't have much experience in engineering, so maybe it would give you a little more confidence in my answer if I mention that I used to work for several years actually designing and building gas handling systems and vacuum chambers, so I am confident that flushing is the term I would use for this procedure.

On the other hand, if you think about the target audience, I'm not sure it would matter whether or not a medical professional was confused by this usage here, as the text isn't really intended for them. It's meant for people who work in with pressure vessels, who would understand what we're talking about in context.

Cheers,
John

10:12 Aug 21, 2018 

My humble opinion to follow my note: I have come across 'spuelen/flush' mainly in medical files. The idea of flushing in medical context is to give the patient plenty of liquids to rinse the kidneys. However, if you translate just 'flush and...' could be misleading for medical professionals. I came to the conclusion that flush have to be translated within the specific context sometimes.