Method and apparatus for distributing particle suspensions

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING A STOCK SLURRY TO THE FORMING SURFACE OF A PAPERMAKING MACHINE IN A CONDITION EXHIBITING SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM FIBER DISTRIBUTION IN THE SLURRY COMPRISING: A FIRST TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING BANK OF A MULTIPLICITY OF SPACED ABUTMENTS LOCATED IN THE FLOW PATH OF THE SLURRY FOR GENERATING A UNIFORM PATTERN OF SMALL SCALE TURBULENCE OF A FIRST ORDER MAGNITUDE IN THE SLURRY, THE ABUTMENTS IN THE FIRST BANK BEING RELATIVELY SMALL SIZED AND SUBSTANTIAL IN NUMBER TO OCCUPY FROM ABOUT 10% TO ABOUT 90% OF THE CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA OF THE SLURRY FLOW PATH, AT LEAST A SECOND TRANSVERSELY ESTENDING BANK OF ABUTMENTS LOCATED A DISTANCE APPROXIMATELY EQUAL TO FROM 2 TO ABOUT 5 TIMES THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE CENTER-TO-CENTER POINTS OF A PAIR OF ADJACENT ABUTMENTS IN THE FIRST BANK WHEREBY THE SECOND BANK OF ABUTMENTS ARE LOCATED IN THE TURBULENT WAKE OF THE FIRST BANK OF ABUTMENTS, THE ABUTMENTS OF SAID SECOND BANK BEING SUBSTAN-