Abstract For fluid interchange treatment, such as for heat exchanging or chemical interaction between a descending liquid and a rising gas, a flexible structure is provided which consists of stacked horizontal partition walls formed from pairs of sheets of non-woven fabric material, such as felt, heat-joined by plastic coatings on their inner surfaces and disposed in vertically-spaced parallel arrangement and sealed at their sides by accordion-folded sheets of flexible material. The paired sheets forming the spaced parallel partition walls of the structure contain ports which are arranged offset relatively to one another in successive sheets so that any fluid passing from top to bottom or vice-versa of the thus-formed cellular structure will pursue a zigzag path. The paired fabric sheets thus joined by their plastic-coated inner surfaces to form the laminated walls are provided with openings which also cut away the plastic coatings on predetermined portions of the felt sheets to form cells with which the ports communicate, these openings being so arranged that when the pairs of sheets are stacked and heat-sealed between the plastic-to-plastic surfaces which extend around and isolate the openings in the same partition walls from one another, a multi-columned structure of parallel cellular formation results, with the treated and treating fluids pursuing independent zigzag paths between top and the bottom of each cellular column. Thus, for example, the cold air entering at the bottom of each column of the structure is brought into contact with hot water entering at the top of each column and flowing downward in a cascade manner so that the hot water is cooled by the rising air streams. This heat transfer is greatly enhanced by the flow of the hot water horizontally across the fibrous surfaces of the felt on the exposed outer sides of the partition walls. The structure is preferably suspended from an external framework, the suspension causing the laminated partition walls to separate into parallel columns of staggered cells separated from one another along the areas where they are heat-sealed to one another at their abutting plastic-to-plastic coatings.
A method of making a flexible columnar cellular fluid treatment apparatus, comprising forming from flexible sheet material coated on one side thereof with an adhesive layer a multiplicity of pairs of partition sheets with ports therethrough disposed at predetermined locations therein, arranging and securing said partition sheets of each pair to one another in predetermined orientations and dispositions relatively to one another to position the ports thereof at predetermined locations therein to form multiple partition walls, assembling a multiplicity of said partition walls in a stack thereof in parallel relationship, encircling the stack of said partition walls with accordion-folded adhesive-coated side walls, and pressing said adhesive-coated side walls against the edge portions of said partition walls into uniting sealing engagement therewith.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
121 words
A method of making a flexible columnar cellular fluid treatment apparatus, comprising forming from flexible sheet material coated on one side thereof with an adhesive layer a multiplicity of pairs of partition sheets with ports therethrough disposed at predetermined locations therein, arranging and securing said partition sheets of each pair to one another in predetermined orientations and dispositions relatively to one another to position the ports thereof at predetermined locations therein to form multiple partition walls, assembling a multiplicity of said partition walls in a stack thereof in parallel relationship, encircling the stack of said partition walls with accordion-folded adhesive-coated side walls, and pressing said adhesive-coated side walls against the edge portions of said partition walls into uniting sealing engagement therewith.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
63 words
A method according to claim 1, including the intermediate step of forming openings in portions of said partition sheets passing through corresponding portions of said adhesive layer prior to assembling and uniting said last-mentioned pairs of partition sheets into their respective partition walls and thereafter securing said last-mentioned partition sheets to one another exclusive of the portions thereof defined by said adhesive-removing openings.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
33 words
A method, according to claim 1, wherein said partition sheets are composed of fibrous sheet material with the fibers thereof exposed on the opposite sides of said sheets from their respective adhesive layers.