Fluid velocity equalizing apparatus

Claim 1

I claim: .[.1. Apparatus for equalizing the velocity of flowing fluid including duct means defining a flowing stream of fluid; at least one open-ended honeycomb equalizing section substantially coaxial with said duct means, intercepting and conducting the fluid therethrough, said honeycomb section having a plurality of parallel passages across substantially the entire duct cross-section wherein the ratio of surface area of each passage to the cross-sectional area of each passage is at least 30..]. .[.2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the end of the honeycomb facing the stream of fluid is curved to flatten the velocity profile of the stream..]. .[.3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising an air straightening honeycomb section preceding the first-mentioned honeycomb section..]. .[.4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the ratio of the surface area of each passage of said straightening honeycomb section to its cross-sectional area is in the order of 6..]. .[.5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the parallel passages are approximately 3 inches in length or greater..]. .[.6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the parallel passages are of hexagonal cross-section having dimensions of 3/8 to 3/16 inch across flats..]. .[.7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lengths of said parallel passages vary over the cross-sectional area of said conduit to equalize the fluid flow velocities across the cross-sectional area of said conduit..]. .[.8. Apparatus for equalizing the velocity of flowing fluid including duct means defining a flowing stream of fluid; at least one open-ended honeycomb equalizing section substantially coaxial with said duct means, intercepting and conducting the fluid therethrough, said honeycomb section having a plurality of passages across substantially the entire duct cross-section, said parallel passages having hexagonal cross-sections, each passage being approximately 3 inches in length or greater and having a dimension of 3/8 to 3/16 inch across flats..]..Iadd. 9. Apparatus for equalizing the velocity of flowing fluid including duct means defining a flowing stream of fluid; at least one open-ended honeycomb equalizing section substantially coaxial with said duct means, intercepting and conducting the fluid therethrough, said honeycomb section having a plurality of parallel passages across substantially the entire duct cross-section wherein the ratio of surface area of each passage to the cross-sectional area of each passage is at least 30 and the end of the honeycomb facing the stream of fluid is curved to flatten the velocity profile of the stream. .Iaddend..Iadd. 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the lengths of said parallel passages vary over the cross-sectional area of said conduit to equalize the fluid flow velocities across the cross-sectional area of said conduit. .Iaddend.