Method for effecting heat or mass transfer

Abstract

A method and apparatus for effecting heat or mass transfer between two fluids through a membrane comprises a conduit for flow of one fluid, said conduit being at least partly defined by said membrane and the configuration of said conduit in a plane orthogonal to the general direction of flow varying periodically along the general direction of flow either inherently or in response to fluid pressure therein in such a manner that when said fluid is pulsated along the line of the general direction of flow a component of motion is induced therein which is mutually orthogonal to the surface of the membrane and general direction of flow. In preferred embodiments the conduit configuration varies periodically along the general direction of flow in order to give rise to separation and reattachment of flow at a multiplicity of zones within the conduit, whereby secondary flow is induced within said zones. The apparatus is particularly applicable to blood oxygenation and dialysis.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.