US 4,419,108 AGranted

Filter apparatus and method of filtering

AssigneeCorning Glass Works

InventorsRodney I. Frost, Max R. Montierth

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Abstract

Filtering capacity of a honeycomb filter having a plurality of cells formed by a matrix of thin, porous intersecting walls and used for removing solid particulates mixed in fluids is improved by providing a porous outer wall around the thin walls through which the fluid is also filtered. A particulate barrier is provided between the outer wall and a conduit carrying the contaminated fluid to and filtered fluid from the filter which allows the fluid to flow along and through a substantial portion of the porous outer surface of the filter while preventing contaminated fluid from bypassing the filter. The barrier is preferably formed near an inlet or an outlet end face of the filter and those cells which are located around the periphery of the end faces are preferably open at that same end face and closed at the remaining end face to assure fluid flow across the porous outer wall. A method of filtering solid particulates from a fluid comprises providing the filter, conducting a fluid contaminated with solid particulates into the filter, filtering the particulates from the fluid by means of the thin walls and also through a substantial portion of the outer wall, and conducting filtered fluid away.

Claims13

Dependent claims

An apparatus for filtering solid particulates from a fluid comprising:

a filter of honeycomb structure comprising:
a matrix of interconnected thin porous walls defining an inlet end face and an outlet end face and a multiplicity of cells extending longitudinally between the two end faces, and
a porous outer wall extending between the two end faces and around the matrix of thin walls and having an exterior surface forming an outer longitudinal surface of the filter,
an inlet group of the cells each being open at the inlet end face and closed at the outlet end face,
an outlet group of the cells each being closed at the inlet end face and open at the outlet end face, and
the thin walls and the outer wall each containing interconnected open porosity of volume and size sufficient to enable the fluid to flow completely across the narrow dimensions of the walls and the outer wall and to restrain at least a significant portion of the particulates from flowing completely across the thin walls or the outer wall;
conduit means having an inner surface encircling the outer wall of the filter for transporting fluid containing the particulates to the filter and filtered away from the filter, the inner surface being spaced from the outer wall to form an annual gap therebetween;
sealing means in the gap between the conduit means inner surface and the filter outer wall encircling the filter at a position remote from said outlet end face and forming a particulate barrier for preventing the particulates from bypassing the filter through the gap between the conduit means inner surface and the filter outer wall, the barrier being sufficiently narrow at the filter to allow the fluid to pass outwardly through and along a substantial portion of the exterior surface of the outer wall to the perimeter of outlet end face.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.