Element basket assembly for heat exchanger

An element basket assembly for use in a rotary regenerative heat exchanger, said element basket assembly of the type adapted to be housed in a cylindrical rotor shell adjacent the outer peripheral wall of the cylindrical rotor shell, said element basket assembly comprising:

• a. a plurality of heat transfer element plates juxtaposed in a stacked array;
• b. a basket frame surrounding said stacked array of heat transfer element plates in supporting relationship therewith, said basket frame comprising first and second end members disposed at opposite ends of stacked array of heat transfer elements in abutting relationship therewith and at least a pair of side members disposed along sides of said stacked array of heat transfer element plates interconnecting the first and second end members, the second end member defining a segment-shaped region within said basket frame adjacent the second end member;
• and
• c. a pair of blanking plates mounted to the second end member, one of said blanking plates disposed so as to extend across said segment-shaped region along the top side of the said basket frame and the other of said blanking plates disposed so as to extend across said segment-shaped region along the bottom side of said basket frame whereby that portion of the stacked array of heat transfer elements disposed within the segment-shaped region of said basket frame are held in place between said blanking plates.