Heat and/or mass exchanger operating by direct contact between a liquid and a gas

Claim 1

Heat and or mass exchanger operating by direct contact between a liquid and a gas comprising a cooling tower including a casing and a filling disposed in said casing through which liquid and gas circulate in direct contact in opposite directions, said filling comprising a plurality of independent and separate tubular elements extending in parallel abutting relation to form a self-supporting cluster in said casing, support means in said casing for said tubular elements including a perforate structure on which said tubular elements directly bear, each element having a cross-section which periodically varies in shape and size along the length thereof in successive wave-lengths, said elements being disposed vertically and extending the entire height of the filling and defining internal and external passages of variable section in shape and size through which both liquid and gas circulate in direct contact, the internal passages being confined within the interior of the tubular elements whereas the external passages are collectively bounded by the external surfaces of the different tubular elements and the inner surface of the casing, said tubular elements being disposed such that the variations in section of the internal and external passages are periodically repeated therealong, the cross-sections of each element for every two consecutive variations in section at half wave-length positions being irregular and turned 90° relative to one another while the cross-section at the intermediate quarter wave-length positions is regular and gradually undergoes change in shape to said irregular cross-sections at the half wave-length positions, the tubular elements having axial generatrices which are of continuously changing curvature and means at the lower end of each tubular element defining a respective separate dripping point for such element.