A self-locking mist eliminator is disclosed for connecting a plurality of longitudinally extending eliminator blades having front and back surfaces to a pair of end plates wherein the end plates have a pair of spaced-apart flanges projecting from one side thereof and each provided with a series of notched openings for receiving a portion of the blades. Each blade has a pair of spaced-apart openings in the blade surfaces at each end thereof. The notched openings in the end plates are enlarged in at least one direction lengthwise of the flange to provide a pin member for engagement in one of the spaced-apart openings in a blade surface and with the entrance corners into each of the notched openings chamfered whereby the blades can be pressed toward an adjacent end plate to have the end of the blade enter one of the notched openings until the pin member adjacent thereto engages the blade opening.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates in general to a self-locking mist eliminator 
such as is useful in cooling towers. 
Mist eliminators or drift eliminators are a highly efficient means for 
collecting droplet mists in a gas stream. One such eliminator blade 
assembly is described in my copending application Ser. No. 962,982, filed 
Nov. 22, 1978. Besides a specific blade configuration illustrated therein, 
that application describes a simple mechanical interlocking means for 
connecting the blades and side plates which allows mist eliminators to be 
assembled into panels with dimensional accuracy and consistency during and 
after assembly. The construction described and illustrated in that 
application includes the provision of a pair of longitudinally extending 
notches into each end of each blade which mate with corresponding notches 
in a pair of flanged supporting side panels and with a notched out portion 
in an airfoil section at each end of the blade for engaging a projecting 
rib on one of the side panel flanges. While this configuration provides a 
reasonably good interconnection between the blades and the end panels, the 
assembly does require a fair degree of time in properly orienting and 
interconnecting the blades and end plates and provides against 
longitudinal separation of the blade from the end plate only at the outlet 
portion of blade. 
Other blade and end plate connection structures are illustrated in the 
prior art. Typically blades or vanes are supported in notches positioned 
in support members which may also cooperate with a notch in the blade or 
vane such as, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,583,171 to N. P. Green, et 
al., 2,892,509 to D. R. Baker, et al. and 2,911,011 to W. M. Neihart. U.S. 
Pat. No. 3,748,832 to D. B. Furlong, et al. discloses the use of pins 
which extend through openings in the end plates to grasp the ends of the 
blades thereby to connect the blades to the end members. U.S Pat. No. 
3,276,193 to Lamb discloses a subassembly connection composed of two 
channel members for clamping an array of blades via a fringe member 
extending along each longitudinal edge of each blade. U.S. Pat. No. 
4,014,669 to S. E. Thompson, et al. discloses an assembly wherein 
deformable resilient drift eliminator blades are provided with notches on 
one side thereof adjacent the inlet and outlet edges and which engage 
portions of end plates that are provided with slots which have an 
appearance similar but distorted from the cross-sectional appearance of 
the end of the blade so that the blade can be distorted for insertion into 
the slot of the end plate and moved until the slots in the blades engage 
the end plate and fix the blade against longitudinal movement. This 
construction takes a fair amount of manipulation of the blades in 
establishing an assembly. Where a particular cooling tower configuration 
can include thousands and thousands of blades, considerable time and 
expense can be involved in the assembly of the blades and end plates. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Broadly stated the present invention is directed to a self-locking mist 
eliminator of a plurality of longitudinally extending eliminator blades 
each having a front and a back surface and at least a pair of spaced apart 
openings in the blade surfaces at each end thereof for connection to a 
pair of end plates each having a pair of spaced-apart flanges projecting 
from one side thereof and each flange having a series of notched openings 
enlarged in at least one direction lengthwise of the flange to provide a 
pin member for engagement in one of the spaced apart openings in the blade 
surfaces. 
A feature and advantage of the present invention is the easy assembly of 
the blades and end members into a mechanically interlocked unit. 
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention the blades are 
substantially hollow and the entrance corners into each of the notched 
openings of the end plate flanges is chamfered whereby the ends of each of 
the blades can be pressed toward an adjacent end plate and the hollow 
blade will deflect as the end enters one of the notched openings until the 
pin member adjacent thereto engages the blade opening. 
A feature and advantage of the aforementioned aspect of the present 
invention is the easy and economical assembly of a multitude of blades 
into end members for providing mist eliminator panels which, once thereby 
engaged, are locked against disassembly. 
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention both openings of 
each pair of spaced-apart blade openings are located in the same surface 
of the blade. In accordance with this aspect of the present invention 
alignment of the blade and end support members can be observed from the 
same side of the support blade, and in the event that it is necessary or 
desirable to disassemble the blades from the end support members, the 
surface of the blade can easily be depressed on the same side of the blade 
adjacent the two openings and the blade pulled from engagement with the 
end member. 
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more 
apparent upon a perusal of the following specification taken in 
conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein similar characters of 
reference refer to similar structures in each of the several views.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
A counterflow cooling tower as shown in FIG. 1 represents a typical 
application of mist eliminators to a direct contact heat exchanger. Those 
skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention is equally 
adaptable to crossflow cooling towers, gas scrubbers and other industrial 
processes where a moving gas carries entrained liquid droplets which must 
be removed from the gas stream. 
Referring to FIG. 1, a mechanical draft counterflow cooling tower 
consisting of a housing 10 with air inlets 11 at the bottom on two 
opposing sides and top desk 12 with an opening 12' therein connected to a 
fan shroud 13. A fan 14 in the throat of the shroud 13 is rotated by a fan 
drive system 15 and draws air through the cooling tower housing 10. Air is 
drawn through the air inlets 11, turns and flows vertically upward through 
a direct contact heat exchange section 16, through the mist eliminator 
section 17 and upward through the fan 14 after which it is discharged to 
the atmosphere at the exit of the fan shroud 13 in a heated condition. 
Concurrently, heated water is pumped through a water distribution system 
to the top of the tower where it enters a header 18 and flows to lateral 
pipes 19 and is sprayed uniformily over the entire plan area within the 
housing 10 by a plurality of spray nozzles 20 in direct communication with 
the lateral pipes 19. Liquid thus distributed falls by gravity 
counter-current to the direction of air flow through the heat exchanger 
section 16 until it reaches the water collecting basin 21 in the cooled 
condition. In the heat exchanger section the water comes in contact with a 
fill material whose primary purpose is to create the most intimate mixing 
of water and air practical to promote water cooling by a combination of 
evaporation and sensible heat transfer. The fill material disperses the 
water by a combination of splash promoting means and the formation of thin 
liquid films on the surfaces of the fill material and structure. The 
smaller droplets created by this process and those generated immediately 
above by the spray nozzles 20 become entrained and are carried upward with 
the main flow of air as a result of their light weight and the relatively 
higher viscous and aerodynamic forces imposed on them by the upwardly 
moving air. In the absence of a mist eliminator section 17 these droplets 
would be discharged to the atmosphere along with the main body of heated 
air. As the air velocity dissipates in the atmosphere these droplets will 
fall like rain in the surrounding area. This creates a hazard to 
electrical equipment and can also create corrosion problems on equipment 
in the immediate vicinity of the tower. In instances where sea or brackish 
water is circulated through the system these problems can be severe and 
additional irreparable damage to plant life may also occur due to the salt 
content. 
The mist eliminator section 17 of the present invention consists of a 
plurality of preassembled mist eliminator panels or assemblies 22 which 
can best be seen in FIG. 2. Each mist eliminator panel consists of a 
plurality of longitudinally extending eliminator blades 23 which can take 
the form of various profiles such as the one specifically described, 
illustrated and claimed in my aforementioned patent application Ser. No. 
962,982. Alternatively, by way of example the cross-sectional 
configuration of the blades 23 can take the form of the blade 
constructions illustrated in the aforementioned Furlong et al. U.S. Pat. 
No. 3,748,832 and Thompson et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,669. The blades 23 
are connected to a pair of end plates 24 by a mechanical interlocking 
means as hereinafter described in greater detail. Entrained droplets 
impinge on blade surfaces where they combine into larger droplets or 
liquid films which ultimately fall by gravity to the water cooling means 
21 of the tower. Typically the panels 22 are mounted in a slightly tilted 
position so that the liquid accumulated on the blade surfaces will flow 
along the length of the surfaces for removal at the ends. 
The mechanical interlocking relationship between the blades 23 and end 
plates 24 of the eliminator panels 22 prevents blade rotation and movement 
in any direction. It also provides a positive means of establishing and 
fixing the space and position relationships between adjacent blades as 
well as the blades and end plates. Movement of blades and the end plates 
is totally restricted and disengagement of the blades and end plates is 
prevented once assembly is completed. Assembly does not require fasteners 
or bonding agents and can be accomplished quickly and easily without the 
use of special tools or equipment. In addition, end plate structural 
strength and dimensional stability are not compromised by a plurality of 
slots of large dimension relative to the overall width of either the end 
plate web or flange elements. 
The unique mechanical interlocking assembly method of the present invention 
can best be described by referring to FIGS. 2-5. 
As illustrated there, each mist eliminator blade 23 includes front and back 
surfaces 26 and 27 which establish the flow from the inlet edge 28 to the 
outlet edge 29 of the blades 23. Typically the blades 23 are formed of 
light weight material such as polyvinyl chloride compounds which have high 
strength and chemical resistance properties and are formed by extrusion 
with internal ribs 31. This construction provides a slightly flexible 
characteristic to the blade surfaces which help enable assembly of the 
panel as described in greater detail below. 
Each blade is provided at each end with at least a pair of spaced-apart 
openings 32 and 33 in the blade surfaces at each end thereof. These 
openings 32 and 33, which are typically circular holes, are spaced-apart 
between the inlet and outlet edges of the blades 23 for interconnection 
with the end plates 24 as will be described in greater detail below. 
Each of the end plates 24 is provided with a pair of spaced-apart flanges 
36 and 37 which project from one side of the panel 24 toward the opposite 
end plate 24. A series of openings or notches 41 are provided in each of 
the flanges for receiving a portion of the blades 23. The details of the 
notches 41 are illustrated in FIG. 4 wherein the opening extends from the 
free end of the flange 36 or 37 toward the body of the end plate 24 of a 
width substantially equal to the thickness of the blade 23 at the location 
of the respective blade spaced apart openings 32 and 33. The flange at the 
entrance to opening 42 is chamfered at 43, preferably on both sides of the 
opening 42. 
In that portion of the opening 42 toward the body of the end plate 24, the 
opening 42 is enlarged as at 44 in at least one direction lengthwise of 
the flanges 36 and 37 to provide a pin or tab member 45 along the outer 
edge of the flanges 36 and 37 for engagement in one of the spaced apart 
openings 32, 3 of the blade members 23. The width of the pin or tab 
members 45 is selected for engagement within the openings 32 and 33 for 
locking the blade members 23 to the end plates 24. 
Preferably both openings 32 and 33 in the blade member 23 are located in 
the same surface 26 or 27 of the blade 23. It will be appreciated that the 
opening 42 can be enlarged in both directions lengthwise of the flanges 36 
and 37 to provide a second pin or tab member 45A as illustrated in FIG. 4A 
and principally where a corresponding pair of openings 32A and 33A would 
be provided in the other of the two surfaces 26 or 27 of the blade member 
23. 
The blades and end plates are assembled in a work station. Typically a work 
station is established by positioning a pair of spaced apart rails on a 
flat support surface with a distance between the rails slightly larger 
than the width of a given assembled panel. Each blade 23 is positioned 
with the openings 32 and 33 adjacent a given pair of notches 41 in one of 
the end plates 24. Longitudinal pressure is applied to the blade toward 
the end plate which causes the blade to be channeled into the opening 42 
through the chamfered corners 43 and deflect the blade surfaces 
sufficiently until the pin 45 engages the appropriate opening 32 or 33. 
Next, the opposite end plate 24 is aligned with the opposite ends of the 
blades 23 and pressure applied until all of the blade members are then 
interconnected with the opposite end plate 24. 
It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the panels 22 can be 
assembled rapidly and efficiently by a single individual to provide a 
mechanically interconnected assembly ready for installation. 
While the embodiment described herein is considered as the preferred 
embodiment, it will be understood that various improvements and 
modifications may be made and it is intended to cover in the claims all 
such modifications and improvements as fall within the spirit and scope of 
the invention.