EP1194233A1 - Honeycombed body with reinforcement elements - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a honeycombed body (1), especially a catalytic converter support body. Said body has a honeycombed structure consisting of a plurality of channels (3) extending in longitudinal direction of said honeycombed structure (1) and cross-flown by a fluid, said channels consisting of smooth and/or structured sheets mounted in flat or curved position, in addition to a housing (2) surrounding the honeycombed structure. In order to produce a cost-effective honeycombed body which has a sufficiently stable honeycombed structure under expected loads and which is particularly resistant to thermal fatigue, reinforcement elements (7a, b) connected to the sheets are provided, which can be tolerate tensile loads at least in their longitudinal direction and which penetrate the honeycombed structure at least partially and/or are mounted on the outer side surrounding the honeycombed body at least partially.

Description

 HONEYCOMB WITH REINFORCEMENT ELEMENTS

The invention relates to a honeycomb body, in particular a catalyst carrier body, according to the preamble of claim 1, and a method for its production.

The honeycomb body can be constructed from smooth and / or structured metal sheets, which can be arranged in flat or curved sheet metal layers. The honeycomb body can be surrounded by a housing in which a plurality of honeycomb bodies can also be accommodated one behind the other or next to one another, the individual honeycomb bodies being able to be separated from one another in part by walls or supports.

EP 0 430 945 B1 discloses a generic honeycomb body consisting of at least three stacks of sheets, each of which is folded around an associated crease line and entangled around the crease line. The end regions of the metal sheets are joined to one another and / or to the housing by at least part of the contact lines, preferably by brazing, in order to achieve sufficient stability of the honeycomb body.

Particularly when the honeycomb bodies are used as catalyst support bodies, they are subject to very high loads due to temporal and local temperature gradients, which in particular due to the low strength of the sheets or the joining points at high temperatures lead to cracks or compression of the honeycomb and thus to a changing Honeycomb structure that change the properties of the catalyst. It should be noted here that the honeycomb body can easily be used at temperatures of 900 ° C, temperature differences within the honeycomb body of 300 to 400 ° C can occur. Furthermore, the connection of the sheets by brazing is comparatively complex and expensive .

The invention has for its object to provide a honeycomb body which is inexpensive to manufacture and has a sufficiently stable honeycomb structure under the expected loads, and which is also particularly te resistant to temperature changes.

The object is achieved by the features of the patent claim. Advantageous training and further education are described in the subclaims. A method for producing the honeycomb body according to the invention results from the method claim, advantageous method variants from the subclaims.

Due to the stiffening elements introduced according to the invention, which extend transversely to the sheet metal layers, i.e. form an angle with the main plane of the sheet layers and e.g. the honeycomb structure is adequately stabilized. Forces e.g. due to changes in temperature, the stiffening elements and no longer or no longer exclusively absorb the joining areas that connect the sheets to one another or to the housing. The stiffening elements which can be subjected to tensile stress at least in the longitudinal direction extend over a plurality of channels through which flow can pass. The stiffening elements can penetrate the sheets, e.g. two or more than two, and / or at least partially surround the outside of the honeycomb body, and possibly extend through or around the entire honeycomb body.

The stiffness of the stiffening elements can correspond to that of the sheets or, if appropriately oriented, can also be below that of the sheets, for example half the sheet thickness, for example by using appropriate wires or strips. The stiffness in the transverse direction of the stiffening elements is preferably significantly higher than that of the metal sheets, but clearly below that of the housing. So, with the same Material that corresponds to the thickness of the stiffening elements twice to five times the thickness of the thinnest plates, possibly up to ten times the thickness or more. In relation to the housing-e, the stiffening elements can be approximately half the housing thickness, advantageously a quarter to an eighth of the housing thickness, or, if the thickness of the housing and metal sheets differ accordingly, also below it. It is understood that with a suitable choice of material, the stiffness ratios do not correspond directly to the ratios of the material thicknesses. For example, the wall thickness of the housing can be approx. 0.5 to 1.5 mm, the film thickness approx. 0.02 to 0.06 mm. The strength of the stiffening elements can be the film thickness or a multiple thereof.

Are the stiffening elements themselves held elastically deformable and / or elastically deformable in a direction transverse to their direction of extension relative to the housing, e.g. through areas arranged between them with increased flexibility or extensibility, the honeycomb body has a high thermal alternating strength with high stability, since the sheets are not rigidly fastened to one another by means of the stiffening elements, but rather an expansion compensation with simultaneous stabilization is provided. The elastic deformability can be given in one or both directions transverse to the direction of extension of the stiffening elements. The elastic regions are preferably deformable at least under the forces that act on the honeycomb body when the temperature changes between room temperature and about 600 to 1000 ° C., and preferably to an extent that the stress caused by the temperature changes is significant, e.g. by more than 25% or more than 50%, preferably practically completely, of the stretchable areas.

Elements of very high stiffness can also be introduced into the honeycomb body, for example in the form of one- or two-dimensional struts, the stiffness of which extends right up to the housing stiffness. ability or beyond, and which are fixed directly or indirectly to the housing via elastically deformable areas. Areas of high stiffness alternate with stretching ranges that ensure resistance to temperature changes.

The stiffening elements according to the invention provide a stabilization of the honeycomb body independently of the housing, which enables the sheets to move relative to the housing, which means that stiffness and load transfer to the housing on the one hand and expansion properties on the other hand, each influencing the function or stability and resistance to temperature changes of the honeycomb body can be coordinated. Furthermore, the honeycomb body may also be independent of the housing, e.g. when coating with catalytically active material.

The honeycomb bodies according to the invention can be used in particular as a catalyst carrier in the automotive sector, but also for other catalysts, e.g. in the power plant sector or in process engineering. Accordingly, the diameter of the flow channels can vary widely, e.g. from about 1 mm to about 1-2 cm, without being limited to this. The flow channels can each be one- or two-dimensional.

The stiffening elements can be made in one or two dimensions, for example in the form of wires, screws, strips, sheets, in particular perforated sheets or expanded metal layers or the like. The stiffening elements can be straight or curved and extend both parallel and / or perpendicular and / or inclined or obliquely to the metal sheets forming the honeycomb structure. If necessary, the honeycomb structure can also be divided into sub-honeycombs that are fluidically independent from one another by means of sheet-metal stiffening elements, the honeycomb body still forming a structural unit. The stiffening elements can be provided with a surface toothing, such as threads, tooth profiles and the like, to form a positive connection with the respective corresponding component. Furthermore, the stiffening elements can have resiliently acting areas or plastically deformable areas extending in the longitudinal direction thereof, which are each produced by reshaping or bending, for example in the form of spiral wire springs, meandering bent wires or bands or sheet metal sections Sheets or strips, expanded metals and the like.

The stiffening elements can be designed as wall sections which partially or completely penetrate the honeycomb body or delimit it from the outside as a side wall. The wall sections can consist of folded and, preferably flat, interconnected sections of the metal sheets. The sections can be joined using joining techniques such as Spot welding or positive locking, e.g. via struts acting as additional stiffening elements, such as wires or the like. , be connected. In particular, the sections can be folded in such a way that pockets are created in which areas of other metal sheets are positioned, the pockets e.g. pressed to form a non-positive and / or positive connection of the sheets or positively attached to each other by wires. The wall sections can extend two-dimensionally over larger areas corresponding to a plurality of channel diameters in each longitudinal direction, or also e.g. result in ribbon-shaped individual struts.

The folded sections can in particular extend over the entire length of the sheets.

The additional stiffening elements arranged within the wall sections can be designed as wires or strips. The one-dimensional stiffening elements can extend parallel and / or perpendicular and / or inclined to the individual sheets within a wall section. The Stiffening elements that run in the wall plane can, if necessary, also penetrate the folded sections.

In particular, the side wall regions can also be formed by sheet metal folded in a meandering shape, which can be compacted over a large area, wherein the side walls can be arranged parallel and / or perpendicular to the sheets forming the honeycomb structure. The meandering areas can be crossed or surrounded by stiffening elements.

The stiffening elements can be positively, non-positively or materially attached to the sheet metal layers or to other stiffening elements, for which purpose the stiffening elements can penetrate the respective components at a distance from their boundary edges, so that the stiffening elements are guided through passage openings which are closed on all sides. Each of the sheet layers can be stabilized by appropriate stiffening elements. The stiffening elements are advantageously connected to each of the sheet metal layers which penetrate or touch them, which also applies in particular to the one-dimensional stiffening elements. It is no longer possible to simply pull out the stiffening struts. In particular, one-dimensional stiffening elements which penetrate the sheet-metal layers or other wall areas can be hooked onto them in a tensile manner, for which purpose the stiffening elements can be twisted in such a way that they assume a helical shape with the formation of a positive fit. Alternatively, the stiffening struts can also be of helical design. By means of a non-positive connection, for example, V-shaped folded sheet metal areas can be fastened to one another, for which purpose V-shaped folds are inserted into one another and pressed together under pressure. Correspondingly, one-dimensional stiffening elements can be inserted into folds of sheet metal sections, which can also be provided at the sheet ends, and pressed into them by exerting pressure. Cohesive connections can be used as soldered connections, for example, brazed connections or in particular also be made free of additives, for example by spot or diffusion welding.

The stiffening elements can be irregular, e.g. statistically distributed, enforce the honeycomb body. However, a plurality of stiffening elements are preferably provided which are aligned parallel to one another or whose orientation changes regularly in one or more spatial directions, e.g. whose coordinates differ by a constant amount with respect to a given reference system. The stiffening elements can e.g. be evenly distributed along an arc, spiral or spiral line. Several stiffening elements are thus arranged on a common surface, which can be flat or curved, so-called structural cells being formed by the virtual surfaces.

Advantageously, a plurality of groups of stiffening elements are further provided, the stiffening elements within a group being aligned parallel to one another, as described above, or having a different orientation to a reference coordinate system by a predetermined amount. The stiffening elements of different groups have different orientations from one another. In this way, associations of structural cells can be created that penetrate each other. With a corresponding alignment of the stiffening elements, the honeycomb structure can absorb very high tensile forces in different directions and can thus be optimally stabilized according to the main load directions to be expected. Furthermore, the cells of the independent cell groups can have different cell sizes and / or different stiffening elements that e.g. regarding their length, tensile strength, torsional rigidity or the like. distinguish, have.

The structural cells can extend in one or more spatial directions over the entire length of the honeycomb structure. ken, that is, for example, form honeycomb layers, or in each case only extend over a partial area of the honeycomb structure. In the case of several, differently nested structural cells, these can be understood as primary, secondary, tertiary cells, etc.

The stiffening elements of the structural cells can be arranged in such a way that their longitudinal axes each run along spatial directions which enclose an angle of 45 to 120 °, preferably 60 to 90 ° to one another, but without being limited to these angles. A three-dimensional bandage is preferably built up by the longitudinal directions of the stiffening elements. For example, the stiffening elements of one group each in one spatial direction e.g. of a Cartesian, oblique-angled or radial coordinate system, wherein two or three stiffening elements can intersect at a point or the stiffening elements are spaced from each other. Stiffening elements, which only surround the honeycomb body on the outside, are to be included in this consideration.

Overall, the stability and, in particular, the natural vibration behavior of the honeycomb body or its vibration stability can be adjusted in accordance with the expected requirements by the formation of appropriate cell groups.

The stiffening elements, which also include intermediate or side walls also constructed from sheet metal folds, are preferably fixed to the housing in a force-absorbing manner. For this purpose, the end regions of the sheets can be angled in such a way that regions projecting outwards are formed. These areas can surround the honeycomb body in a circular arc or in a helical shape over the entire length or part of the same. The areas projecting outwards can be defined in corresponding recesses, for example beads, of the housing, for which purpose the housing can be plastically deformed, for example under torsional stress. An essential aspect of the invention is the subdivision of the honeycomb body into partial honeycombs that are vibration-stable and possibly also flow-independent at the same time by the introduction of intermediate walls. The intermediate walls, but also the side walls, to which the statements in this application apply accordingly, can simultaneously serve to transfer the load into the housing wall and as expansion compensation areas. Each film layer within the partial honeycomb can be connected with stiffening elements on two sides over the length of the honeycomb, continuously via sections folded one or more times. Due to the folds, a transverse expansion of the intermediate wall areas is possible as compensation for expansion between adjacent honeycomb parts. The number and / or length of the respective bending legs can be used to absorb bending or expansion stresses in a defined manner. Both the expansion compensation areas and the intermediate or side walls are preferably produced by film folding, so that the wall areas are an integral part of the films. Since transitions between components of very different material thicknesses are avoided and relative movements of the honeycomb parts and the intermediate walls to the housing are possible, differential expansions in the honeycomb structure can be absorbed evenly in the latter.

The limitation of the individual deformation paths on the partition walls is determined by the number of partition walls and their alignment with each other and with the housing wall. Both the deformability of the partition walls themselves and the displaceability of a plurality of partition walls with respect to one another can be adjusted via regions that can be bent.

The construction of the intermediate and side walls by connecting appropriately shaped sheet metal areas is not only particularly cost-effective. Even with smaller, undivided honeycombs, their indirect fastening via partition walls that run parallel to the housing wall has advantages in terms of stress. This eliminates the need for complex connections between the foils and the housing. The honeycomb films can rather be in a prefabrication stage during the winding, folding or layering process can already be assembled separately into manageable, stable parts without a housing. Both mechanically too unstable and too rigid honeycomb bodies, for example manufactured by flat soldering, are avoided, as a result of which the temperature and mechanical load limits are significantly expanded.

To build up the intermediate or side walls, the metal foils can be folded up to ten times or more, with e.g. the partition walls can be alternately assembled from layers of foil folds, which are aligned lying and / or standing with respect to the sheet metal layers. In the case of standing folds, the multiply folded areas run essentially perpendicular to the sheet metal layers, and in the case of lying folds essentially parallel to these.

In the case of a film dressing composed of alternately smooth and structured film layers, either only the structured or only the smooth film layers can be folded to form intermediate or side walls. Different types of film folding can be easily combined in a honeycomb body to achieve the desired properties. The number of film layers connected to each other to form an intermediate wall or the number of film doublings, in which individual film layers are brought into contact with one another by compressing the film double, is decisive for the overall thickness of the intermediate wall and thus for its load-bearing capacity or rigidity. The possibility of compensating for stretching transversely to the partition walls can be varied by the height of the folds and the length of the bending or folding legs of the individual film folds in the partition wall area.

The individual film folds can already be firmly connected to one another with known joining techniques during the layering of the film sheets to build up the intermediate or side walls. When layering the honeycomb body, the film folds of the top layer are always easily accessible and can For example, by side pressing together or by punctiform joint connections or by continuous seams, for example by welding or adhesive or adhesion connections. In particular, ceramic-coated foils can also be used here.

By introducing partition walls with defined expansion areas, honeycomb bodies can be produced in which rigid and deformable areas alternate, which can each extend over the entire cross-sectional width of the honeycomb body. The honeycomb bodies can e.g. have block-shaped rigid areas which e.g. are produced by soldering the individual film layers, and which are separated from one another by narrow deformation zones. The deformation zones can also completely surround the block-shaped areas.

If the honeycomb body has stiffening elements such as Wall areas, which consist of a plurality of angled sheet metal layer sections connected to one another via connection points, the sheet metal layers are advantageously fixed to the housing at a distance from the connection points.

The angled sections can be used to build up a wall area such as a side wall and / or intermediate wall which extends over part or all of the honeycomb body cross section and which is preferably essentially gas-tight or gas transport from the interior of the honeycomb body to the housing under the conditions of use of the honeycomb body in the interior substantially prevented.

To fasten the honeycomb body, each of the sheet metal layers can be fixed separately to the housing, in regions or over the entire honeycomb body, in particular in the region of the lateral boundary surfaces of the honeycomb body. For a given honeycomb section, only one or a few of the sheet metal layers can also be fixed to the housing. The sheet metal layers can also be fixed to the housing in each case by separate sheet metal layers, the between the attached sheet metal layers arranged further sheet metal layers can only be connected to the mounting layer and thus to the housing or directly to the mounting layer via further unpaved sheet metal layers. It can also be connected, at least in sections, to each of the sheet metal layers both with the housing and with adjacent sheet metal layers. The individual sheet metal layers can also be connected to a plurality of sheet metal layers in a tensile manner.

In the case of the respective stiffening elements, which can be designed in the form of wall sections, the connection points of the sheet metal layers are advantageously spaced apart from one another in the case of successive sheet metal layers. The connection points are preferably designed to absorb tensile forces. A continuous connection of an inner sheet metal layer to the housing via the connection points, which would act as a thermal bridge, is thus avoided. The connection points can be spaced apart in a direction parallel to the sheet metal layers, for which purpose the angled and interconnected sections of the sheet metal layers can each have a different length. Preferably the junctions are along the height of the side wall, i.e. spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to the sheet layers.

To attach the sheet metal layers, a bead or U-shaped groove can be provided on the housing, wherein the attachment can also be carried out in another suitable manner. The sheet metal layers are preferably fastened to the housing by means of tabs which are folded outward out of the sheet metal layers.

The sheet metal layers preferably have sections between the gas-flowable areas of the honeycomb body and the connection points of the sheet metal layers with one another with increased extensibility compared to the sheet metal layer structure, the direction of expansion preferably running perpendicular to the wall sections. For this purpose, the fastening sections the sheet metal layer can be folded one or more times, for example 5-10 times, for example V or zigzag. The folding legs can lie close together or be slightly spaced apart. The length of the expansion legs can be three to twenty times the layer thickness of the sheet metal layers or one to ten times the sheet layer spacing, without being limited to this. With an appropriate arrangement of the connection points between the sheet metal layers, stiffening elements, for example in the form of walls, can be built up that can withstand high tensile forces in one direction and have a high degree of elasticity perpendicular to them. Areas of increased elasticity can also be provided between areas with high tensile strength by appropriate folding and fastening of the sheet-metal layer sections or stiffening elements.

The sheet metal layers are preferably connected to one another in such a way that, starting from the point of attachment of the sheet metal layers to the housing, a connecting line of the connection points of the sheet metal layers extending towards the interior of the honeycomb body results, which increases the elasticity of the wall area relative to the housing.

The walls described above advantageously extend over the entire height and entire length of the honeycomb body, it being possible for the walls to be constructed essentially gas-tight. If passage openings are provided in the walls, for example due to notched fastening tabs, then the passage openings are advantageously covered by gas-tight covers so that the area of the honeycomb body through which gas flows is separated from the housing. For this purpose, separate covers or sections of adjacent sheet metal layers can be used, for which purpose the length of the overlapping sections of the sheet metal layers can be dimensioned accordingly. Furthermore, only a part of the sheet metal layers can be provided with notches, or the notches of different sheet metal layers are spaced apart from one another in the direction of extension of the sheet metal layers, so that a Notching in a sheet metal layer is covered by an adjacent sheet metal layer essentially gas-tight. The interior of the honeycomb body can hereby additionally be thermally insulated, and at the same time the fastening areas of the sheet-metal layers on the housing lie at a lower temperature than the interior of the honeycomb body, as a result of which these are exposed to lower material stresses. A special insulating effect is achieved with a multi-layer structure of the walls.

Preferably, the wall constructed from overlapping one another in sheet metal layer sections is designed such that at a temperature of the interior of the honeycomb body of approximately 900 ° and a much lower outside temperature of the housing (for example 100 - 400 ° C or less), the fastening areas of the sheet metal layers are at a temperature of below 500 to 600 ° C and can therefore be exposed to greater mechanical loads. For this purpose, depending on the thickness of the sheet metal layers, the wall thickness and thus the length of the overlapping sheet metal sections that build up the wall must be selected accordingly. Furthermore, the temperature gradient achieved is determined by the position of the connection points between the individual sheet layers.

The housing accommodating the honeycomb body preferably has a double wall, so that the housing is constructed in a sandwich-like manner and there is an inner and an outer housing. The inner housing preferably consists of ferritic material and the outer housing consists of austenitic material. The inner housing can have openings in order to fix areas of the honeycomb body, such as, for example, notched tabs of the sheet metal layers or stiffening elements such as stiffening wires or side or intermediate wall areas. For this purpose, the inner housing can have regions that can be moved relative to one another, between which the regions of the honeycomb body, such as sheet metal brackets or stiffening elements, can be fixed for the end position that is to be moved toward one another. For this purpose, the inner housing is preferably divided transversely so that two or more of the honeycomb bodies there are constantly surrounding areas of the inner housing which can be moved, for example displaced or rotated, in the longitudinal direction relative to one another for fastening the honeycomb body. The inner housing can optionally also be divided lengthways or have a different dividing line. The inner housing can also have tab-shaped areas that can end, in particular, on the end faces of the inner housing and that can be displaced relative to another part of the inner housing in the preassembled state. The regions of the inner housing which define the honeycomb body regions are preferably toothed in order to be able to securely fasten the honeycomb body. Preferably, the honeycomb area defined in the opening of the inner housing engages behind the inner housing on the side facing the outer housing, so that the engaging region between the inner housing and outer housing can be additionally fixed, for example in a force fit. When the honeycomb body is fastened in the housing, the honeycomb body can first be fixed in the inner housing, after which the inner housing is then fixed on the outer housing in such a way that it cannot move. To fasten the honeycomb body in the inner housing, it is preferably at least partially already arranged in the outer housing. The honeycomb body can be fastened in such a way that a further part of the inner housing is pushed into the outer housing and the fastening regions of the honeycomb body are fixed, for example clamped, between the parts of the inner housing.

In order to produce a honeycomb body according to the invention, layers of sheet metal stacked on top of one another, which are assembled in the desired size, can be stacked and the corresponding sheet metal stack can be provided with stiffening elements.

Layers of sheets are advantageously preformed and, before or after the deformation of the sheet layers, stiffening elements are introduced between them, the sheet layers being severed together with the stiffening elements for appropriate assembly. If necessary, additional stiffening elements for fixation can be made before the severing of the sheet layers are introduced. The sheet metal layers can then be converted into their desired shape and, if necessary, stabilized in this with further stiffening elements.

Stacked sheets, e.g. alternating smooth and corrugated sheet layers, folded into a film stack and stored meandering. Sheets or expanded metal layers can be inserted as stiffening elements between the individual meandering layers and, if necessary, can be fixed to the plate layers by one-dimensional stiffening elements. The meander stack formed in this way can be divided by separating devices, after which the sections formed thereby are shaped into honeycomb bodies.

When the metal sheets are deformed to form the honeycomb body, the metal sheets can be heated, if necessary only in certain areas. This is particularly advantageous if the honeycomb body consists of sheet metal laid down in a zigzag shape. For this purpose, it is usually sufficient to merely heat the metal sheets in the area of the kink points, preferably by means of resistance or induction heating. In particular, heating of the sheets is also advantageous if they are pressed together for a positive connection with one another or with stiffening elements.

The partition walls can be produced by permanently deforming the sheets already arranged one above the other in stacks. For this purpose, regions of the honeycomb body that have already been preheated can be deformed by forces applied to the outside of the honeycomb body, which act longitudinally or transversely to the layering. The sheet metal bends can thus be introduced in one process step over the entire height of the sheet stack regardless of its shape. If necessary, the folding of the sheets can be supported by exerting compressive or tensile forces that act perpendicular to the sheet layers. In order to prevent undesired deformation of the sheets, the corresponding sections of the Honeycomb body can be filled with packing materials or bulk materials such as sand.

In order to use the honeycomb body as a catalyst carrier body, the sheet metal surface, e.g. by roughening an oxide layer. Then the surface of the flowable channels is provided with a ceramic coating compound which already contains the catalytically active substance or is subsequently provided with it. For this purpose, the honeycomb body, which has been brought into its final shape, can be provided with an oxide adhesive layer by heating in an oven or by resistance heating. However, pre-oxidized sheet layers can also be used. Accordingly, the sheet layers can also be provided with an adhesive ceramic layer before the deformation.

Advantageously, the honeycomb body is calibrated before it is coated or before it is installed in the housing by being pressed together from the outside transversely to the layering, the channel shape or the expansion play on the transversely deformable cell walls also being adjustable. For this purpose, the honeycomb body can be brought to a deformation temperature, advantageously only individual volume regions of the honeycomb body, e.g. individual layers of the same can be heated. When pressure is exerted on the honeycomb body in this state, the unheated areas are practically not deformed, so that a targeted shaping is possible in some areas.

In particular, the honeycomb body can be heated by resistance heating. Together with the calibration, diffusion joining, high-temperature soldering or oxidation of the sheet surface can be carried out to increase the roughness.

The stiffening struts can be tensioned or re-tensioned during or after calibration.

The production of different variants of the honeycomb body can be carried out in detail as follows.

To produce a honeycomb body with a large number of zigzag layered partially structured film layers, a cuboidal honeycomb stack can be formed from a longitudinally structured film band by transverse folding along perforation lines. For the formation of secondary cells, wires, ribbons or the like are then used during folding, depending on the specific training variant. introduced between the film layers and / or through them. The webs between the perforation holes are electrically contacted on both sides in the longitudinal direction and are heated by resistance in order to form sharp-edged crease lines. Then, for calibration, the foils are electrically contacted and resistance-heated at the side flaps across the corrugation, wires, strips or the like are tensioned and the foils are pressed together with lateral support. When the calibration is heated up, the honeycomb is provided with an oxide adhesive layer for the subsequent ceramic coating if the ambient atmosphere is set accordingly. The calibrated honeycomb stack is then fixed in shape and ceramic-coated by molding and joining together the outer lateral cell walls or intermediate walls and / or positive passage or screwing of struts. Individual honeycomb bodies are then divided off and the remaining outer cell walls or insulating walls and the housing fastening ribs are molded onto them. The honeycomb body can then be joined to the fastening ribs on the housing wall.

As an alternative intermediate production step, the structured and perforated film strip can be provided with a ceramic coating before being folded into a film stack. Furthermore, the stack of foils can be stabilized or stabilized during electrically heated calibration in a vacuum by deliberately pressing the foil contact points with the formation of diffusion welding points. Alternatively, when calibrating, solder connections can be made by using wires or tapes coated with solder material between the foil layers be arranged, or formed by locally coated films at the points of contact.

According to another variant, a honeycomb body with a housing can be produced as follows. A multi-layer stacking tape with alternating smooth and corrugated foils is meandered and pre-fixed. Depending on the design variant, the aligned toothed folds are made beforehand. By inserting strut elements as additional cell walls, the bent, kinked or wound stacks are fixed and covered with inserted sheets, e.g. Expanded metal sheets, connected. Pre-fixed honeycomb stacks are divided with transverse cuts through all layers. After compressing or forming compressed multilayer folds on the film ends, the honeycomb is pressed and calibrated and then joined to the cell walls. The previously catalytically coated honeycombs are fastened in the housing with externally molded fastening ribs.

Coated or uncoated foils, which are alternately smooth and corrugated, can also be provided with foil folds during spiral winding and then joined in multi-layer cell walls in aligned, aligned toothing lines. When winding, an expanded metal sheet layer is inserted inside the honeycomb and on the outer circumference and inserted into the toothing lines. The honeycomb can be calibrated, with or without heating, as described above.

The housing can also be used as transport packaging for transporting the honeycomb bodies. To produce a catalytic converter, a housing tube with a plurality of honeycomb bodies arranged one behind the other can be cut according to the division of the honeycomb bodies. The honeycomb bodies can be fixed to the housing wall, also regardless of the use of the housing as transport packaging, with ribs, for example spiral ribs, for which purpose the ribs projecting outwards in beads provided in the housing tube can be attached. The housing tube can have a single or double wall and can accommodate several honeycomb bodies next to one another.

The inflow and outflow areas of the honeycomb body can have sheet-metal layer sections or separate inserts with surfaces that run at an angle to the main plane of the sheet-metal layers and improve the inflow behavior as a whole due to the flow deflection that causes it. The sheet metal layers in the turbulent inflow area are reinforced by the corresponding sheet metal structures. The inflow and outflow regions are advantageously reinforced by further stiffening elements according to the invention.

The invention is illustrated by way of example and explained using the figures as an example.

FIG. 1 a shows in cross section a cuboid honeycomb body 1 formed from layered corrugated foils in a sheet metal casing shell 2 as a composite structure. The approximately round flow channels 3, which are formed by opposite film corrugations 4, are in the densest possible trigonal arrangement. For this purpose, the film layers are folded in a zigzag shape in the longitudinal direction, as can be seen from FIGS. 1c and 1d. The film layers advantageously remain connected to the connecting lines with narrow connecting webs 5. The honeycomb structure, which can be pushed together laterally like a cranesbill, is stabilized by struts 6 made of interwoven bands between every second film layer. Long rectangular secondary cells, each comprising two channel rows, are thus formed. Overlying these, larger triangular tertiary cells are formed by form-fitting screwed-in wire screws 7a or 7b, which generate additional stabilization. With comparatively large flow channels, the wire screws can be made thin 7a and aligned in the channel wall. As an alternative to comparatively small channel cross sections, stretchable wire spiral springs 7b are advantageous. Outside on the side honeycomb edge the tertiary cells are limited by folded film ends 7c. In sections, the housing wall forms part of the tertiary cell walls on the top and bottom.

Fig. Lb shows an additional design alternative 7d. At the top, the cell wall structure is formed by a flattened corrugated film, which is reinforced with a smooth film 8a. As an alternative or in addition to the film 8a, stiffening wires 8b can also be integrated into this wall structure or into the cell walls 7c on the side. The upper and lower wall 7d thus forms together with the side walls 7c an outer rectangular quaternary cell. To transfer the main load, the cell walls are connected to the housing at points 9a in such a way that their differential expansion to the cold housing wall remains unimpeded. The struts 7a or 7b are also connected directly to the housing wall at points 9b for load transfer. In contrast, the strut belts 6, the arrangement of which within the honeycomb is shown in FIG. 1d, are only firmly connected to the cell walls 7c at points 9c or are integrated with their ends in the wall structure. The quaternary cell walls 7d, which form a multi-layer structure that cannot be flowed through, act as thermal insulation between the primary honeycomb and the housing wall.

2a shows a perspective view of a cuboid composite honeycomb body with an illustration of alternative film structures which are known per se and can be used here. The upper rows of flowable channels are formed from corrugated 24a and smooth 24b films. With the film structuring corresponding to 24c, catalytically more favorable rectangular or square channels are formed, however partially with double walls. The channels of the lower rows with film structures corresponding to 24d, 24e and 24f are cheaper without double walls and in the densest possible trigonal arrangement almost an ideal round channel shape. With the exception of the sinusoidal upper channels, all other flow structures that are more favorable in terms of flow require a stabilizing outer border in order to avoid or limit channel displacements relative to one another. The roughly Dratic outer secondary cell structure is formed on the sides from overlapping foil bends 27c and at the top and bottom from structured foils with flattened corrugations 27d and an additional stabilizing wire 28b. In multiple functions, it serves simultaneously for honeycomb channel support, for assembling and fixing manageable honeycombs, for attaching honeycombs to the housing 29 and for heat insulation. It may be sufficient to fasten the side walls at diagonally opposite areas at fastening points of the housing 29. The honeycomb can thus rotate relative to the housing or deform in a diamond shape. Right-angled, outwardly projecting film notches can also be provided, which form a fastening rib.

2b shows an example of a larger selection of applicable film folds 26 for the formation of intermediate and outer walls, each with different stiffnesses and transverse expansion properties. The transverse stretching capacity allows the intermediate wall to be stretched or widened in the transverse direction without changing the position of the intermediate wall. The film folds can be designed as an L-shaped single fold (A), a Z-shaped double fold (B), a V-shaped triple fold (C), a zigzag-shaped four fold (D) or as a W-shaped five fold (E). the length of the folding legs 26 can vary at the same time. The wall thickness can be influenced by the number of folding legs 26 fixed to each other. For the properties of the partition walls, for example the transverse expansion behavior, the type and arrangement of the joint connections 28, which are each represented by a line, is also important, which can be formed, for example, as a spot weld connection or also by means of connecting wires which have little slip. Both the same folding direction on film layers 21 structured in the same way (see embodiment E) and different folding directions on film layers 21a, 21b structured differently (see exemplary embodiments F, L) are possible. In variant F, the partition wall structure is held together only by joining elements 29b, for example screws, according to variants G and J and L, in addition to the screw connections 29, a mutual positive locking toothing of the smooth and corrugated foil layers is additionally provided. The joint connections 28 in the variants A - E and H are to be produced using known methods such as spot welding or punched positive locking during the layer-by-layer partition construction. With variants F, G, J and L, even after the partition wall has already been built, further stiffening elements such as pins, screws or strips 29 can be introduced into the partition walls. According to variant K, the V-shaped foil folds are toothed like a hinge by notches in the longitudinal direction and smaller V-shaped counterfolds of one of the double layers, whereby the foils are pushed into each other in layers and firm cross connections are created by the connecting wires 29c through the folds.

2c shows various possible arrangements of intermediate walls 35a-35g and their type of fastening 37a-37h to the housing wall 31. The construction of the intermediate walls 35a and 35g on the honeycomb sides parallel to the housing wall 31 corresponds to Example A according to FIG. 2b of the intermediate walls 35b, 35c and 35g in Examples C, B and D according to FIG. 2b. The intermediate walls 35d and 35e are formed from a plurality of individual struts which are aligned in the flow direction. The individual strut 35d is formed from perforated neckings, which are each supported on the adjacent film layer and are fixed thereon. For this purpose, a wire-shaped additional connecting element 39a is provided which runs through the center of the hole neckings and which presses the film layers together through the hole neckings. The hole neckings can e.g. also be attached to the foil layers by welded connections. The film layers can also be fixed by helical or spiral spring-like struts 35e. The spring constant of the spiral spring can be adapted to the strength of the foils and slightly exceed or fall short of them.

The clamps 37a-37g of the intermediate wall ends on the housing wall can lie opposite one another, offset or else be twisted to each other. Several adjacent partitions in the honeycomb can expand or move in the same direction (see 35d, 35e, 35g) or in the opposite direction (see 35a and 35b).

The line-like fastenings 37a-37g can be oriented longitudinally and in the same direction to one another or (see fastening 37a and 37b to partial honeycomb 34a), also transversely to one another and to the flow direction and to the opposite intermediate wall 33g. In the case of particularly large, relatively flat honeycomb panes, an additional external transverse stabilization on the housing wall in the inflow and outflow region is carried out with a frontal honeycomb support via the fastening 37h of the intermediate wall 35g.

The stiffening elements shown by way of example in FIGS. 2b and 2c can have regions of high stiffness which, for example, lie in the area of the housing stiffness, and can be fixed to the housing in such a deformable or stretchable manner that the sheet metal layers acting on the stiffening element can change position relative to the housing. For this purpose, the areas of the stiffening elements adjacent to the housing can e.g. have increased flexibility and / or change in position due to material thickness or material properties, e.g. be fixed to the housing while allowing an angular movement relative to the housing.

FIG. 3 shows the cross section through a honeycomb-housing assembly with three prefabricated parallelogram-shaped individual honeycombs 31a, 31b, 31c. Each of them is divided into two triangular secondary cells and is surrounded on the outside by a tertiary cell structure 37c, 37d. The tertiary cell wall 37c, which is displaceable with respect to the housing, is formed by simply kinked tab-shaped end regions of the sheet metal foils which overlap one another like a scale. The end areas are fastened to each other by spot welding connections and can also be stabilized by stiffening wires. The stiffening wires together with the end portions of the Films are fixed in the mounting grooves 39a of the housing.

The triangular cell division is formed by a plurality of wire screws 37a arranged in alignment. All other cell walls 37c, 37d are simultaneously part of the inner triangular structure and the parallelogram-shaped tertiary cell structure. Two outer walls, each of the 37c and 37d types, also form the hexagonal quaternary cell enclosing all the parts due to the common clamping in the housing 39. The honeycombs are connected to the housing via cell walls 37c at points 39a and additionally via struts 37a at points 39b.

4a shows a perspective view of the structure and the production method of a cuboid composite honeycomb body with a narrow rectangular secondary cell structure, each consisting of two wires 46a arranged in alignment one behind the other. Overlying the secondary cells, larger, approximately square-shaped tertiary cells are formed from V-shaped folds 47e located in the interior of the honeycomb body and from mutually overlapping folds 47c of the foils 44, which each represent further stiffening elements. The housing and other cell walls on the top and bottom are omitted to simplify this illustration. The primary honeycomb structure is formed by a zigzag folding of a corrugated foil tape perforated on the folding lines. The perforation is formed by punching out such that only narrow connecting webs 45 remain, which enable easier, precisely fitting folding and just sufficient support and connection of the film layers with the lowest possible flow pressure loss. Folding without plastic overstretching of the connecting webs is only favored by targeted heating in this bending area. For this purpose, the foils are progressively electrically contacted with the fold, so that all connecting webs on a fold line are brought to the forming temperature simultaneously by resistance heating. The merging The vertical inner partitions 47e are made by horizontal wires 40a. The nested folds 47e are connected in a hinge-like manner with axially offset notches, see FIG. 4b. In addition, perpendicular stabilization wires 40b are passed through in a weave pattern on the inner partition walls. This results in a three-dimensional wire structure integrated in the honeycomb structure from foils.

Between the sheet-metal layers, thicker sheet-metal layers or sheet-metal strips running parallel to them can also be arranged for additional stiffening, which can also consist of a plurality of foils arranged one above the other in a sandwich-like manner.

5 shows a composite honeycomb body 50a composed of two bent partial honeycombs in a common housing 50b. Each of these partial honeycombs is in turn divided into two secondary cells, one of them trapezoidal and the other parallelogram-shaped. The formation of the inner and outer partitions is the same as that previously described.

FIG. 6 shows, similarly to FIG. 5, an embodiment with trapezoidal and circular-section-shaped secondary cells.

FIG. 7 shows a round honeycomb wound in a spiral from smooth and corrugated foils and divided into six secondary cells. The walls 77a running towards the center are built up from foil folds during winding. The circumferential support 77b is expanded metal sheet which is inserted during winding and interlocked in the walls 77a. In this way, cells in the form of annular sections are divided outwards.

The partitions are made of, for example, Z-shaped, zigzag-shaped folds in accordance with variant B and. D and others as shown in FIG. 2b, which are formed when the film strip is unwound from the coil and are interlocked and joined to form the intermediate wall. The partition walls can be attached to the housing become .

8a shows a U-shaped honeycomb composite structure with three secondary cells made of smooth 84a and corrugated 84b films. The outer secondary cell walls 87a are formed from overlapping foil bends. The inner cell walls are alternatively formed from a plurality of struts 87b arranged in alignment and from expanded metal 87c. The fastening points 86 of the partition walls on the housing wall are simultaneously designed as a housing plate connection weld. Correspondingly, partition walls made of e.g. V-shaped folds can be welded into the joint seams of housing parts.

8b shows a honeycomb body structure divided into three geometrically different basic shapes 84a, 84b, 84c. From a preformed, meandering curved film stack of smooth and corrugated films are in a prefabrication stage by cross-cutting z. B. separated by means of wire saws the individual honeycombs. The film ends are then bent on the end cut sides to form the built-up intermediate walls 85a and 85b in accordance with FIG. 2b. After joining together an intermediate wall, then a compacted calibration of the shape of the honeycomb and then joining the second intermediate wall 85a and introducing an additional connecting element 89a as a support between the intermediate walls 85a, 85b and 87b here in the form of an expanded metal sheet, the wall ends become the last step the connecting seam 87 of the housing 81 jointly fastened 87a. The two other intermediate walls 87b for stabilizing the partial honeycomb 84b are formed from a plurality of individual struts 89b arranged one behind the other in the flow direction. Together they act as partitions corresponding to 35d or 35e of FIG. 2c. In order to screw in the spiral springs 89b subsequently, hole neckings are cut or shaped with a special tool. As a result, they form cross supports and built-in "dowel walls" for a better hold of the screwed-in spiral springs. These struts, which are subsequently introduced from the outside through the housing jacket, are connected to the inner lattice connection element. ment 89a screwed in the middle. At the same time, they are tightly welded and attached to the outside of the housing wall.

9a, 9b and 9c show the structure and the production method for a round composite honeycomb body composed of two partial honeycombs in a common housing. Both partial honeycombs are divided into secondary cells by two or more strut screws 97a. The remaining walls are formed on the outer circumference by overlapping foil folds 97c and between the neighboring cells as a common wall by an expanded metal sheet 97b.

Alternatively, the honeycomb body can also be constructed from two separately prefabricated partial honeycombs, so that the expanded metal is replaced by two opposing intermediate walls. Due to the axially offset arrangement of the strut screws 97a with the intermediate wall made of expanded metal or the side walls of the partial honeycombs, a mutually directed thermal expansion of the partial honeycombs and the struts can be absorbed by bending the intermediate walls.

In FIG. 9b it can be seen how partial honeycomb stacks are formed by separating cuts from continuous, multilayered strips of smooth 94a and corrugated 94b films arranged next to one another. With the inserted expanded metal layer 97b and the strut screws 97a, both foil packages and the partition wall in between are manageably pre-fixed. After the folds and folds on the film ends have been formed into the structural wall 97c, the entire package is shaped into a round shape. The folds are connected to one another, for example by spot welding, in accordance with FIG. 9a. For the housing wall fastening, as can be seen in FIG. 9c, ring-shaped ribs are formed from the end folds by transverse edging. On these built-up ring ribs, wires 98 are guided around the honeycomb body for additional stabilization and connected with the strut screws 97a. For fastening in the housing, the ring ribs are encircled in the surrounding beads of the housing wall Wire 98 and the ends of the strut screws 97a clamped and tightened.

10 shows a perspective view of an alternative primary honeycomb structure 101 and a particularly advantageous fastening method in the housing wall 102. The honeycomb structure is a multilayer spiral wrap from a meandering multilayer belt, cf. Fig. 9, formed by severing cut, end bending and round shapes. With the expanded metal insert 107b, the bracing screws 107a and the overlapping foil bends 107c as cell walls, four differently shaped cells are divided and fixed at the same time, and housing fastening structures are created. The bevels 107c are to form a helical rib at half the circumference, cf. Fig. 9c, again edged transversely. In addition, the folds of the cell wall structure 107c are connected to one another by, for example, spot welds for stabilization. With the helical rib, several previously coated honeycombs can be easily screwed one behind the other in a common housing tube with a matching helical bead 109. By counter-torsion of the tube, as indicated by the arrows and simultaneous axial compression in the correct relationship to each other, the assembly play on the honeycomb circumference and in the bead is eliminated and the honeycomb is indirectly attached to the housing wall via the rib. The honeycomb half opposite the rib with the semicircular film layers is stabilized by bracing screws 107a and connected to the housing. The bracing screws are cross-toothed for uniform load transfer in all foil layers and screwed through the expanded metal layer 107b. Differential expansions to the housing wall can be compensated for independently of one another via a remaining semicircular gap between the area with the closed film winding and the area of the film ends. The butt screw ends are only welded and sealed after the helical rib has been fitted and fastened to the housing wall. It is also possible to design the wall 102 as a sandwich wall made of relatively thin-walled like to perform perforated sheet or expanded metal together with an outer stable tube. One or more honeycomb disks fastened therein can be separated inexpensively and flexibly for a modular system from such long tube housings, which can be transported protected as tube bundles. This saves transport packaging and connecting seams when assembling the exhaust system.

FIG. 11 shows a hollow cylindrical honeycomb body with a housing with honeycombs composed of round, structured foils 112 which are joined together by means of partition walls 115a (cf. FIG. 2b, variant C) and 115b (cf. FIG. 2b, variant A) and held and secured at points 117 on the housing 111. The fastenings of the intermediate walls in the housing correspond to variants 37a and 37b of FIG. 2c. Several such honeycomb parts 114a and centripedal or centrifugally directed can flow through. 114b can be combined through the partition walls as a hollow cylindrical ring cutout and fastened in a cylindrical or frustoconical housing. Even smaller hollow cylinder cutouts 114a, 114b, each stabilized as individual honeycombs by built-up intermediate walls 115a, 115b, can be joined 117 to form a plurality of ring cutout bodies and encased together.

The centrally directed flow channels of the annular foil layers reduce their cross-section, which can be used advantageously for special applications, in accordance with the foil structuring 112 shown.

FIG. 12, in reversal of FIG. 11, shows the film layer partition wall arrangement made of smooth 122a and corrugated 122b films bent in the same manner as a cylindrical shell, which is held and joined on the top and bottom sides by built-up circular ring partition walls 125. The partition structure corresponds to FIG. 2c (variant A). The partition walls are fastened to the housing 121 at the top and bottom at points 127 by means of annular ribs 123, which result from right-angled flaps of the partition construction, as already shown in FIG. 2c (33g) explained. These ribs are fastened in likewise annular beads of the housing wall 127. Depending on the almost involute to almost circular curvature of the foils, more or less narrowing channels are formed in the honeycomb for the flow. As already described for FIG. 11, honeycomb / housing composite bodies in the form of hollow cylinder cutouts can be produced with this arrangement.

For exhaust systems with several e.g. cuboidal honeycombs flowed through in a row have, according to this invention, easy-to-manufacture, specially curved and / or cross-section-expanding inflow honeycombs in the form of rectangular pyramid frustum, significant application advantages. A uniform and low-pressure loss diffuser expansion of the flow cross-sections in the transition area from small pipe cross-sections of the exhaust system to large honeycomb inflow cross-sections and at the same time a low-vortex flow deflection, a pressure-reducing diffuser effect and an additional honeycomb volume that better utilizes the installation space can be achieved.

13a shows the configuration for calibrating, oxidizing, diffusion joining and then fixing the foil layers 114. The foil strips 114 folded together in zigzag fashion on the lines of the webs 115 with wires or strips 116 inserted in between initially result in a still relatively loose bandage in the intermediate production stage as shown on the left in Fig. 13b. The calibration by pressing together according to FIG. 13b on the right is carried out from above and below according to the arrows 121 while simultaneously pulling on the bands or wires 116 in the direction of the arrows 122 and supporting the structure 125 in the opposite direction in the direction of the arrows 128 The specified shape of the honeycomb is firmly fixed for further handling by screwing in the struts 117, as well as folding and connecting the lateral film ends.

By electrically contacting the ends of the film, for which purpose the contacts 125 are pressed together in the direction 126, and resistance heating, a reduction of residual stresses and at the same time the formation of an oxide adhesive layer for the ceramic coating or alternatively a diffusion bonding of the film contact points 128 can take place. This can be done with the temperature, the pressing force and the ambient atmosphere. As is known, a surrounding vacuum and correspondingly high temperatures must be set for diffusion bonding of the film contacts 128. The heating of the film layers can be carried out in layers and successively only for a few film layers at a time. For this purpose, the contacting is gradually offset along the arrows 123. The honeycomb areas which are not heated thereby remain stable in order to pass through the pressing forces 121. Soldered connections can also be advantageously produced using a similar procedure. Only wires or tapes 116 coated simply with solder material can be connected within the honeycomb with optimal soldering gap geometries produced by pressing. Similarly, the screws 117 coated with solder material can be soldered to the foils. This type of honeycomb heating is much more precise compared to the effort required with conventional high-temperature vacuum ovens due to energy and time savings, more economical and environmentally friendly, as well as more uniform temperature and atmosphere settings.

FIG. 14 shows the production of a honeycomb body 114 from smooth and corrugated sheet metal layers 114a, 114b for producing Z-shaped partitions, as shown in FIG. 14 at the top left. For this purpose, the pre-angled honeycomb body is heated in the region of the radially extending zones 114c shown in broken lines. The honeycomb body can be filled with bulk material in the unheated zones for additional deformation stabilization. As shown in Fig. 14 below, the partitions can be created by exerting radially inward pressure on the outermost layer of film. A tool suitable for this can have a plurality of wings, which together form an interior with an essentially circular cross-section, the individual wings in each case parallel to one of the longitudinal axes of the honeycomb body extending outer edges are pivotable. As an alternative or in addition, a rotatable axis 114d can also be introduced in the center of the honeycomb body, which acts on the inner wall of the honeycomb body, for example by means of a suitable toothing, and which forms the plasticized regions of the honeycomb body inwards by rotation. A corresponding tool can also be formed, the contour of which is the contour 114e of the deformed honeycomb body and, if necessary, is slowly lowered into the interior of the honeycomb body with rotation.

15 shows the formation of an intermediate wall in a honeycomb body with horizontally running smooth and corrugated sheets 115a, 115b. The end regions of the honeycomb body are clamped on both sides with opposing end regions 115c, 115d using pairs of jaws 115e, f and 115g, h, respectively, with a slight spacing between the two pairs of jaws. A voltage is applied to the two pairs of jaws by means of the electrical voltage source 115j, so that the film regions arranged in the gap between the pairs of jaws are heated by a corresponding current flow. The foils can be folded by pushing the pairs of jaws together. In order to define a preferred direction of folding, a strut 115k is arranged in the area of the foils to be folded, which strut is connected to the metal sheets so as to withstand tensile loads. Defined film folds can be produced by exerting a pull or pressure on the strut 115k in the direction of the arrow. For example, two or more rows of struts arranged parallel to one another can also be provided, so that multiple folds can also be produced.

As shown in FIG. 15 below, the two pairs of jaws 115e, f and 115g, h can also be displaced perpendicularly to the position of the foils, preferably while simultaneously reducing the width of the gap 1151, as a result of which a Z-shaped foil fold can be produced.

Figure 16 a shows a section of a honeycomb body with a sidewall 122 constructed from overlapping regions 120 of sheet metal layers 121, the end sections angled in a direction of the sheet metal layer plane being connected to one another by fastening points 123. The fastening points are arranged offset from one another, so that no direct and straight continuous thermal bridge from the interior of the honeycomb body to the housing is formed. The connection points here are offset vertically, ie perpendicular to the main plane of the sheet metal layers, but the connection line of the connection points can also be oblique or horizontal to the sheet metal layers.

The sheet-metal layer sections 120 building up the side wall have notched tabs 124 for fastening the sheet-metal layers to the housing. Since, according to this exemplary embodiment, all of the sheet-metal layer ends are provided with overlapping notched tabs, a breakthrough occurs in the wall, which is covered in a gas-tight manner by a sheet-metal strip 125 in order to thermally insulate the interior of the honeycomb body from the cooler housing.

According to FIG. 16 b, the end faces of the areas 126 of the inner housing 127, in which the tabs are fixed, which delimit the opening, are serrated, so that the tabs 124 are clamped between the teeth when the two inner housing parts are pushed together in the direction of the arrow.

The tabs 124 are U-shaped in the exemplary embodiment and engage behind the inner housing, so that the free tab ends are additionally clamped between the inner housing 127 and the outer housing 128 and are thereby held in a force-fitting manner. After positioning the housing parts, the inner housing can be connected to the outer housing, e.g. by spot welding connections 129.

Claims

Honeycomb body patent claims

1. honeycomb body, in particular catalyst carrier body, with a honeycomb structure made up of a plurality of channels running in the longitudinal direction of the honeycomb body and through which a fluid can flow, consisting of stacked sheet metal layers, characterized in that at least one with a plurality of sheet metal layers (4, 24 ) connected stiffening element (6, 7a, 7b, 7c, 97a, 97b) is provided, which extends transversely to the sheet metal layers (4,24), and which can be loaded at least in the longitudinal direction thereof.

2. honeycomb body according to claim 1, d a d u r c h g e - k e n n z e i c h n e t that the stiffening element

(6, 7a, 7b, 7c, 97a, 97b) is elastically deformable transversely to its direction of extension and relative to the housing (2) and / or is elastically deformably supported on the housing (2).

3. honeycomb body according to claim 1 or 2, d a d u r c h g e k e n z e i c h n e t that stiffening elements (7c, 50a, 60a) are provided, which are constructed from folded and interconnected sections of the sheet metal layers.

4. honeycomb body according to one of claims 1 to 3, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that sections of the sheet metal layers are provided with single or multiple folded areas that are connected to the stiffening elements (7c, 50a, 60a).

5. honeycomb body according to one of claims 1 to 4, since - characterized in that the stiffening elements (27c, 28b, 46a, 47e) are connected directly to one another.

6. honeycomb body according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a plurality of stiffening elements (6, 7a, 7b, 7c, 97a, 97b) are provided, which are aligned parallel to one another or their orientation in one or more spatial directions with respect to the adjacent stiffening element each differ by a constant amount, thereby forming a group.

7. honeycomb body according to claim 6, so that several groups of stiffening elements (6, 7a, 7b, 7c, 97a, 97b) are provided, wherein the stiffening elements of different groups have a different orientation to one another than the stiffening elements within a group.

Honeycomb body according to claim 6 or 7, so that the stiffening elements of different groups are each designed differently.

9. honeycomb body according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that in addition to one-dimensional stiffening elements (28b, 40b) and two-dimensional stiffening elements (27d, 47e) are provided, the one-dimensional stiffening elements (28b, 40b) within the two-dimensional stiffening elements (27d, 47e ) are arranged.

10. honeycomb body according to one of claims 1 to 9, since - characterized in that in addition to one-dimensional stiffening elements (7a, 46a) and two-dimensional stiffening elements (7c, 47e) are provided, and that the one-dimensional stiffening elements (7a, 46a) penetrate the two-dimensional stiffening elements, including an angle to the main plane thereof.

11. Honeycomb body according to one of claims 1 to 10, and that plates (27c) are provided with angled areas which are connected to one another to form a wall region of the honeycomb body which extends transversely to the sheet metal layers.

12. The honeycomb body according to claim 11, which also provides that fastening areas for fixing the honeycomb body to a housing are provided, which are arranged at a distance from one another from the connection points of the sheet-metal layer sections.

13. A honeycomb body according to claim 11 or 12, that the connecting points of successive sheet metal layers are spaced apart from one another.

14. Honeycomb body according to one of claims 1 to 13 with a housing, so that the housing comprises a double wall, which form an inner housing and an outer housing, and that the inner housing has openings in which areas of the honeycomb body can be fixed.

15. honeycomb body with housing according to claim 14, so that the inner housing consists of a plurality of parts which can be moved and are fastened independently of one another to the outer housing and that areas of the honeycomb body are defined between the parts of the inner housing.

16. A method for producing a honeycomb body according to one of claims 1 to 13, with a honeycomb structure of a plurality of extending in the longitudinal direction of the honeycomb body. the channels through which a fluid can flow, consisting of smooth and / or structured sheets, with the steps:

- The sheets are arranged in flat or curved sheet layers, the honeycomb structure is surrounded by a housing, before or after the arrangement of the housing, at least one stiffening element (6, 7a, 7b, 7c, 97a, 97b) that additionally stabilizes the honeycomb structure of a plurality of sheets, the stiffening element (6, 7a, 7b, 7c, 97a, 97b) being elastically deformable transversely to its direction of extension relative to the housing (2) and / or being elastically deformable on the housing (2) .

17. The method according to claim 16, so that sections of the sheets are folded and that the folded areas are connected to one another to form the stiffening elements (6, 7a, 7b, 7c, 97a, 97b).

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, d a d u r c h g e k e n e z e i c h n e t that sections of the sheets are folded one or more times and the folded areas are connected to the stiffening elements (7c, 50a, 60a).

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, d a - d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that several

Sheets are simultaneously meandered from a stack belt, that the sheet metal layers arranged one above the other are fixed to one another by introducing stiffening elements and that the stack of sheets is broken down into a plurality of honeycomb bodies by making separating cuts.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that for the calibration of the honeycomb body this is heated in whole or in regions, that the honeycomb body is pressurized on the outside transversely to the layer stratification by means of a pressing device and is relieved of pressure and temperature after a dwell time.

21. The method according to claim 20, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that the heating is carried out by means of a resistance heating with contacting the sheet metal layers or by means of an induction heating.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, so that the stiffening elements are tensioned before, during or after the calibration.

23. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 22, so that the stiffening elements introduced into the honeycomb body are joined by joining technology to the metal sheets and / or other stiffening elements at the points of contact during or after calibration.

24. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 23, so that the sheets are provided with an oxide adhesive layer in a heat treatment step.

25. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 24, d a d u r c h g e k e n e z e i c h n e t that already with an oxide adhesive layer and / or already provided with a ceramic coating sheets are used, and that these sheets are joined to the honeycomb structure.

26. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 25, characterized in that for the Bringing the stiffening elements into the honeycomb body is heated as a whole or in some areas, so that parts of the honeycomb body are deformed on the outside lengthways or transversely to the layered layer by means of a pressing device, with the formation of angled areas or areas of greater curvature, so that the deformed zones are dimensionally stabilized while the honeycomb body cools , and that before or after stabilization, the deformed zones are connected to one another to form the stiffening elements.