Abstract: An apparatus for treating traveling textile material in a pressurized fluid includes a housing divided into a plurality of expansion chambers and a centrally located treatment chamber through which the material is caused to travel and in which pressurized treatment fluid is applied to the material, the pressurized treatment fluid expanding progressively outwardly through the expansion chambers by way of the material passageways. The material passageways are formed with their smallest dimension at least eight times smaller than the smallest dimension of the expansion chambers to achieve the necessary pressure drop without sealing.

Abstract: An apparatus for treating traveling textile material in a pressurized fluid, e.g., for heating synthetic filaments to a heat-set temperature in a saturated steam atmosphere is disclosed to comprise a housing defining at least one upstream sealing chamber, an intermediate treatment chamber pressurized with saturated steam, and at least one downstream sealing chamber, separated from one another by constricted strand passageways for traveling movement of the strand successively through the chambers. A pressurized fluid holding chamber is provided between the steam supply and the treatment chamber to reduce condensation within the treatment chamber and the sealing chambers.

Abstract: The invention is a cleaning method and associated apparatus that are particularly useful for cleaning surfaces formed of relatively hard materials such as grout or industrial rolls which are contaminated with relatively hard embedded deposits of undesirable materials that are difficult to remove by conventional washing or abrading cleaning methods, and while substantially reducing the effluent resulting from the cleaning step so that the cleaning method may be conveniently used in areas where effluent disposal may be a problem such as smaller indoor rooms, areas, or equipment. The invention comprises pressurizing a cleaning liquid with a gas driven hydraulic pump and directing a flow of the cleaning liquid from a nozzle at surfaces to be cleaned at a pressure of at least about 5,000 pounds per square inch (psi) and at a volumetric flow rate of no more than about 1.