Air Brake Dryer Effluent Coalescing for Oil and Water Separation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing vehicle air brake charging systems suffer from oil and water deposition on roadways due to the purge cycle of air dryers, which contaminates the atmosphere with oil droplets during the regeneration process, necessitating effective separation of oil and water from the effluent mixture.
Innovation Solution
An effluent processing apparatus featuring a coalescing element with a predefined pattern of paths, such as bristles or pleats, that separates oil and water from the effluent mixture, allowing clean air to be expelled while retaining the separated liquids, thereby reducing roadway contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the air dryer purge cycle is used to regenerate desiccant material, then water removal capability is restored, but oil droplets are deposited on roadways causing contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes oil droplets from the effluent mixture during the purge cycle using a coalescing element. The oil separator continuously separates oil from the air stream, ensuring that only cleaned air is discharged to atmosphere, thereby eliminating roadway contamination while maintaining the purge cycle's water removal regeneration function
Solution Approach 2:
The coalescing element acts as an intermediary between the purge valve and atmosphere. It intercepts oil droplets in the effluent mixture and coalesces them into larger drops that can be separated and drained, allowing the purge cycle to proceed without releasing contaminated air to the environment
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparatus effectively separates oil and water from the effluent, minimizing oil deposition on roadways and ensuring cleaner air is expelled, thus enhancing the environmental impact of vehicle air brake systems.
Implementation Method 1
a coalescing element arranged to separate oil and water from an effluent mixture containing air, oil, and water from a purge valve of an air dryer
Implementation Method 2
separate oil and water from the effluent mixture to provide an air stream substantially devoid of oil
Data Source
AI summary
An effluent processing apparatus comprises a housing having an inlet port and a chamber. A coalescing element is located in the chamber and arranged coaxially with the inlet port. The coalescing element has pleats in a predefined pattern of paths arranged to separate oil and water from an effluent mixture containing air, oil, and water. The effluent mixture flows into the inlet port along an axis of the coalescing element. The effluent mixture is deflected by a portion of the housing to flow perpendicular to the axis along major surfaces of the pleats to separate oil and water from the effluent mixture.