Aircraft Water Heater Baffle Flow for Stable Warm Water
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional aircraft water heaters are heavy, large, and have low capacitance, requiring long heating times and mixing hot water with cold water, leading to inefficient warm water supply.
Innovation Solution
The aircraft water heater features a tank section with a helical coil heater and a baffle plate that directs liquid flow to prevent mixing with cold water, integrated control components, and safety features like a pressure sensor and thermistor, allowing for efficient heating and reduced size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If conventional heaters are used in the tank section, then heating function is provided, but the weight is heavy and outer size is large
Solution Approach 1:
The heater is segmented into a coil-type structure with multiple heating sections arranged vertically, allowing compact integration within the tank while maintaining effective heating surface area. This segmentation enables the heater to achieve high heating efficiency in a reduced weight and volume configuration.
2Temperature
If cold water flows upward through the tank, then water is heated, but hot water mixes with cold water causing temperature decline
Solution Approach 1:
The hot water outlet is positioned at the upper portion of the tank to extract heated water before it can mix with incoming cold water at the bottom. This spatial separation prevents temperature mixing and ensures stable hot water supply, improving both temperature stability and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The baffle plate is positioned to redirect cold water flow before it reaches the heating zone, preventing direct mixing with hot water. This preliminary flow control maintains temperature stratification and ensures efficient hot water delivery.
3Loss of time
If the heater capacity is increased to reduce heating time, then heating speed improves, but the device becomes larger and heavier
Solution Approach 1:
The coil-type heater configuration provides a compact, space-efficient structure that maximizes heating surface area within a small volume. The curved coil design allows efficient heat transfer while maintaining a compact form factor, reducing both weight and volume without sacrificing heating speed.
4Reliability
If multiple heaters are arranged in the tank, then heating coverage is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple heating sections are merged into a single integrated coil structure, simplifying the overall design while maintaining comprehensive heating coverage. This unified coil configuration eliminates the need for separate heater assemblies, reducing structural complexity while ensuring uniform heat distribution throughout the water.
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
This design results in a lighter, smaller, and more efficient water heater that provides warm water at a consistent temperature, reducing boiling time by 1/4 and maintaining high temperature output over multiple uses.
Implementation Method 1
a helical coil-type heater in the tank section, the helical coil-type heater has a helical axis provided in a direction parallel to the bottom face of the tank section
Implementation Method 2
a baffle plate that is provided at an upper part of the inflow inlet and that prevents the liquid from moving in a straight manner
Implementation Method 3
A radiating control element connected to the power source control substrate of the controlling section is provided at a back face of the bottom face of the tank section, and heat generated from the radiating control element is used to heat the liquid via the bottom face of the tank section
Data Source
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AI summary
To provide an aircraft use water heater that operates by an aircraft power source of an AC variable frequency mounted in an aircraft, that is small, light-weight, safe, and low power consumption, and that can supply warm water stably. In an aircraft use water heater composed of a tank section for heating liquid stored therein and a controlling section for controlling the heating of the liquid by an aircraft power source, a bottom face of the tank section has a baffle plate and, liquid flowing in the tank section collides against the baffle plate to flow in a different direction parallel to the bottom face and is upwardly moved, while being heated, in the vicinity of a helical coil-type heater and is taken out through a liquid outlet.