Annular Flame Arrestor Venting for Safer Crankcase Gas Discharge

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current explosion relief valves for engine crankcases often redirect exhaust gases in an unsafe manner, potentially exposing heat-sensitive or flammable objects due to their design, which can lead to unintended flame propagation and inefficient heat dissipation.

Innovation Solution

The improved explosion relief valve features a carrier plate with a sinuous shape and an annular flame arrestor constructed from layered metal sheets with specific aperture patterns, ensuring efficient redirection and dissipation of exhaust gases while preventing flame propagation, eliminating the need for external directional covers.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If a cup shaped valve plate is used to redirect exhaust gases, then the flow direction can be controlled, but the gases may be trapped in the cup shaped region causing the plate to act as if flat, resulting in gases erupting away from the engine in an unsafe direction

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveflow direction controlVSAvoidsafe gas discharge

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The valve plate is designed with a sinuous curved surface featuring a central trough and outer trench that guides exhaust gases in a controlled curved path. This curvature ensures gases are redirected away from heat-sensitive components without being trapped, eliminating the need for external directional covers while maintaining safe discharge direction.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention adds a directional cover that surrounds the exterior of the valve, creating a three-dimensional flow control structure. This external cover works in conjunction with the sinuous valve plate to ensure exhaust gases are directed away from the engine in a safe direction, addressing the limitation of the cup-shaped design.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Reliability

If external directional covers are added to redirect gases safely, then safe venting is achieved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesafe gas dischargeVSAvoidvalve structure

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The directional cover is integrated with the flame arrestor structure, combining multiple functions (flame suppression and flow direction control) into a single unified component. This merging reduces the number of separate parts while maintaining both flame arrestment and safe gas discharge capabilities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Reliability

If traditional flame arrestors are used, then flame propagation is prevented, but heat dissipation efficiency is reduced and mass is increased

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveflame suppressionVSAvoidheat dissipation efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The flame arrestor utilizes a porous metal screen with specifically controlled pore sizes and distributions. This porous structure effectively suppresses flame propagation while maintaining high heat dissipation efficiency, as the porous material provides large surface area for heat transfer. The design optimizes the balance between flame arrestment and thermal management, reducing the mass required compared to traditional solid flame arrestors.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #31Porous materials

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 effectively redirects and cools exhaust gases, preventing external flame propagation and enhancing heat dissipation with reduced flame arrestor mass, ensuring safer venting and improved operational efficiency.

Implementation Method 1

exhaust gas to be released through the perforations in the flame arrestor

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectDarcy's Law:

Implementation Method 2

redirects the flow of hot exhaust gases to a safer direction

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectFlow redirection:

Implementation Method 3

effectively choking out flame propagation while still allowing exhaust gas to be released

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectHeat dissipation:

Data Source

PatentUS11879382B2Explosion relief valve with annular flame arrestor

Publication Date: 2024.01.23 KLA CORP

AI summary

An explosion relief valve for a crankcase of an engine includes a carrier plate, a cap, and an annular flame arrestor. The carrier plate includes a valve plate that has a sinuous shape for redirecting flame back into the engine. The flame arrestor includes a plurality of layers of smooth metal sheets, with each layer having a pattern of apertures that is different in size and spacing than the pattern of apertures of its adjacent layer. The apertures of each layer are partially, and only partially, aligned with the perforations of its adjacent layers. The layers are laid flush against each other to minimize or eliminate air space between the layers, leaving only the air channels existing between the apertures of the metal sheet layers as passageways for exhaust gases to be released from the valve.