Automotive Coolant Deaerator Baffle Plate Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automotive coolant liquid circuits face inefficiencies due to gas/air bubbles carried by the coolant liquid, which hinder the separation of air bubbles from the coolant liquid, especially at higher flow velocities.
Innovation Solution
A passive automotive coolant liquid deaerator unit with a widened deceleration chamber and a substantially horizontal baffle plate, which reduces coolant liquid flow velocity, allowing gas bubbles to rise and be separated effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the coolant liquid flow velocity is increased to improve cooling efficiency, then the cooling capacity is improved, but the air bubbles are carried along with the circulating coolant liquid current and cannot rise to the expansion tank, worsening the deaeration effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The deaerator housing is divided into multiple functional chambers: a deceleration chamber with enlarged fluidic cross-section for velocity reduction, a separation chamber with baffle plate for bubble separation, and an expansion chamber for bubble accumulation. This segmentation allows different flow conditions in different zones, enabling effective deaeration even when inlet flow velocity is high.
Solution Approach 2:
A substantially horizontal baffle plate is introduced as an intermediary element in the separation chamber. This baffle plate creates a physical barrier that forces coolant liquid to flow around it, generating turbulence and reducing flow velocity locally, which allows air bubbles to rise and separate from the liquid stream.
2Reliability
If a baffle plate is added to improve bubble separation, then the separation rate increases by over 10%, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The baffle plate is designed to utilize the kinetic energy and flow characteristics of the incoming coolant liquid itself to generate the necessary turbulence and velocity reduction. The plate's geometry and positioning are optimized to work with the natural flow patterns, eliminating the need for external actuators, sensors, or control systems, thereby maintaining simplicity while achieving enhanced separation performance.
3Reliability
If the fluidic cross-section is enlarged to reduce flow velocity, then the air bubbles can rise more effectively, but the deaerator unit occupies more space
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of simply enlarging the cross-sectional area in a single dimension, the invention utilizes vertical positioning and three-dimensional chamber configuration. The deceleration chamber is positioned vertically above the separation chamber, and the baffle plate is oriented horizontally to create vertical flow paths. This dimensional arrangement allows effective velocity reduction and bubble separation within a compact footprint by exploiting the vertical dimension.
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 deaerator unit achieves a separation rate increase of over 10% compared to similar setups without a baffle plate, effectively removing air bubbles from the coolant liquid, thereby enhancing the cooling capacity and pumping efficiency of the coolant liquid circuit.
Implementation Method 1
the pressure of the coolant liquid and of the gas bubbles within the deceleration chamber is reduced so that the gas bubbles expand and become lighter in specific weight so that the hydrostatic uplift force of the air bubbles is increased
Implementation Method 2
The local flow velocity of the coolant liquid right at the upside surface of the baffle plate is substantially reduced because of frictional effects so that the gas/air bubbles have more time to rise up to the deaeration opening
Implementation Method 3
A semipermeable membrane can be provided between the deaeration opening and the atmosphere or the expansion tank, the semipermeable membrane being not permeable for the coolant liquid but permeable for air
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention refers to a passive automotive coolant liquid deaerator unit (30, 30') for deaerating a circulating coolant liquid of a coolant circuit of an automobile, with a deaerator housing (32) defining a deceleration chamber (40, 40') with a chamber liquid inlet (38, 38') and a chamber liquid outlet (39, 39') and being provided with a deaeration opening (50) at the vertical top of the deceleration chamber (40, 40'). The chamber liquid inlet (38, 38') is provided vertically higher than the chamber liquid outlet (39, 39'). A substantially horizontal baffle plate (100) is arranged within the deceleration chamber (40, 40') and is arranged flu id ically between the chamber liquid inlet (38, 38') and the chamber liquid outlet (39, 39').