Cylindrical Air Oil Separator with Tangential Spiral Inlet
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Solution Overview
Problem
Dry sump lubrication systems in engines and transmissions suffer from air entrainment in oil, which reduces lubrication and cooling effectiveness, as scavenger pumps inadvertently introduce more air into the system, leading to insufficient lubrication and cooling of components.
Innovation Solution
An air/oil separator with a cylindrical housing featuring a tangential and spiral passageway configuration that creates a vortex, utilizing centrifugal forces to separate air from oil, allowing air to exit through the top and oil to return to the system via the bottom outlet, effectively removing entrained air from aerated oil or hydraulic fluid.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If scavenger pumps are made more effective to improve oil circulation in dry sump systems, then oil circulation efficiency is improved, but air entrainment in the oil increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the harmful air component from the aerated oil using a centrifugal separator. The separator isolates air bubbles from the oil stream, allowing air to be vented separately while clean oil returns to the system, thus resolving the air entrainment problem caused by effective scavenger pumps
Solution Approach 2:
The centrifugal separator acts as an intermediary device between the scavenger pump and the oil return path. It processes the aerated oil intermediate state, separating air and oil before recombination, enabling the system to maintain high circulation efficiency while eliminating air contamination
2Device complexity
If air is not removed from the oil, then the system structure remains simple, but lubrication and cooling effectiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The centrifugal separator utilizes the natural centrifugal force generated by the rotating flow of aerated oil to perform separation automatically, without requiring additional power input or complex control mechanisms. The system essentially separates air and oil using its own flow energy, minimizing added complexity while ensuring reliable lubrication
3Device complexity
If air is not removed from the oil, then the device complexity remains low, but component service life decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The separator housing is divided into distinct functional zones: an upper air collection chamber and a lower oil collection chamber, separated by a centrifugal separation zone. This segmentation allows independent handling of air and oil streams, enabling effective air removal to protect components while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure
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 air/oil separator enhances lubrication and cooling performance by ensuring a sufficient volume of oil is free from air, thereby extending the service life of engine and transmission components by efficiently separating air from oil, even in dry sump systems.
Implementation Method 1
Such tangential and spiral feed of the aerated oil into the separator portion forms a vortex creating centrifugal forces which cause oil droplets to impact and agglomerate on the walls of the separator
Implementation Method 2
forms a vortex creating centrifugal forces
Implementation Method 3
As the oil is drawn down the walls of the separator by gravity, the air flows out the outlet in the top of the separator
Data Source
AI summary
An air/oil separator includes a housing having an inlet for aerated oil or hydraulic fluid and outlets for the separated air and oil or fluid. The housing is generally cylindrical and defines an upper, inlet portion, a center, separator portion and a lower collector portion. The upper, inlet portion of the housing includes a first, tangential inlet passageway which merges with a second, spiral or circular passageway. The spiral or circular passageway communicates with the cyclonic separator portion which may be either cylindrical or frusto-conical. A coaxial outlet in the upper, inlet portion allows separated air to return to the engine or transmission housing while an outlet in the lower, collector portion returns oil or hydraulic fluid to the device.