Engine Cooling Structure Spacer Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing engine cooling structures inefficiently utilize the water jacket, as most of the coolant circulates in the upper region, leaving the lower region as a 'dead space' and not effectively cooling the entire engine body.
Innovation Solution
An engine cooling structure that divides the water jacket into upper and lower regions using a spacer with a dividing wall and distribution walls, allowing coolant to circulate effectively in both areas and distribute it appropriately to each cylinder, preventing uneven flow and ensuring efficient cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a spacer is housed in a water jacket to cool the upper region of the cylinder liner, then the upper part cooling efficiency is improved, but the lower region becomes a dead space and the water jacket utilization is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The water jacket is segmented into an upper circulation path and a lower circulation path by the dividing wall of the spacer. The upper path cools the upper region of the cylinder liner, while the lower path cools the lower region. This segmentation allows both regions to be effectively cooled without creating dead spaces, resolving the contradiction between upper part cooling efficiency and water jacket utilization.
2Productivity
If coolant is introduced into the upper region of the water jacket, then the upper region cooling is effective, but the lower region receives insufficient coolant flow
Solution Approach 1:
The dividing wall of the spacer acts as an intermediary structure that directs coolant flow. It receives coolant from the upper region and channels it to the lower region, ensuring that both areas receive adequate coolant flow. This intermediary structure resolves the contradiction by facilitating proper coolant distribution to both upper and lower regions.
3Device complexity
If the water jacket is used as a single circulation channel, then the structure is simple, but the cooling uniformity across different regions is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The water jacket is segmented into multiple circulation paths (upper and lower) by the spacer's dividing wall. This segmentation creates separate flow channels that can be optimized for different cooling requirements, improving cooling uniformity across the cylinder liner while maintaining relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the water jacket are given different functions through the spacer segmentation. The upper region is optimized for cooling the upper cylinder liner, while the lower region is optimized for cooling the lower cylinder liner. This local quality differentiation improves overall cooling uniformity without significantly increasing structural complexity.
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 configuration ensures that all regions of the water jacket are utilized for coolant circulation, providing appropriate cooling to the engine body, maintaining optimal temperatures for combustion and reducing the risk of excessive cooling, thereby stabilizing auto-ignition combustion and effectively cooling lubricants and EGR gas.
Implementation Method 1
a structure that cools an engine body by circulating a coolant through a water jacket formed to surround a cylinder wall
Data Source
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AI summary
An engine cooling structure includes a cylinder block including a block inner peripheral wall and a block outer peripheral wall that define a water jacket, and a spacer housed in the water jacket. The block outer peripheral wall includes a coolant inlet for introducing a coolant into the water jacket at one end in a cylinder row direction. The spacer includes a peripheral wall surrounding the block inner peripheral wall, and a dividing wall and a distribution wall provided on the peripheral wall. The dividing wall is provided along a circumferential direction of the peripheral wall and protrudes outward from the peripheral wall between a lower end and an upper end of the coolant inlet. The distribution wall includes an upper distribution wall extending upward from the dividing wall and a lower distribution wall extending downward from the dividing wall.