External Active Air Flap Using Air Pressure for Engine Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing external active air flaps for vehicle engine rooms require large motors to operate due to high torque needs, increasing cost and weight, and fail to effectively manage airflow at high speeds, leading to potential component damage from excessive heat.
Innovation Solution
A design where a fixed flap acts as a radiator grill and a movable flap is rotated by external air pressure to open and close, eliminating the need for a motor and ensuring airflow management at high speeds, with a flap driver mechanism that includes a hinge shaft, rack, pinion, and controller to control the movable flap's position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the radiator grill acts as a flap to control external air inflow, then the aerodynamic performance is improved, but a large torque is required to open and close the flap at high speed, necessitating a larger capacity motor and increasing cost
Solution Approach 1:
The movable flap utilizes the pressure of external air flowing into the vehicle as a driving force to automatically open and close, eliminating the need for a motor and reducing manufacturing cost while maintaining aerodynamic performance improvement
Solution Approach 2:
A hinge shaft is introduced as an intermediary mechanism to enable the movable flap to rotate about it, allowing the flap to be driven by air pressure rather than requiring a high-torque motor
2Loss of energy
If the movable flap is used to control air inflow at high speed, then fuel consumption is improved, but the components in the engine room may be damaged due to high temperature when adequate cooling is needed
Solution Approach 1:
The movable flap is designed to be dynamically adjustable, allowing it to rotate between open and closed positions based on cooling requirements, enabling the system to switch between fuel efficiency mode and component protection mode as needed
Solution Approach 2:
The opening angle of the movable flap can be changed to control the amount of external air inflow, allowing the system to adjust between maximizing fuel efficiency (smaller opening) and ensuring adequate cooling (larger opening) based on thermal conditions
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 solution reduces costs and weight by using air pressure to operate the movable flap, improving fuel efficiency and preventing engine component damage from high temperatures by ensuring adequate airflow and cooling, even at high speeds.
Implementation Method 1
The movable flap rotates about the hinge shaft to open and close an opening of the external active air flap by a pressure of external air flowing into the vehicle
Implementation Method 2
Heat exchange media mainly flow inside of the heat exchangers described above, and the heat exchange media in the heat exchangers and air outside of the heat exchangers mutually exchange heat whereby cooling or radiation is performed
Data Source
AI summary
An external active air flap for a vehicle engine room includes a fixed flap fixedly installed at a front side of a vehicle and protruding in a forward-backward direction of the vehicle, which acts as a radiator grill. A hinge shaft is disposed inside and along the fixed flap in a left-right direction of the vehicle. A movable flap is disposed on an upper surface of the fixed flap, and a back end of the movable flap is connected with the hinge shaft. The movable flap rotates about the hinge shaft to open and close an opening of the external active air flap by a pressure of external air flowing into the vehicle.