Viscous Coupling Fan Drive Vibration Damper
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing engine cooling drive systems in motor vehicles suffer from radiated noise emissions from fans, and there is a need for a compact solution that effectively reduces these noise emissions while minimizing costs and maintaining overall axial length.
Innovation Solution
The vibration damper is strategically placed between the fan and the viscous coupling, optimizing its strength and stability requirements by reducing the forces it needs to absorb, and is designed as a structure-borne damper to interrupt noise transmission between the engine and fan, with optional temperature-regulated viscous coupling and material connections for efficient assembly and retrofitting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the vibration damper is arranged between the viscous coupling and the drive shaft (prior art), then vibrations are damped, but the vibration damper requires high strength and stability to absorb forces from the viscous coupling mass and drive shaft
Solution Approach 1:
The vibration damper is positioned between the fan and viscous coupling, acting as an intermediary that isolates the fan from vibrations generated by the viscous coupling and drive shaft. This arrangement allows the vibration damper to address harmful vibrations without needing to absorb the full forces generated by the viscous coupling mass and drive shaft rotation.
2Ease of manufacture
If the vibration damper is arranged between the fan and the viscous coupling (invention), then the vibration damper can be designed with lower strength requirements, but the overall axial length of the drive system must be maintained compact
Solution Approach 1:
The vibration damper is designed to be axially integrated with the existing drive system components, nesting it within the available axial space between the fan and viscous coupling. This allows the vibration damper to be added without significantly increasing the overall axial length of the drive system.
3Productivity
If the fan operates at high speed for effective cooling, then cooling performance is improved, but radiated noise emissions from the fan increase
Solution Approach 1:
The vibration damper converts the harmful vibrations and noise generated by the fan into a controlled damping function, absorbing and dissipating vibrational energy. This allows the fan to operate at high speeds for effective cooling while the vibration damper mitigates the resulting noise emissions.
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 significantly reduces noise emissions from the fan by optimizing the vibration damper's design for lower forces and compact dimensions, while allowing for cost-effective and efficient implementation, including reduced energy consumption through speed regulation.
Implementation Method 1
The vibration damper ensures damping and / or decoupling of the vibrations prevailing between the output of the internal combustion engine on the drive shaft side and the fan
Implementation Method 2
the vibration damper with its elastic element acts primarily as a structure-borne vibration damper
Implementation Method 3
The viscous coupling is preferably regulated as a function of the temperature and its effect can be changed, for example, via a bimetal or an electrical / electronic input variable
Implementation Method 4
The viscous clutch is open below a certain temperature threshold, which limits the maximum speed of the fan. If the temperature rises, e.g. the bimetal the mode of operation of the viscous clutch and couples it into a second state
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
Drive system for a fan 5 of an engine cooling system in a motor vehicle, wherein the motor vehicle has a radiator 2 for recooling a cooling medium for cooling an internal combustion engine 3, and a fan 5, driven via a drive shaft 4 of the internal combustion engine 3, for cooling the engine cooling medium, is arranged between the radiator 2 and the internal combustion engine 3. The drive system 1 has a viscous coupling 6 and a vibration damper 7 comprising an elastic element, which dampens and/or decouples the vibrations between the drive shaft-side output A of the internal combustion engine 3 and the fan 5. The viscous coupling 6 and the vibration damper 7 are arranged between the internal combustion engine 3 and the fan 5, wherein the vibration damper 7 is arranged between the fan 5 and the viscous coupling 6 and dampens and/or decouples the vibrations acting between the fan 5 and the viscous coupling 6.