FESAD Air Inlet Baffle Plate for Engine Compartment Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motor vehicle underbody paneling designs with air inlets, such as NACA air inlets, restrict packing space in the engine compartment due to their size and shape, which limits the effective cooling of components located further away from the air inlet, as warmer air from the engine compartment interferes with the cool air flow.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a 'Flat Efficient Submerged Airintake Device' (FESAD) air inlet with a vertically kinking air baffle plate and vortex-generating structures, which deflects warmer air and generates eddies to maintain flow separation, allowing for a more compact and efficient air inlet configuration that increases vertical and horizontal packing space in the engine compartment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a NACA air inlet is used to cool components behind the engine, then cooling efficiency is improved, but packing space in the engine compartment is restricted due to the required minimum dimensions and height
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the air inlet by using a flat, low-profile design with an arched upper and lower flat element instead of the traditional NACA duct shape. This allows the air inlet to achieve sufficient cooling performance while occupying minimal vertical space in the engine compartment, directly resolving the contradiction between cooling efficiency and packing space availability
2Temperature
If the upper flat element extends further back in an arc to improve flow separation, then cooling performance is improved, but vertical space consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a third dimension by adding a vertically kinking air baffle plate that extends upward from the rear end of the upper flat element. This vertical extension deflects warmer air away from the cool air flow path without requiring the upper flat element to extend further backward, thus improving flow separation while minimizing vertical space consumption in the engine compartment
3Temperature
If warmer air from the engine compartment mixes with cool air flow, then cooling performance deteriorates, but flow separation becomes more difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces the air baffle plate as an intermediary element that physically separates the cool air flow path from the warmer air in the engine compartment. This baffle plate acts as a mediator that deflects warmer air away from the air inlet, preventing mixing and maintaining flow separation without requiring complex active control systems
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 optimal cooling of components by maintaining flow separation and increasing packing space, allowing the engine and drive train to be positioned deeper within the vehicle while minimizing ground clearance, and enhances airflow throughput without increasing the overall flow cross-section.
Implementation Method 1
the flow separation effect of a relatively short, flat air baffle plate, which kinks from the upper flat element and then ends freely in the engine compartment
Implementation Method 2
The FESAD air inlet according to the invention contains several vortex-generating structures that do not change the overall flow cross-section because they are made of thin sheet metal or similar material, but which generate intense vortices and the overall flow path that the air flowing through has to take somewhat extend
Data Source
Figure 1~3
AI summary
The invention relates to a motor vehicle underbody panel with an air inlet (2) which is delimited towards the vehicle or the roadway by an upper and a lower planar element (2; 3), respectively, which extend in an arc to the rear and upwards towards a vehicle compartment (1) in which vehicle components requiring cooling are located. According to the invention, a flat air baffle plate (5) adjoins the rear end of the upper planar element (3), extending substantially vertically upwards for a distance (h) and then terminating essentially freely in the vehicle compartment (1), particularly in the engine compartment. Furthermore, the air inlet (2) includes vortex-generating structures (8; 9).