Fluid Vessel Venting Design for Urea Solution Ice Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fluid containers for aqueous urea solutions used in exhaust gas treatment from internal combustion engines face issues with ice formation in ventilation systems, leading to potential blockages and damage due to limited vacuum resistance, especially at low temperatures, necessitating costly ice-resistant components and complex designs.
Innovation Solution
A fluid container design with a ventilation device at the highest point of the tank cover and a dip tube connected to the filling head via a ventilation line, incorporating a bubble container and a check valve to prevent fluid backflow, and using a membrane or throttle bore as the venting device to manage pressure and ice resistance effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional filling and venting systems are used with aqueous urea solutions, then the system can handle normal operating conditions, but fluid may freeze in the ventilation pipe at low temperatures causing blockages and requiring costly ice-resistant components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional arrangement by placing the vent tube opening at the bottom of the container instead of at the top. This inversion ensures that the vent tube remains below the fluid level during filling operations, preventing fluid from entering and freezing in the ventilation path while maintaining reliable venting functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a vertical dimension consideration by positioning the vent tube opening at the lowest point (bottom) of the container, creating a height difference that prevents fluid accumulation in the vent tube. This spatial arrangement in the vertical dimension ensures that even during high-speed filling, fluid cannot reach the vent opening, thereby eliminating the freezing risk without requiring ice-resistant components.
2Manufacturing precision
If the vent tube opens into the interior space via a filling level limiting valve, then fluid level can be controlled, but the structure becomes more complex and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the filling level limiting function from the vent tube system by using the geometric positioning of the vent tube opening at the bottom of the container. This simple geometric constraint naturally limits the fluid level without requiring additional valves or control mechanisms, thereby reducing structural complexity while maintaining manufacturing precision for fluid level control.
3Reliability
If ice-resistant components are used to prevent freezing in the ventilation system, then reliability at low temperatures improves, but manufacturing costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the potential harm of fluid entering the vent tube into a beneficial design feature by positioning the vent opening at the bottom. This arrangement uses the fluid's own weight and level to prevent it from reaching the vent tube, turning what would be a harmful situation (fluid in vent tube) into a naturally prevented condition, thereby eliminating the need for expensive ice-resistant components while maintaining low-temperature reliability.
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 design ensures reliable filling and venting at high speeds, prevents fluid freezing in the filling pipe, and reduces the need for ice-resistant components, allowing for efficient fluid drainage and pressure equalization, even at low temperatures, thus preventing container deformation and ensuring functionality under various conditions.
Implementation Method 1
the dip tube is fluidly connected to the filling head via a ventilation line, with a bubble container being arranged in the ventilation line
Implementation Method 2
An unintentional backflow out of the fluid container via the filling tube is effectively prevented by arranging and constructing a check valve in the filling tube in such a way that this check valve allows fluid to flow in the direction of the interior of the fluid container and blocks it in the opposite direction
Implementation Method 3
the venting device is designed as a membrane, in particular as a PTFE membrane (polytetrafluoroethylene), in the tank cover and/or at the geodetically highest point
Implementation Method 4
the venting device is designed as a throttle bore at the geodetically highest point of the fluid container, with a fluid-conducting connection being formed from the throttle bore to the filling head
Implementation Method 5
it ensures that the fluid drains out of the filler pipe after a refueling process, so that freezing of fluid in the filler pipe is effective at low ambient temperatures is avoided
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a fluid vessel (10), in particular liquid vessel, in particular for an exhaust-gas purification fluid for the treatment of exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine, in particular for an aqueous urea solution, wherein the fluid vessel (10) has a filler pipe (14) which is connected in fluid-conducting fashion to an interior (12) of the fluid vessel (10) and which, at an end (22) remote from the interior (12) of the fluid vessel (10), has a filler head (18) and is closed off by means of a removable tank cover (20), wherein the fluid vessel (10) and the filler pipe (14) are designed and arranged such that, when the fluid vessel (10) is in an installed position, a geodetically highest point (28) of the fluid vessel (10) is situated geodetically lower than the filler head (18). Here, in each case one ventilation device (36, 42) is arranged in the tank cover (20) and at the geodetically highest point (28), when the fluid vessel (10) is in the installed position, of the fluid vessel (10).