Heat Exchanger Plenum With Integrated Engine Silencer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat exchanger plenum designs require separate transportation and installation of the engine silencer, leading to increased costs and complexities due to their modular nature and external mounting, which complicates remote site setups in industries like natural gas and oil.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating an engine silencer within the heat exchanger plenum structure, supported by a truss system that divides the interior volume and allows for a flush or nearly flush surface, enabling portable and efficient transportation and installation, with access doors and cutouts for piping connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the engine silencer is mounted externally on the heat exchanger plenum, then the silencer can be installed separately, but the transportation becomes complicated and requires additional trucks and cranes
Solution Approach 1:
The engine silencer is integrated within the heat exchanger plenum structure, combining two previously separate components into a single unified unit. This merging eliminates the need for separate transportation of the silencer and removes the requirement for additional trucks and cranes, while still allowing for modular assembly at the remote site through standardized connections
2Ease of repair
If the engine silencer is mounted externally atop the heat exchanger plenum, then the silencer is accessible, but the height increases creating transportation issues
Solution Approach 1:
The engine silencer is nested within the interior volume of the heat exchanger plenum, placing one component inside another. This nesting arrangement reduces the overall external dimensions and height of the assembly, making it more suitable for transportation, while the silencer remains accessible through designated access points in the plenum structure
3Adaptability or versatility
If the heat exchanger plenum is designed as modular skids, then the system is transportable to remote sites, but ancillary components arrive separate requiring additional installation costs
Solution Approach 1:
The engine silencer and heat exchanger plenum are merged into a single integrated modular unit that can be transported together on the same skid. This combination ensures that all major components arrive together at the remote site, eliminating the need for separate transportation of ancillary components and reducing installation time and costs
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 simplifies transportation and installation by integrating the engine silencer within the heat exchanger plenum, reducing costs and time required for setup, while maintaining efficient airflow and structural integrity for heat transfer.
Implementation Method 1
a heat exchanger may allow for the flow of air (second medium) over or around one or more series of tubes in which a liquid (first medium) flows, thereby cooling or heating the liquid
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger plenum apparatus comprising structure to support, among other components, an engine silencer substantially incorporated therein.