Car Intercooler Pipe Vibration Damping via Impedance Mismatch
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing car intercooler pipes made of plastic materials suffer from poor vibration and noise performance, particularly in vehicles using the 3-point mounting method, which leads to significant transmission of noise and vibration due to inadequate impedance changes along the pipe.
Innovation Solution
The intercooler pipe is designed with varying thickness and material properties across different sections, incorporating a mass impedance mismatch structure and stiffness impedance mismatch structure, using different synthetic resin materials and thicknesses to attenuate vibrations, and includes disconnection portions for flexibility and reduced contact with peripheral components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If an intercooler pipe is made entirely of plastic material (TEEEE) to reduce costs and weight, then cost and weight are reduced, but vibration and noise performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The intercooler pipe employs varying wall thicknesses at different sections (thinner at inlet/outlet, thicker at intermediate portion) and uses different materials (TEEEE vs. PBT) for different sections to create local impedance variations. This allows the pipe to maintain low overall weight while creating specific zones that reflect vibration waves, resolving the contradiction between weight reduction and vibration performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The pipe uses composite construction with different plastic materials (TEEEE for inlet/outlet portions, PBT for intermediate portion) with different stiffness characteristics. This composite approach enables the lightweight plastic construction to achieve vibration performance comparable to traditional aluminum-rubber constructions by creating impedance mismatches that reflect vibration waves.
2Device complexity
If the 3-point mounting method is used to support the engine, then device complexity is reduced, but rolling motion of the engine increases causing greater noise and vibration transmission
Solution Approach 1:
The pipe design changes physical parameters (material type, wall thickness) along its length to create impedance variations. The intermediate portion uses thicker walls and different material (PBT) compared to inlet/outlet portions (TEEEE), creating parameter changes that reflect vibration waves and reduce transmission from the 3-point mounting system.
Solution Approach 2:
The pipe is segmented into three distinct portions (inlet, intermediate, outlet) with different material and thickness characteristics. This segmentation creates multiple impedance interfaces that reflect vibration waves, allowing the simple 3-point mounting structure to achieve acceptable vibration performance through the segmented pipe design.
3Ease of manufacture
If uniform thickness and material are used throughout the intercooler pipe, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but vibration wave reflection is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than uniform construction, the pipe implements local quality variations with different wall thicknesses and materials at different sections. The intermediate portion has thicker walls and uses PBT material, while inlet/outlet portions are thinner and use TEEEE material, creating local impedance variations that reflect vibration waves while remaining manufacturable as a single molded piece.
Solution Approach 2:
The design incorporates parameter changes along the pipe length, specifically varying wall thickness and material type. These parameter changes create impedance mismatches that reflect vibration waves, achieving vibration control without complex assembly while maintaining ease of manufacture through single-piece molding with integrated variations.
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 effectively reduces vibration and noise transmission by reflecting progressive waves, achieving performance comparable to or better than traditional intercooler pipes, while allowing for flexibility and reduced noise levels across various frequency regions.
Implementation Method 1
the amount of change in impedance of the intercooler pipe is increased so that a progressive wave of vibration is reflected
Implementation Method 2
a progressive wave of vibration is reflected, and as a result, the amount of vibration transmitted through the intercooler pipe is reduced
Data Source
AI summary
A car intercooler pipe includes an inlet of the intercooler pipe positioned at an upper side of the car intercooler pipe, an upper corrugated portion having upper corrugated bodies protruding in a rib shape from a surface of a pipe body extending in a direction toward the inlet, an outlet of the intercooler pipe positioned at a lower side of the car intercooler pipe, a lower corrugated portion, and an intermediate portion bent downward from the upper corrugated portion and having the pipe body connected to the lower corrugated portion, wherein a thickness of the pipe body of the intermediate portion is greater than a thickness of the upper corrugated body of the upper corrugated portion and a thickness of the lower corrugated body of the lower corrugated portion, and wherein disconnection portions having corrugations with different heights are formed in the upper corrugated body and the lower corrugated body.