Cooler for cooling an exhaust gas discharged from an engine undergoing test
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Solution Overview
Problem
Coolers used in engine testing apparatuses face issues such as cavitation in pumps under low-pressure environments and degradation of heat exchangers due to soot adsorption, which affect their performance.
Innovation Solution
A cooler design featuring a guide unit with varying cross-sectional area, a liquid supply unit, a liquid column guide unit, a liquid storage unit, and a liquid circulation unit that operates at lower internal pressure, using a screen to collect liquid and prevent pump damage, and a filter unit to remove foreign materials, allowing for efficient cooling and liquid collection without specialized pumps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If a pump is used to exhaust moisture in a cooler, then moisture can be removed from the gas, but cavitation occurs in the pump under low-pressure environments
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful function of the pump (moisture removal) is extracted and separated from the low-pressure environment. The pump is placed in the atmospheric pressure region while only the necessary function (moisture exhaustion) is transferred to the low-pressure region through the guide unit, allowing the pump to operate reliably without cavitation
Solution Approach 2:
The guide unit acts as an intermediary between the low-pressure cooler region and the atmospheric pressure pump region. It transmits the moisture from the low-pressure environment to the pump in the atmospheric pressure environment, enabling the pump to perform moisture removal without being directly exposed to low-pressure conditions that cause cavitation
2Temperature
If a heat exchanger is used to cool gas, then cooling efficiency is improved, but soot and foreign materials are adsorbed onto the heat exchanger surfaces, degrading performance
Solution Approach 1:
Liquid droplets serve as an intermediary cooling medium between the hot gas and the cooler structure. The liquid absorbs heat from the gas through evaporation and convection without requiring direct contact between the gas and heat exchanger surfaces, thereby preventing soot adsorption while maintaining cooling efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The traditional mechanical heat exchanger system is replaced with a liquid-based cooling system. Instead of using solid heat exchanger surfaces that are susceptible to soot deposition, the invention uses liquid circulation and evaporation to transfer heat, eliminating the surface adsorption problem
3Device complexity
If the guide unit cross-sectional area is constant, then the structure is simple, but liquid collection and pump protection become difficult under low-pressure conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The guide unit cross-sectional area varies dynamically along the flow direction, being smaller at the upstream end and larger at the downstream end. This dynamic geometry change facilitates liquid droplet accumulation and separation in the expanding section, enabling effective liquid collection without complex additional components
Solution Approach 2:
The geometric parameter (cross-sectional area) of the guide unit is changed along the flow direction to optimize liquid collection. The gradual expansion of the cross-sectional area creates conditions favorable for liquid droplet coalescence and separation from the gas stream, improving liquid collection efficiency
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
The cooler effectively cools gases while preventing pump damage and maintaining performance even at lower pressures, enabling efficient gas cooling and liquid collection through a simple structure, and effectively removing foreign materials.
Implementation Method 1
a cooler may cool gas or the like by supplying moisture to the gas or the like
Implementation Method 2
a liquid column guide unit connected to the guide unit and having a column of the liquid
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a cooler and an engine testing apparatus having the same. The cooler includes a guide unit configured to make a gas flow, a liquid supply unit arranged in the guide unit to supply a liquid into the guide unit, a liquid column guide unit connected to the guide unit and having a column of the liquid, and a liquid storage unit connected to the liquid column guide unit and storing the liquid.