Oxygen Delivery System for Internal Combustion Engine
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Solution Overview
Problem
The automotive industry faces challenges in improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions in internal combustion engines without compromising engine performance, necessitating innovative methods for delivering oxygen to enhance horsepower and reduce fuel consumption.
Innovation Solution
A system that extracts oxygen from ambient air using a main air supply pump, heat exchanger, fractionating column, and expansion valve to produce pressurized cold temperature air, which is then used to increase oxygen availability in the engine, reducing fuel flow and contaminants, while utilizing a high energy freezer pump and reservoir to regulate temperature and flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a main air supply pump is used to deliver ambient air to the engine, then oxygen availability increases, but system complexity increases due to additional components needed for oxygen concentration
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts oxygen from ambient air by passing it through a fractionating column that separates oxygen from other atmospheric gases. This extraction process concentrates oxygen delivery to the engine while removing unnecessary components of ambient air, resolving the contradiction between increasing oxygen availability and managing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The main air supply pump serves multiple functions: it pressurizes ambient air for delivery to the engine, provides feedstock for the fractionating column to extract oxygen, and maintains consistent airflow despite temperature changes. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components, thereby managing system complexity while increasing oxygen availability.
2Productivity
If pressurized high temperature air is cooled using a heat exchanger, then oxygen delivery efficiency improves, but energy consumption increases due to cooling requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system converts the waste heat generated by compressing air in the main air supply pump into a useful function. The heat exchanger cools the pressurized air before it enters the fractionating column, improving oxygen delivery efficiency. The cooling process condenses moisture that would otherwise interfere with oxygen separation, turning a potential harm into a beneficial preprocessing step.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat exchanger changes the temperature parameter of the pressurized air from high to low before oxygen extraction. This parameter change optimizes the conditions for the fractionating column to separate oxygen efficiently, as lower temperatures improve condensation and separation processes, thereby improving overall oxygen delivery efficiency.
3Quantity of substance
If a fractionating column is used to produce liquid oxygen, then oxygen concentration increases, but device complexity increases due to additional processing equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The fractionating column utilizes phase transitions of oxygen and other atmospheric gases to achieve separation. By cooling pressurized air below the dew point, oxygen condenses into liquid form while lighter gases remain vaporized. This phase transition mechanism naturally concentrates oxygen without requiring complex mechanical separation devices, thereby increasing oxygen concentration while managing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces complex mechanical oxygen separation methods with a simpler thermal-based fractionating column. Instead of using mechanical separators or membranes, the invention uses temperature and pressure control to achieve oxygen concentration through phase transitions, reducing device complexity while maintaining high oxygen concentration output.
4Power
If additional oxygen is delivered to the engine, then horsepower increases, but fuel efficiency may decrease due to improved combustion
Solution Approach 1:
The system delivers concentrated oxygen to the engine to accelerate combustion reactions. The higher oxygen concentration enables more complete and efficient burning of fuel, which increases horsepower output. The improved combustion efficiency means that fuel is burned more effectively, converting more chemical energy into mechanical work, thereby potentially improving fuel efficiency rather than decreasing it.
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 system effectively increases relative horsepower, decreases fuel usage, and reduces emissions by providing additional oxygen to the internal combustion engine, while also managing temperature and flow to ensure consistent operation.
Implementation Method 1
a heat exchanger for lowering a temperature of the pressurized high temperature air to produce pressurized cold temperature air
Implementation Method 2
a fractionating column for receiving the pressurized cold temperature air and producing a unit of liquid oxygen
Implementation Method 3
an expansion valve for transforming the liquid oxygen to a unit of oxygen gas
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present disclosure may include a system for delivering oxygen to an internal combustion engine of a vehicle including an air filter for removing contaminants from an ambient air source. Embodiments may also include a main air supply pump driven by a first rotational power source to produce pressurized high temperature air. In some embodiments, the first rotational power source may be powered by an internal combustion. Embodiments may also include an engine of the vehicle. In some embodiments, the air filter may be in pneumatic communication with the main air supply pump generating the pressurized high temperature air. Embodiments may also include a heat exchanger for lowering a temperature of the pressurized high temperature air to produce pressurized cold temperature air.