Process Chamber Air Curtain for Thermal Separation at Openings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drying systems for vehicle bodies face challenges in efficiently maintaining thermal separation from the environment while minimizing energy consumption and preventing contamination from dust particles, with existing solutions either being complex or ineffective in preventing heat and gaseous fluid escape.
Innovation Solution
A process chamber design featuring nozzles or screens that direct heated and compressed gaseous fluid, such as air or inert gases, to create a fluid curtain within the chamber, with adjustable geometry and flow direction to ensure efficient thermal separation and minimize impact on workpieces, using a guide contour and mixing chamber to enhance fluid flow and prevent escape.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a fluid curtain is generated using an orifice plate or nozzle extending across the entire width of the process chamber, then thermal separation from the environment is achieved, but the system complexity increases and energy consumption rises
Solution Approach 1:
The fluid curtain generation system is segmented into multiple independent nozzles distributed across the process chamber opening, replacing a single complex orifice plate. Each nozzle operates independently to create localized fluid streams that collectively form the thermal barrier, simplifying the overall system architecture while maintaining effective thermal separation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a uniform orifice plate across the entire opening, the system employs nozzles with locally optimized geometries positioned at specific locations where thermal separation is most needed. The nozzle parameters (diameter, angle, flow rate) are adjusted locally to match the thermal requirements of different regions of the process chamber opening.
2Temperature
If hot air is blown into the process chamber to maintain temperature, then drying capability is improved, but heat loss to the environment increases
Solution Approach 1:
A curtain of cooler ambient air is introduced as an intermediary layer between the hot drying air inside the process chamber and the external environment. This intermediate air curtain acts as a thermal buffer, reducing direct heat transfer to the surroundings while allowing the hot air to maintain the required drying temperature inside the chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the temperature parameter of the air curtain by introducing ambient temperature air that mixes with the hot drying air at the chamber opening. This creates a gradient temperature profile where the hottest air remains inside the chamber while the mixed air forms a cooler protective barrier at the opening, reducing heat loss.
3Productivity
If the process chamber opening remains open for workpiece supply, then productivity is maintained, but thermal separation and contamination protection deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The fluid curtain is maintained continuously across the process chamber opening during workpiece supply operations. Rather than closing the opening or interrupting the drying process, the system continuously generates the thermal barrier while allowing uninterrupted workpiece movement through the opening, ensuring both productivity and thermal separation are maintained simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The air curtain serves as a permeable intermediary that allows workpieces to pass through the opening while still providing thermal separation. The fluid barrier is sufficiently dense to prevent significant heat loss and contamination, yet permeable enough to allow continuous workpiece supply and removal without interrupting the drying process.
4Temperature
If high velocity fluid flow is used to create an effective curtain, then thermal separation improves, but workpiece coating damage risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle system creates localized high-velocity fluid streams only in the critical regions where thermal separation is most needed, rather than uniformly high velocity across the entire opening. The flow velocity is optimized locally to provide adequate thermal barrier function while minimizing exposure of workpiece coatings to high-velocity fluid impact.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the fluid flow characteristics by varying nozzle parameters such as opening angle, flow rate, and positioning. This allows the fluid curtain to adapt its velocity profile to different operating conditions, maintaining effective thermal separation while reducing peak velocities that could damage workpiece coatings during critical phases of the drying process.
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 solution achieves efficient thermal separation with reduced energy consumption, prevents contamination, and protects workpieces by adjusting the fluid flow curtain to avoid damaging coatings, ensuring effective drying and hardening processes.
Implementation Method 1
a fluid flow curtain is formed with gaseous fluid which has been pressurized and guided through a nozzle
Implementation Method 2
air from the region of the opening is admixed to the gaseous fluid flowing through the nozzle
Implementation Method 3
hot air is blown into the interior space. The interior space has a higher or lower temperature than the environment of the process chamber
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a process chamber (5) with an interior (39). In the interior (39) there is a receiving area (15) for workpieces (3). The process chamber (5) has an opening (12, 14) for feeding in or removing workpieces (3). The process chamber includes a device (17, 19, 25, 29, 33, 37, 35) for blowing gaseous fluid into the interior (39). The device for injecting gaseous fluid has at least one nozzle (17, 19) for creating a fluid flow curtain (21, 23) between the opening (12, 14) and the receiving area (15) for workpieces (3).