Self-Cooling EGR Return Pipe for Intake Distributor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing exhaust gas recirculation devices for internal combustion engines require costly heat exchangers for cooling recycled gases, which increases the overall cost and can lead to increased particulate pollution, especially in diesel engines.
Innovation Solution
A self-cooling exhaust gas injection device with a return pipe equipped with outlet orifices that passively cools recycled gases by exposing them to fresh air within the air intake distributor, eliminating the need for a heat exchanger and allowing the use of less costly plastic distributors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a heat exchanger is used to cool recycled gases, then the temperature of recycled gases is reduced and particulate pollution is lowered, but the cost of the EGR device increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the cooling function from a separate heat exchanger component and integrates it into the return pipe structure itself. The return pipe is designed with a specific geometry that allows fresh air to flow around and cool the recycled gases as they travel through the pipe, eliminating the need for an additional heat exchanger component while maintaining the temperature reduction effect
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the cooling function with the gas transport function by designing the return pipe to serve dual purposes: transporting recycled gases and providing a cooling path for fresh air to flow around the pipe. This integration combines what were previously separate functions (transport and cooling) into a single unified structure, reducing overall device complexity and cost
2Device complexity
If recycled gases are directly introduced into the intake distributor without cooling, then the device complexity is reduced, but the temperature of gases increases and particulate pollution increases
Solution Approach 1:
The return pipe design enables self-cooling through the natural flow of fresh air around the pipe exterior. The system uses the existing fresh air flow in the intake distributor to cool the recycled gases, without requiring external cooling systems or additional energy input. The structure serves itself by utilizing the environmental conditions already present in the intake system
3Temperature
If a metal intake distributor is used to withstand high temperatures, then the temperature resistance is sufficient, but the cost of the distributor increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling action is performed preliminarily within the return pipe before the gases enter the intake distributor. By cooling the recycled gases during their transport through the return pipe, the gases arrive at the distributor at a lower temperature, allowing the distributor to be made from less expensive plastic materials that cannot withstand high temperatures but are sufficient for the cooled gas temperature
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 solution effectively reduces the temperature of recycled gases without additional cooling systems, lowering particulate pollution and enabling the use of a single, cost-effective plastic intake distributor for both diesel and gasoline engines, while also cooling compressed air from turbochargers.
Implementation Method 1
The return pipe includes a first return pipe segment configured to passively cool the heated injection gases by exposure to the cooling effects of a fresh air supply entering the distributor and flowing about an exterior of the first return pipe segment
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
A self-cooling exhaust gas injection device making it possible to inject heated gases, for example recycled exhaust gases from an internal combustion engine, into the air intake distributor of this engine, characterized in that it comprises a return pipe for the exhaust gases (1) which extends in the distributor (2) to the downstream end thereof in the direction of the transfer of the recycled gasses and is equipped in this area with a series of outlet orifices (4) positioned so as to uniformly distribute these gases between each of the cylinders of the engine.