U-Bend Air Turning Vane Assembly for Low-Pressure Duct Bends
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing turning vane and rail assemblies in ventilation and air conditioning ducts face challenges in achieving efficient, easy, and accurate assembly, while maintaining strength and stability, often resulting in turbulent air flow, pressure loss, and noise due to inefficient directional changes.
Innovation Solution
A novel air-turning vane and rail assembly featuring a single sheet of metal folded into a U-bend with crimp spots and tabs that are bent to fit snugly into crescent-shaped spaces, providing secure engagement and stability without requiring special tools or on-site crimping, allowing for easy assembly and reduced manufacturing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If traditional turning vane assemblies are used in ducts, then directional change of air flow is achieved, but turbulent air flow and pressure loss occur
Solution Approach 1:
The turning vane is designed with a curved surface that follows the airflow path, creating a smooth transition from the first duct section to the second duct section. This curved geometry eliminates sharp angles and sudden directional changes, thereby reducing turbulence and pressure loss while achieving the required 90-degree turn.
2Ease of operation
If complex turning vane assemblies are used, then air flow direction is controlled, but assembly and installation become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The turning vane assembly is divided into two main segments: the turning vane itself and the support rails. The vane can be independently positioned and secured to the rails, allowing for simplified assembly and installation. This segmentation enables workers to assemble components separately and then combine them, reducing installation complexity while maintaining structural reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Support rails are introduced as intermediary elements between the turning vane and the duct structure. These rails provide a stable mounting framework and simplify the attachment process, allowing the turning vane to be securely positioned without complex direct mounting to the duct walls, thereby improving both assembly ease and reliability.
3Ease of manufacture
If multiple separate components are used for turning vanes, then assembly flexibility is improved, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The turning vane is formed as a single integrated component from a continuous sheet of metal, eliminating the need for multiple separate parts that would require assembly. This merging of components simplifies manufacturing processes, reduces material waste, and lowers production costs while the modular design with support rails maintains assembly flexibility for different duct configurations.
Data Source
AI summary
An air turning vane and rail assembly including a pair of rails, a plurality of tabs having a height distance H, a plurality of air turning vanes, each of the turning vanes including a single sheet of metal that is folded in a U-bend to form elongated generally rectangular upper and lower walls, each wall having opposite end edges, the upper wall in end view defining an arc of a first radius of curvature, and the lower wall in end view defining an arc of second radius of curvature greater than the first radius of curvature, and a plurality of crimp spots spaced apart from each other in the lengthwise direction extending transversely through the marginal portions of the upper and lower walls, each two adjacent crimp spots being spaced apart from each other in the lengthwise direction a distance L which is less than the distance H.