Vortex Generator Spiral Inlet Stable Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vortex generator technologies face challenges in maintaining a controlled vortex motion, leading to turbulence and inefficiencies in applications like hydro-cyclones and jet engines, and are not effective in purifying water without causing flow interruptions or requiring high energy and raw material usage.
Innovation Solution
A vortex generator with a spiral-shaped conic inlet section and a trumpet-shaped or egg-shaped vortex chamber, combined with a vortex concentrator, creates a self-sustaining vortex through impulse and slowing-down effects, allowing for efficient mixing and separation at lower pressures and flows, and effective water purification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the medium is blown into the vortex chamber tangentially as a homogenous mass with high pressure and high flow, then rotation of the medium is generated, but the vortex quickly breaks down into turbulence
Solution Approach 1:
The inlet flow is divided into multiple separate streams that enter the vortex chamber at different locations and angles. Instead of introducing a single homogenous mass of fluid, the invention uses multiple inlet channels or jets that create distributed vortices, which then merge to form a stable macro-vortex. This segmentation prevents the immediate breakdown into turbulence by allowing gradual organization of flow structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The vortex chamber is designed with specific curved geometries, including spiral or conical surfaces that guide the flow in smooth curved paths. The inlet section incorporates curved channels that gradually redirect the medium into rotational motion, avoiding sharp angles or abrupt direction changes that would generate turbulence. The curved geometry maintains coherent vortex structures throughout the chamber.
2Ease of operation
If guiding rails are used to direct the flow, then the medium is forced into vortex motion, but the guiding effect disappears as soon as the guiding rail comes to an end
Solution Approach 1:
The vortex chamber geometry itself provides the guiding function throughout the entire flow path. The spiral or conical walls continuously exert centrifugal forces on the flowing medium, maintaining vortex motion without requiring separate guiding elements. The flow guides itself through the curved geometry, eliminating the need for discrete guiding rails that would need to extend throughout the chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention removes the need for separate guiding rail components by integrating the guiding function directly into the vortex chamber geometry. The chamber walls themselves perform the guiding function through their curved shape, eliminating the dependency on attached guiding elements that limit the duration of the guiding effect.
3Force
If the medium is forced into vortex motion by guiding rails exerting pressure, then vortex motion is achieved, but the pressure disappears as soon as the guiding rail comes to an end
Solution Approach 1:
The flowing medium generates and maintains its own vortex motion through the geometry of the chamber. Once initiated, the vortex is sustained by the continuous action of the curved walls on the rotating flow, creating a self-maintaining system that does not require continuous external pressure application from guiding elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The inlet section is designed to pre-organize the flow into rotational motion before it enters the main vortex chamber. By establishing the vortex pattern early in the inlet channels, the system creates a stable rotating flow that naturally continues into the chamber, reducing the need for sustained pressure application throughout the entire flow path.
4Stress or pressure
If a disc rotating at high speed is used to pull the medium, then high pressure is generated in the periphery, but the structured vortex quickly breaks down into turbulence
Solution Approach 1:
The vortex chamber uses smooth curved or spiral geometries to generate peripheral pressure through gradual centrifugal acceleration. Instead of a rotating disc creating abrupt high-pressure zones, the curved walls gradually increase the rotational velocity and pressure from the center outward, maintaining flow coherence and preventing turbulence throughout the pressure gradient.
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 enables the creation of a durable, well-structured vortex at lower pressures and flows, improving energy efficiency and raw material usage, while effectively purifying water and separating gases or particles, and can be used in various applications including water treatment and ice production.
Implementation Method 1
The already established technology of using vortex generators for the purpose of bringing a medium into a vortex motion... The medium is forced into motion inside the vortex chamber by the use of guiding rails, which exert pressure
Implementation Method 2
The vortex chamber is either trumpet-shaped or egg-shaped, and designed in such a way that the lengthwise cross-section... is given by the function f(x, y) = k *x y
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A vortex generator, designed to bring a medium into a controlled vortex motion, with a hollow inlet section (1) to direct the medium into the vortex generator. The inlet section consists of a rotational symmetric cavity (101 ) with a curved geometry (108). Furthermore, a vortex chamber (4a; 4b), inside which the vortex motion is to be established, is attached to the inlet section. The inlet section (1) contains at least one spiral-shaped conic channel for di- recting the medium from the rotational symmetric cavity to the vortex chamber. The vortex chamber is either trumpet-shaped (4a) or egg-shaped (4b).