Air-to-air cooling assembly
An air-to-air cooling assembly is disclosed. The air-to-air cooling assembly includes an inlet tank having an inlet configured to receive an air flow, and a wall forming a space within the inlet tank. The air-to-air cooling assembly also includes a perforated plate disposed adjacent the inlet of the tank and arranged substantially perpendicular to the air flow. The air-to-air cooling assembly further includes a plurality of pressure balancing openings at predetermined locations on the wall and configured to direct air into and out of the space.
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The present disclosure relates generally to a cooling assembly and, more particularly, to an air-to-air cooling assembly.
BACKGROUNDAir-to-air cooling assemblies are heat exchangers that employ one relatively cooler flow of air as a heat transfer/exchange medium to reduce the temperature of another relatively hotter flow of air. Air-to-air cooling assemblies can find applications in industrial applications, such as modern engine systems. For example, one or more compressors are often employed in modern engine systems to compress engine intake air in turbocharged or supercharged applications. Compression of the intake air by the compressors may increase the temperature of the intake air substantially above ambient temperature. An air-to-air cooling assembly may be employed to reduce the temperature of the compressed intake air before the compressed air is supplied to the engine for combustion.
A typical air-to-air cooling assembly may include an inlet tank, an outlet tank, and a plurality of core tubes connecting the inlet tank and the outlet tank. When hot air is directed from the inlet tank through the core tubes, heat exchange may occur between the hot air and cool air flowing outside the core tubes. The temperature of the hot air inside the air-to-air cooling assembly may be reduced due to the heat exchange with the cool air flow. Depending on applications, an air-to-air cooling assembly may be referred to in various ways, such as an aftercooler or an intercooler. For example, an aftercooling assembly may be disposed downstream of a compressor and upstream of an air intake port, e.g., an air intake manifold, of the engine. An intercooling assembly typically may be disposed between two compressors in order to cool the compressed, hot air from the first compressor before the air is further compressed by the second compressor. When the compressed, hot air is cooled, the air may become dense, enabling a larger amount of compressed air to be taken into the engine for combustion, thereby boosting engine power.
When the compressed air flows into the inlet tank at a high velocity and contacts the bottom and the side walls of the inlet tank, turbulence and recirculation may be created, which may cause uneven pressure distribution in the air flow. As a result, some portions of the air flow may have relatively higher air pressures than other portions of the air flow. Consequently, the mass distribution of the air flow in the inlet tank may become non-uniform, and this may lead to a non-uniform air flow distribution in the core tubes. Those core tubes receiving more air, and thus more air mass, may carry more thermal energy than other core tubes, since thermal energy is directly related to the mass of the air the core tubes carry. Those core tubes carrying more thermal energy may have a higher temperature than those core tubes carrying less thermal energy. Therefore, a thermal gradient may exist among the core tubes due to the uneven thermal energy distribution. The thermal gradient may induce thermal stresses in the core tubes, causing some core tubes to expand more than the others. As a result, joints between the core tubes and the inlet tank and/or the outlet tank may break due to uneven expansion in the inlet and outlet tanks and core tubes, causing damage to the cooling assembly and leakage of the air flow. Accordingly, a uniform air distribution in the inlet tank may be desired in order to prevent or reduce thermal gradient and the resulting damage to the cooling assembly.
A heat exchanger with mechanisms for steam distribution is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,386 (the '386 patent) issued to Sather on May 4, 2004. The heat exchanger includes a steam inlet header having an outer conduit and an inner conduit. A series of openings are provided on the inner conduit adjacent the top of the inner conduit. The openings allow steam to flow from the inner conduit to the outer conduit. Steam in the outer conduit is further distributed to a plurality of tubes connected with the outer conduit.
Although the heat exchanger of the '386 patent may improve distribution of steam among the tubes, it may be problematic. For example, without any structure to reduce the velocity of the steam, the steam may impact the end wall at its full velocity and may create turbulence and recirculation. The resulting turbulence and recirculation pockets may cause uneven pressure in the steam flow, and consequently, non-uniform distribution of the steam flow in the inner conduit. In addition, because the openings appear to only allow steam to flow from the inner conduit to the outer conduit, the steam cannot flow back to the inner conduit from the outer conduit. Therefore, the pressure of the steam flow at different locations of the inner and outer conduits may not be balanced. The imbalanced pressure distribution in the inner and outer conduits may result in non-uniform stream distribution in the inner and outer conduits, and subsequently, in the tubes.
The system and method of the present disclosure are directed toward improvements in the existing technology.
SUMMARYIn one aspect, the present disclosure is directed to an air-to-air cooling assembly. The air-to-air cooling assembly includes an inlet tank having an inlet configured to receive an air flow, and a wall forming a space within the inlet tank. The air-to-air cooling assembly also includes a perforated plate disposed adjacent the inlet of the tank and arranged substantially perpendicular to the air flow. The air-to-air cooling assembly further includes a plurality of pressure balancing openings at predetermined locations on the wall and configured to direct air into and out of the space.
In another aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method of distributing air in an air-to-air cooling assembly. The method includes directing an air flow into an inlet tank through an inlet. The method also includes directing the air flow through a perforated plate disposed adjacent the inlet and substantially perpendicular to the air flow. The method further includes directing the air flow into and out of a space formed by a wall of the inlet tank through a plurality of pressure balancing openings on the wall.
The engine system 100 may also include one or more turbochargers or superchargers for compressing engine intake air. In the exemplary embodiment shown in
The air intake system 50 may also include a first air-to-air cooling assembly 55 and a second air-to-air cooling assembly 55′ configured to cool the compressed air from the low pressure compressor 46 and the high pressure compressor 36. The first air-to-air cooling assembly 55 may be located between the low pressure compressor 46 and the high pressure compressor 36 and may be configured to cool the compressed air from the low pressure compressor 46. The first air-to-air cooling assembly 55 may be referred to as an intercooler. After flowing through the first air-to-air cooling assembly 55, the air may be directed to the high pressure compressor 36, where the air is further compressed. The second air-to-air cooling assembly 55′ may be located downstream of the high pressure compressor 36 and upstream of the air intake manifold 15. The second air-to-air cooling assembly 55′ may cool the compressed air from the high pressure compressor 36 before the compressed air is directed to the air intake manifold 15 and the engine 10 for combustion. The second air-to-air cooling assembly 55′ may be referred to as an aftercooler.
As shown in
The perforated plate 250 may be a uniformly or non-uniformly perforated plate 250 including a plurality of apertures. A uniformly perforated plate 250 may include a plurality of apertures having a uniform size and shape, and may be uniformly distributed on the plate. A non-uniformly perforated plate may be referred to as “non-uniformly perforated” due to at least one of the following configurations: different sizes among the apertures, different shapes among the apertures, non-uniform distribution (e.g., irregular distribution) of the apertures on the perforated plate 250, etc. The shape of the apertures of a uniformly or non-uniformly perforated plate 250 may be any suitable shape, such as oval, circle, triangle, etc.
The inlet tank 200 may include a plurality of pressure balancing openings 270 located at predetermined locations on at least one side (e.g., one side, two sides, etc.) of the inner wall 204. The locations of the pressure balancing openings 270 on the inner wall 204 may be determined, for example, through analysis of the pressure distribution of the air flow 201 in the inlet tank 200. Although the pressure balancing openings 270 are shown in
The inlet tank 400 may also include a perforated plate 450 disposed within the inlet tank 400 adjacent the inlet 410 and connected with the wall 404. The perforated plate 450 may be disposed substantially perpendicular to the air flow 401. The perforated plate 450 may have a structure similar to the perforated plates 250 and 350 discussed above in connection with
The inlet tank 400 may include a plurality of pressure balancing openings 470 located at predetermined locations on the wall 404. In a manner similar to the arrangement shown in
Inlet tank 400 may include one or more curved corner 492. An exemplary curved corner 492 is shown in
The disclosed air-to-air cooling assembly may be utilized in any systems or machines where it is desirable to reduce the temperature of a relatively hotter air flow (e.g., a compressed intake air flow for an internal combustion engine) using a relatively cooler air flow. The disclosed air-to-air cooling assembly may enable uniform distribution of the hotter air flow inside the inlet tank and the core tubes of the air-to-air cooling assembly, thereby achieving efficient cooling and reducing or eliminating damage to the core tubes due to thermal gradient caused by non-uniform air flow distribution.
Referring to
Referring to
Perforated plate 250 may regulate the amount of air directed to the core tubes 220 closer to the inlet 210 and farther away from the inlet 210 by selecting one of the size and distribution of the first and second groups of apertures 253 and 254. For example, the first group of apertures 253 may be selectively distributed on the perforated plate 250 such that the first group of apertures 253 cover a first predetermined number of core tubes closer to the inlet 210. The first group of apertures 253 covering the first predetermined number of core tubes 220 may have a relatively smaller size compared to that of the second group of apertures 254. The second group of apertures 254 may be selectively distributed on the perforated plate 250 such that the second group of apertures 254 cover a second predetermined number of core tubes farther away from the inlet 210. The second group of apertures 254 covering the second predetermined number of core tubes 220 may have a relatively larger size compared to that of the first group of apertures 253. In this way, the amount of the air flow 201 directed to the first number of core tubes 220 closer to the inlet 210, and the second number of core tubes 220 farther away from the inlet 210 may be regulated so that a better distribution of the air flow 201 between the core tubes 220 farther away from the inlet 210 and the core tubes 220 closer to the inlet 210 may be achieved.
The pressure balancing openings 270 shown in
In the embodiment shown in
Referring to
The air flow 401 may be directed from one location to another within the inlet tank 400 through the pressure balancing openings 470 selectively connected by the passages 480. Thus, the pressure of the air flow 401 in the space 455 may be balanced. The curved corner 492 with the curved surface 490 may help reduce recirculation in the air flow 401, thereby improving distribution of the air flow 401 in the inlet tank 400, and subsequently, in the core tubes 220.
By utilizing the perforated plate and the pressure balancing openings, air flow distribution in the inlet tank may become more uniform. As a result, the air distribution in the core tubes connected to the inlet tank may also become uniform. Uniform air distribution among the core tubes may improve cooling efficiency. In addition, uniform air distribution among the core tubes may also reduce damage that can be caused by a thermal gradient due to uneven thermal energy distribution associated with non-uniform air flow distribution. As a result, the durability of the air-to-air cooling assembly may be improved.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the disclosed air-to-air cooling assembly. Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosed embodiments herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims.
Claims
1. An air-to-air cooling assembly, comprising:
- an inlet tank including an inlet configured to receive an air flow, and a wall forming a space within the inlet tank;
- a perforated plate disposed adjacent the inlet of the inlet tank and arranged substantially perpendicular to the air flow; and
- a plurality of pressure balancing openings at predetermined locations on the wall and configured to direct air into and out of the space.
2. The air-to-air cooling assembly of claim 1, wherein the perforated plate is a non-uniform perforated plate including a plurality of apertures with at least one of a different size or shape.
3. The air-to-air cooling assembly of claim 2, wherein
- the apertures include first and second groups of apertures, the first group of apertures having a size different from that of the second group of apertures, and wherein
- the first and second groups of apertures cover a predetermined number of core tubes.
4. The air-to-air cooling assembly of claim 1, wherein the perforated plate is a uniformly perforated plate including a honey-comb structure.
5. The air-to-air cooling assembly of claim 4, wherein the uniformly perforated plate including a honey-comb structure is disposed within the inlet tank adjacent the inlet.
6. The air-to-air cooling assembly of claim 1, wherein the perforated plate is fixed to the wall with brackets and disposed apart from the wall by a predetermined distance.
7. The air-to-air cooling assembly of claim 1, wherein the wall is an inner wall and the space is an inner space, and the inlet tank further includes an outer wall surrounding the inner wall, and wherein the inner wall and the outer wall form an outer space therebetween, the air-to-air cooling assembly further including a plurality of core tubes connected to a bottom portion of the inlet tank to receive air flow from the inner space.
8. The air-to-air cooling assembly of claim 7, wherein the pressure balancing openings are located on the inner wall and are configured to direct air flow between the inner space and the outer space.
9. The air-to-air cooling assembly of claim 1, wherein the pressure balancing openings are selectively connected through passages disposed external to the inlet tank, and wherein the pressure balancing openings are configured to direct the air flow into and out of the space through the passages.
10. The air-to-air cooling assembly of claim 1, wherein the inlet tank further includes at least one curved corner adjacent the inlet within the inlet tank.
11. A method of distributing air in an air-to-air cooling assembly, comprising:
- directing an air flow into an inlet tank through an inlet;
- directing the air flow through a perforated plate disposed adjacent the inlet and substantially perpendicular to the air flow; and
- directing the air flow into and out of a space formed by a wall of the inlet tank through a plurality of pressure balancing openings on the wall.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the wall is an inner wall and the space is an inner space, and wherein the inlet tank further includes an outer space formed by the inner wall and an outer wall enclosing the inner wall, the method further including directing the air flow between the inner space and the outer space through the pressure balancing openings on the inner wall.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein the pressure balancing openings are selectively connected through passages, the method further including directing the air flow into and out of the space through the pressure balancing openings and the passages.
14. The method of claim 11, further including regulating the air flow through the perforated plate by selecting one of the size or distribution of apertures within the perforated plate.
15. The method of claim 11, further including reducing recirculation of the air flow by a curved corner within the inlet tank.
16. An engine system, comprising:
- an engine including a plurality of combustion chambers configured to combust a mixture of air and fuel; and
- an air intake system, including: a compressor configured to compress air supplied to the engine; an air intake manifold configured to distribute air to the engine; and an air-to-air cooling assembly configured to cool the compressed air, the air-to-air cooling assembly including: an inlet tank including a wall forming a space within the inlet tank, and an inlet configured to receive an air flow from the compressor; a perforated plate arranged substantially perpendicular to the air flow and disposed adjacent the inlet of the inlet tank; and a plurality of pressure balancing openings located at predetermined locations on the wall and configured to direct air into and out of the space.
17. The engine system of claim 16, wherein the perforated plate is a non-uniform perforated plate including a plurality of apertures with at least one of a different size or shape.
18. The engine system of claim 17, wherein
- the apertures include a first and a second group of apertures, the first group of apertures having a size different from that of the second group of apertures, and wherein
- the first and second groups of apertures cover a predetermined number of core tubes.
19. The engine system of claim 16, wherein the wall is an inner wall and the space is an inner space, and the inlet tank further includes an outer space formed between the inner wall and an outer wall enclosing the inner wall, and wherein the air-to-air cooling assembly further includes a plurality of core tubes connected to a bottom portion of the inlet tank to receive air flow from the inner space.
20. The engine system of claim 16, wherein the pressure balancing openings are selectively connected through passages.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 22, 2008
Publication Date: Feb 25, 2010
Applicant:
Inventor: Sanjeev Bharani (Normal, IL)
Application Number: 12/230,079
International Classification: F28F 9/00 (20060101);