Development of Aerodynamic Air Cleaning Systems to Improve Cooling Efficiencies for Engines in Large Off-road Vehicles


Off-road vehicles usually operate in dusty environments and their large engines are directly exposed to particulate matters (PMs). These PMs can enter the cooling air streams, cause clogging of fins on radiators, and reduce cooling efficiency of the engines. The objective of this project is to develop an aerodynamic-deduster system to provide clean air to the engine cooling system. The target particle cutsize in this project was 50 micrometers in aerodynamic diameter and the air cleaning system will be able to remove particles of 15 micrometers in diameter.

Although not all researchers believe that the results obtained from calculating fluid dynamics (CFD) is reliable, it is most cost-effective design process by comparing the relative performances of different alternatives. Commercial CFD package is employed to assist the design. Based on the CFD simulation results, the geometry and dimension of the prototypes were decided. CFD simulation indicated that the pressure drop was about 160 Pa when the average inlet air velocity was 8.5 m/s. This result agreed well with experimental results. Conceptual design showed that the cut size could reach 13 micrometers, and the CFD model showed high dust collection efficiencies for small particles. The actual collection efficiency would be a little bit lower than the theoretical value. The laboratory tests of preliminary prototypes showed that the cut size was bellow 40 micrometers for the testing particles and the pressure drop was about 160 Pa at target operation velocity. Field tests indicated that the mass collection efficiency was over 70%. Based on data obtained from the preliminary tests, full scale prototype is in development.