Abstract: A cooling system and method employing separation chutes and baffles is disclosed. The separation chutes separate the cooled air descending from a heat exchanger positioned above heat-generating equipment in an equipment room from heated air ascending from the heat-generating equipment. Separation of the airflows reduces turbulence and increases cooling efficiencies. The separation chutes are made of a variety of materials, both rigid and flexible, for a variety of applications.

Abstract: A three-dimensional, colocated, fully implicit, control volume based calculation procedure, HEATX[1], has been used to simulate fluid flow and heal transfer in shell-and-tube heat exchangers. The three-dimensional numerical model uses the distributed resistance method along with volumetric porosities and surface permeabilities to model the tubes in the heat exchanger. Turbulence effects are modeled using a modified k-ϵ model with additional source terms for turbulence generation and dissipation by tubes. Shell and baffle walk are modeled using the wall function approach. Tubes and baffles are modeled using volumetric porosities and surface permeabilities. Baffle-shell and baffle-tube leakages are modeled using a Bernoulli type formulation. Specialized geometry generators compute baffle, nozzle, and tube region porosities and permeabilities. This article presents the foundation and fluid mechanics of the problem. A subsequent article will discuss modeling of shell-side and tube-side heat transfer. The thre...

Abstract: Mapped wave-envelope elements of variable radial order are presented for the computation of time-harmonic, unbounded, three-dimensional acoustical fields. Their application to transient problems is described in a companion article (Part II). Accuracy is assessed by a comparison of computed and analytic solutions for multi-pole fields generated by a vibrating sphere. Solutions are also presented for plane wave scattering. Elements of radial order m+l are shown to be capable of modeling multi-pole components of order m, although the provision of adequate transverse resolution is shown to be a stringent requirement, particularly at high frequencies. Ill-conditioning of the coefficient matrix limits the practical implementation of the method to elements of radial order eleven or less. The utility of the method for more general geometries is demonstrated by the presentation of computed solutions for the sound field generated by the vibration of a cylindrical piston in a plane baffle and of an idealised engine casing under anechoic conditions. The computed results are shown to be in close agreement with the analytic solution in the case of the cylindrical piston, and with a boundary element solution in the case of the engine casing.

Abstract: An impingement baffle in the form of a plate includes spaced apart impingement holes for directing cooling air in corresponding jets against a hot wall. Dimples are integrally formed in the plate adjacent corresponding ones of the impingement holes for shielding thereof.

Abstract: The systematic experimental investigation on the effect of baffle free area, baffle spacing and baffle thickness on mixing time in batch oscillatory baffled columns is reported where the form of oscillation can be achieved by either pulsing the fluid from the base of the column or oscillating the baffles at the top. Local concentration profiles are measured using conductivity probes at two locations along each column. The mixing time was determined based on the equilibrium concentration format. The experimental results have identified the optimal geometrical parameters for obtaining the lowest mixing times in such columns.

Abstract: An efficient cooling mechanism for a multi-chip carrier can be provided while conserving board surface area. Flexible circuitized material is used to form multi-chip carriers with air baffle capability. The flex is folded or curved into the desired shape and held in position with a support structure. Bonding sites for chips are located on regions through the carrier. Shapes which provide air baffle capabilities include coils, spring-like coils and serpentines.

Abstract: Various combinations of rotors (20), baffles (50, 70), shroud (44), discs (32), pumping devices (260), and restriction assemblies (300) provide various liquid management units (10) with a wide variety of applications including dredging, mixing, de-stratification, oxygenation, purification and decontamination. An illustrative embodiment uses a) a shaft mounted disc rotor (20) partially submerged into a liquid for introducing flow-inducing energy and air or treatment gas into the liquid, b) a first baffle (50) for receiving liquid from below the surface of a body of liquid and directing the liquid to the rotor (20), and c) a second baffle (70) for receiving treated liquid from the rotor (20) and directing the treated liquid below the surface of the body of liquid.

Abstract: An effect of the baffle length L on power consumption has been studied for an agitated vessel of inner diameter D =0.6 m equipped with short baffles. The measurements were carried out for the following agitators: Rushton and Smith turbines, pitched blade turbine ( β =45°, Z =3) and propeller. Power characteristics Ne =f( Re ) for different geometrical parameter L / H of the baffles were obtained within the turbulent regime of the fluid flow in the agitated vessel. The results of the experiments were approximated by means of Eqs. (7)-(13) .

Abstract: An experimental study was conducted on the mixing quality of two-phase slurries in the model SiC–water system using a gravimetric technique with a view to determining the influence of impeller geometry and baffles on the uniformity of distribution of SiC in the mixture. A three-blade paddle with different blade angles and a variable-pitch blade impeller (A-3) were used for stirring the mixture at various rotational speeds. The results show that SiC concentration variation during stirring in the absence of baffles was 7.5 vol.%, whereas in the presence of four vertical baffles the concentration variation was reduced to 2 vol.%. The power consumption for homogeneous mixing varied between 17.5 and 175 W vol.−1 depending upon the type of impeller and its rotational speed. A semi-empirical correlation for obtaining uniform mixing has been developed based on the Reynolds number, the power number and the Froude number for stirred SiC–water slurries. The results on inhomogeneity of silicon carbide in water concentration during mixing are in close agreement with the modeling studies by previous workers on the water–SiC system, and with limited experimental studies on the real molten aluminum–SiC system used to cast metal–matrix composites.

Abstract: A mixer for a multi-component dispensing cartridge having at least two storage cylinders. The mixer includes an inlet section (4) and a mixer housing (2) having a mixer element group (3). The inlet section includes side by side separate inlets (4A, 4B) that terminate at an end plate (20) and which are adapted to connect with the storage cylinders. The mixer housing includes an internal face (21) that is parallel with the top surface (19) of the end plate to define a merging chamber (23) therebetween. The components flow from the inlets in a direction parallel to the top surface of the end plate forcing them to premix within the merging chamber before reaching the dividing edge (8) of the first mixer element. The merging chamber can also include a separating ridge (17) dividing the inlet openings (20A, 20B) and a U-shaped baffle (16). The a U-shaped baffle has arms that open towards the smaller inlet opening (20B) and a partial blocking means (18) on top of the baffle for forcing the component flowing out the larger inlet opening (20A) to flow toward the smaller inlet opening and into the open arms of the U-shaped baffle before reaching the dividing edge. This mixer ensures an effective merging of the components before reaching the first mixer element so that the number of mixer elements and the required dispensing force can be reduced. Also, the storage cylinders can have a volumetric ratio other than 1:1.

Abstract: If a large difference in heat transfer coefficients between two sides of an indirect heat exchanger occurs, the transfer area on the side with the lower transfer coefficient is enlarged with fins. A finned tube heat exchanger is one of the most often used compact heat exchanges in automobiles, air-conditioners, and chemical industries. Here, flow and conjugate heat transfer in a high-performance finned oval tube heat exchanger element have been calculated for a thermally and hydrodynamically developing three-dimensional laminar flow. The influence of Reynolds number in the range 100--500 has been studied. Computations have been performed with a finite volume method based on the SIMPLEC algorithm for pressure correction. Flow patterns and pressure distributions are presented. A helical vortex in the tube wake is observed. The shape of the separation zone in the tube wake shows a paraboloid.

Abstract: The high pressure inlet bleed heat system includes a plurality of tubes which receive heated compressed air from the compressor extraction discharge manifold. The tubes extend into the inlet duct of the compressor, are uniformly spaced one from the other and have a uniform distribution of laterally opening apertures along their lengths in registration with the apertures of next laterally adjacent tubes. The tubes are located downstream of the silencer baffles. By providing choked flow through the apertures and lateral registration of the apertures of adjacent tubes, complete mixing of the heated air with the inlet air vortices behind the silencer baffles is achieved, affording a uniform temperature distribution across the inlet duct with minimum pressure loss. The tubes are constructed to accommodate thermal expansion of the manifold receiving compressor discharge air, the manifold also being supported to accommodate thermal expansion and contraction.

Abstract: A flow through bubble trap for fluid flow lines comprises a chamber having a substantially flat, lateral side, a first port tube, and a second, opposed port tube. A flow directing baffle system is positioned in the chamber to direct incoming fluid from one of the port tubes into a first, lateral flow direction to allow substantially horizontal fluid flow circulation in the chamber. Fluid flow from the circulating fluid in the chamber enters into the other of the port tubes in a lateral flow direction that is generally the same as the first lateral flow direction, while the baffle system prevents direct flow between the first and second port tubes. The chamber is adaptable to fit with a large variety of conventional dialysis machines and the like, having multi-purpose supplemental access ports, for a simplification of the number of codes necessary for product distribution.

Abstract: A slotted gas separator for a down hole pump has an internal baffle that is angled to push the oil down into the chamber and the gas up to be released. The baffle has a roughened surface area with small, grainy protrusions that result in a jagged, coarse surface to agitate the liquid-gas mixture and separate out any gas. The large surface area of the baffle insures maximum contact to separate the oil and gas. The gas is released through slots on the top of the casing.

Abstract: A lightweight expandable baffle for sealing a cavity of a vehicle body at a predetermined cross section of the cavity defined by cavity walls includes a rigid support plate having an outer periphery with a shape generally corresponding to but smaller than the shape of the cross section of the cavity, a heat expandable sealing material mounted only to the outer periphery of the rigid support plate and having an activation temperature range at which the material expands, the support plate being formed of a material having a higher melting point than the activation temperature range, and the sealing material, when activated, expands radially from the rigid support plate to fill the cross-sectional cavity between the rigid support plate and the cavity wall.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided that includes a valve container with a vapor inlet adapted for communicating with an interior region of the fuel tank and a vapor outlet, a baffle including an upper end coupled to the vapor inlet, an open lower end spaced-apart from the upper end, and a skirt extending between the upper and lower ends, and a float valve disposed in the valve container and movable between an opened position allowing flow of fuel vapor through the vapor outlet and a closed position preventing flow of fuel vapor through the vapor outlet The skirt of the baffle includes at least one slot therethrough and the float valve is positioned to lie between the vapor inlet and the slot of the baffle when in both the opened and closed positions

Abstract: Process and apparatus controlling the cross-sectional flow distribution within a flowing stream such as a copper flux in an electrolytic copper deposition process. The flow distribution is controlled by a baffle comprised of two plates overlying one another, each having a set of openings, wherein the openings in the two plates generally correspond to one another but are slightly offset therefrom or varied in size in a non-uniform way along the radius of the plates such as to effect a modification of the uniformity or non-uniformity of the velocity flow rates across the cross section of the flowing stream in which the baffle is interposed.

Abstract: An air return grille for an aircraft mounted below the passenger cabin sidewall comprises openings to allow return airflow from the air conditioning system. In a preferred embodiment, the grille openings are covered by a single thin baffle 32 with cutouts within its periphery that slip over and are held in place by fasteners on the molded grille 28. The thin baffle 32 is affixed to the molded grille 28 along one or more edges on the grille. All other thin baffle 32 attachments allow for the baffle to be disengaged upon the onset of a rapid decompression. During normal operation, the thin baffle 32 restricts flow through a small opening in the grille. During a sudden/rapid decompression of the cargo compartment/lower lobe, the baffle is dislodged from the fasteners and forced into a position parallel to the airstream. This allows the airflow to pass through all of the molded grille 28 openings in order to achieve rapid pressure equalization.

Abstract: This is a sealing material for filling a cavity of a pillar or another body member (26) of an automobile. The material is a sealing acoustical baffle of a sandwich of foil faced paper board (28) with an expandable sealant (16) between the boards. The baffles force the sealer to flow out horizontally from the boards to totally seal all corners of the cavity. The in-line manufacturing of extruded laminated material allows in-line die cutting with quick change dies and/or water jet cutting. Acoustical value is very high due to the barrier affect of the foil kraft board. If the cavity size changes as they often do during pilot, prototype and production, the only tooling charge is a simple steel rule die or modified water jet program.

Abstract: A heat exchanger comprises a plurality of first heat exchange tubes extending through the exchanger, and through a plurality of laterally extending heat exchanger chambers, each chamber having at least one entry from a first chamber and at least one exit to a second axially adjacent chamber, and each chamber having a plurality of transverse interconnecting zones, each of which is defined by at least two of said tubes, and at least one first zone has an entry to said first chamber and at least one second zone, different from said first zone, has an exit to said second chamber. Also included is a vessel for mixing or distributing streams of a first fluid passing axially from an upstream to a downstream location, which comprises transverse baffles across said vessel in at least two successive rows, which rows of baffles define an open transverse chamber, the baffles in successive rows having a different spatial distribution across the vessel. Preferably the apparatus has the heat exchanger with the distributor downstream of it, and the whole apparatus is a compact reformer.

Abstract: Baffle inserts (27, 29, 31) or shims are disclosed for controlling the flow circuiting in plate or tube type heat exchangers (10) of the kind having a plurality of stacked, hollow plate pairs (16, 18) or tubes including mating end bosses (26, 28) or areas or spacers having communicating openings (30, 32) formed therein to form a manifold for the flow of fluid through the plate pairs (16, 18). The baffle inserts (27, 29, 31) are located between preselected adjacent end bosses (26, 28) in the area of the end bosses only, to define different flow circuits through the plate pairs (16, 18) or tubes without having to use specially shaped plates or inserting obstructions into the flow passages inside the plate pairs (16, 18) or tubes. A method of using the baffle inserts (27, 29, 31) is disclosed in which the baffle inserts (27, 29, 31) are inserted during preassembly of the heat exchanger (10) prior to the brazing operation.

Abstract: An exhaust conditioning device, comprising a housing having an entrance duct, an exit duct, and a hollow interior defined within the housing between the entrance duct and the exit duct; a conical baffle carried coaxially within the housing downstream of the entrance duct and configured to form a generally outwardly extending compression chamber therebetween; and a frustoconical baffle carried coaxially within the housing downstream of the conical baffle and upstream of the exit duct and configured to form a generally inwardly extending compression chamber; wherein the conical baffle cooperates with the housing to form a conical vacuum chamber and the frustoconical baffle cooperates with the housing to form a substantially annular vacuum chamber, downstream of the conical vacuum chamber. In one form, the exhaust conditioning device comprises an exhaust muffler. Additionally, a method is disclosed.

Abstract: An air bag (20) comprising: an inflatable cushion (22) portion and in inlet portion (24) through which inflation gas is received, and an airflow baffle (30; 30a) which creates a low pressure pocket directly downstream of itself and causes the air bag to initially begin to inflate laterally. The baffle includes a flexible panel within the cushion portion downstream of the inlet portion, for diverting at least a portion of the inflation gas to between an edge of the baffle and an adjacent inner surface of the cushion.

Abstract: A heat exchanger system suitable for facilitating the economical cooling of hot fluids in the vicinity of a body of water. The preferred embodiment of the present invention contemplates a vertical, or combination vertical and horizontal thermosyphonic, passive, heat exchanger column situated in a body of water and enveloped by a caisson or the like, and configured to facilitate, through percolation, enhanced circulation of seawater therethrough and effecting significant cooling of a hot, hydrocarbon well stream, or other hot fluid in the vicinity of a body of water. A vertically situated bundle of tubes forms the heat exchanger, which may include a system of staggered baffles to direct the flow of cooling seawater to effect even temperature distribution throughout the tube bundle. The present system further teaches a system for cooling high pressure, hot fluids as may be found in a deep hydrocarbon reserve offshore, utilizing a the vertical heat exchange column of the present invention. Upon passing through the system, a gaseous fluid stream, significantly cooled, should experience a commensurate pressure reduction and allow the use of conventional pipeline materials. The present system dispenses with the necessity of providing expensive, pro-active cooling, generally expending significant fuel, or the necessity of constructing an expensive, high pressure, non-corrosive pipeline of, for example, titanium or the like.