Exhaust system with mixer

Abstract

A mixing chamber for mixing an additive in an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine includes a housing, a flow-guiding element and a downstream substrate. The flow-guiding element is arranged within the housing between an inlet opening and an outlet opening. The flow-guiding element is tubular and forms a channel including a channel wall, one inlet and one outlet, via which all of the exhaust gas is guided through the channel to the outlet.

Claims

1. A mixing chamber for mixing an additive with exhaust gas in an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine, comprising: a housing including an entry opening for exhaust gas having a first flow cross-section and a central entry axis and an exit opening for exhaust gas having a second flow cross-section and having a central exit axis; a flow-guiding element arranged within the housing between the two openings, the flow-guiding element is tubular and forms a channel including a channel wall, one inlet and one outlet, via which the exhaust gas is guided through the channel to the outlet having an outlet cross-section including a size and a shape; and a downstream conduit positioned adjacent to the outlet in the direction of the central exit axis, the downstream conduit having a conduit cross-section including a size and a shape that corresponds to the outlet cross-section size and shape, wherein the housing includes a dome that radially protrudes to provide a path for the exhaust gas to enter the inlet, wherein the inlet is at least partially positioned in the dome.

2. The mixing chamber of claim 1, wherein the flow-guiding element is at least partially arranged in the dome.

3. The mixing chamber of claim 1, wherein the inlet includes a plurality of openings extending through the channel wall.

4. The mixing chamber of claim 3, wherein the flow-guiding element includes blades adjacent the openings.

5. The mixing chamber of claim 1, wherein the central entry axis extends collinearly with the central exit axis.

6. The mixing chamber of claim 1, wherein the central entry axis extends parallel to offset from the central exit axis.

7. The mixing chamber of claim 1, wherein the central entry axis extends non-parallel to the central exit axis.

8. The mixing chamber of claim 1, wherein the channel wall blocks an upstream end of the downstream conduit to force the exhaust gas to flow through the inlet of the flow-guiding element.

9. The mixing chamber of claim 1, wherein the shape of the outlet cross-section of the flow-guiding element and the shape of the downstream conduit cross-section is circular.

10. The mixing chamber of claim 1, wherein the dome radially outwardly protrudes beyond the entry opening.

11. The mixing chamber of claim 1, wherein an additive injection direction extends collinearly with a channel axis of the channel.

12. The mixing chamber of claim 11, wherein the channel axis forms an obtuse angle with the central exit axis when viewed along the injection direction.

13. The mixing chamber of claim 1, wherein the inlet is positioned in the dome and not outside of the dome.

14. A mixing chamber for mixing an additive with exhaust gas in an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine, comprising: a housing including an entry opening for exhaust gas having a first flow cross-section and a central entry axis and an exit opening for exhaust gas having a second flow cross-section and having a central exit axis; a flow-guiding element arranged within the housing between the two openings, wherein the flow-guiding element is tubular and forms a channel including a channel wall, an inlet and an outlet, via which all of the exhaust gas passing through the entry opening is guided through the channel to the outlet, wherein the outlet includes an outlet cross-section including a size and a shape, wherein the channel is adapted to receive the additive; and a downstream conduit positioned adjacent to the outlet in the direction of the central exit axis, the downstream conduit having an inlet opening with a cross-section including a size and a shape that corresponds to the outlet cross-section size and shape.

15. The mixing chamber of claim 14, further including an upstream conduit positioned adjacent to the entry opening in the direction of the central entry axis, wherein the upstream conduit includes a wall, the inlet of the flow-guiding element being positioned radially outward of the upstream conduit wall.

16. The mixing chamber of claim 15, wherein the central entry axis and the central exit axis is coaxially extend.

17. The mixing chamber of claim 14, wherein the channel wall extends across the inlet opening of the downstream conduit.

18. The mixing chamber of claim 17, wherein the flow-guiding element includes a first end proximate the inlet of the channel and an opposite second end, the first end being positioned upstream of the second end.

19. The mixing chamber of claim 14, wherein the inlet includes a plurality of opening extending through the channel wall.

20. The mixing chamber of claim 19, wherein the flow-guiding element includes blades adjacent the openings.

Description

DRAWINGS

(1) Further advantages and details of the invention are explained in the claims and in the description and are shown in the figures, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of an example of embodiment with an angled injection direction and a substrate on the exit side;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of an example of embodiment with a coaxial injection direction and a substrate on both the entry and exit side;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the geometric relationships;

(5) FIG. 4 shows a sectional view counter to the flow direction along the sectional plane A-A′;

(6) FIG. 5 shows an example of embodiment with a mixing element in a flow-guiding element having a slot-shaped inlet;

(7) FIG. 6 shows an example of embodiment with a conical flow-guiding element;

(8) FIG. 7 shows an example of embodiment with a perforated flow-guiding element;

(9) FIG. 8 shows an example of embodiment with substrates arranged parallel to one another and offset from one another;

(10) FIG. 9 shows an example of embodiment with substrates arranged at an angle to one another;

(11) FIG. 10 shows an example of embodiment with substrates arranged parallel to one another and next to one another in the radial direction.

DESCRIPTION

(12) FIGS. 1 and 2 show a mixing chamber 1 which has a housing 11 having an entry opening 12 and an exit opening 13. The entry opening 12 and the exit opening 13 are arranged coaxially in relation to a central entry axis M12 and a central exit axis M13.

(13) A tubular flow-guiding element 2 arranged between the entry opening 12 and the exit opening 13 deflects the exhaust gas stream, after it has entered through the entry opening 12, from an axial direction along the central entry axis M12 into a radial direction because the flow-guiding element 2 blocks an axial flow cross-section S12 toward the exit opening 13.

(14) To this end, the flow-guiding element 2 is designed as a channel 20 having a channel wall 21, and its outlet 23 adjoins an upstream substrate 51 which is mounted in an upstream converter housing 5. Following the radial deflection, the exhaust gas stream is guided via an inlet 22 into the channel 20 and is guided at an angle a of 65° out of the exit opening 13 onto an end face of a downstream substrate 41.

(15) In order that as far as possible all the elements of flow are oriented approximately in a flow direction S parallel to a channel axis K2 at the end of the channel 20, the channel 20, or the flow-guiding element 2, has a certain length L2 so that even the outermost element of flow is deflected outward in the radial direction.

(16) The exhaust gas stream deflected in the radial direction gathers in a dome 14 which is formed by a part of the housing 11 that protrudes beyond the entry opening 12 in the radial direction. The inlet 22 of the flow-guiding element 2 is arranged in the dome 14. The inlet 22 is formed by one or more openings in the channel wall 21. The sum of the openings corresponds to an inlet cross-section E22 (FIG. 4). Depending on the embodiment, blades or vanes are provided at the openings and generate a swirl around the channel axis K2. An injection device 6 for injecting an additive in an injection direction E is provided on the dome 14 in the region of the inlet 22.

(17) According to the example of embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the additive is deflected from the injection direction E in the channel 20 in the direction of the channel axis K2. The inlet 22 has an inlet cross-section E22, in which a static mixing element 3 is arranged and through which the additive is injected.

(18) According to the example of embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the injection direction E and the channel axis K2 are coaxial or at least parallel. In FIG. 2, an upstream converter housing 5 is arranged on the housing 11 upstream of the flow-guiding element 2, and a substrate is mounted in said converter housing.

(19) The two converter housings 4, 5 are inserted in the housing 11, in the entry opening 12 and in the exit opening 13. The substrates 41, 51 are arranged coaxial to the central entry axis M12 of the entry opening 12 and to the central exit axis M13 of the exit opening 13.

(20) The determination of the necessary length L2 is illustrated in the schematic diagram shown in FIG. 3. In order that the entire exhaust gas stream, or every element of flow, can be deflected in the radial direction after entering the entry opening 12, the channel wall 21 of the channel 20 protrudes in the radial direction beyond the central entry axis M12 by an extent that is larger than a radius R12 of the entry opening 1 or a radius R51 of the upstream substrate 51. Taking account of the angle a, by which the channel axis K2 is angled relative to the central exit axis M13, the length L2 must be at least greater than the quotient of the central radius R51 of the substrate 41 over sine a. Depending on how the diameter of the upstream converter housing 5 behaves in relation to the diameter of the upstream substrate 51 or which construction geometry is applied, it may be sufficient that the length L2 is greater than the quotient of the central radius R12 of the entry opening 12 over sine a.

(21) In FIG. 4, the section A-A′ according to FIG. 2 is shown without the substrate 51, according to which the curved channel wall 21 is shown, which in the direction of the central exit axis M13 closes the outlet 23 over its entire outlet cross-section A23. The radius of the outlet cross-section A23 corresponds in this case to a radius R41 of the downstream substrate 41. The sum of the openings forming the inlet 22 corresponds to the inlet cross-section E22.

(22) FIG. 5 shows an example of embodiment in which a mixing element 3 is arranged in the channel 20 downstream of the entry opening 12. The entry opening 12 is configured in the manner of a grating, wherein sub-areas of the channel wall 21 are bent inward or outward in the radial direction as a flap in a blade-like manner.

(23) In FIG. 6, the openings are conical. In FIG. 7, a perforation P is provided as the inlet 22 instead of slots, which perforation in sum forms a corresponding inlet cross-section E22.

(24) With this mixing principle, the two substrates 41, 51 may be arranged in various positions. In FIG. 8, the two substrates 41, 51 are arranged in an axis-parallel manner so that the central entry axis M12 and the central exit axis M13 are arranged parallel to one another. In FIG. 9, the two substrate central axes are arranged at an angle b of 30° to one another. The angle b may vary between 0° and 180°. 0° corresponds to the example of embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 180° corresponds to the example of embodiment shown in FIG. 10.