Abstract
The aim of this study is to minimize minor losses in cap-end ports of a pneumatic cylinder used in pneumobil vehicle engine. Six geometry arrangements of intake ports, including the currently used version, were designed assuming conventional machining technology. Boundary conditions for the analysis were acquired from experimental measurement. The air flow was analyzed by 3D stationary CFD analysis in ANSYS Fluent for all designs. Pressure drop was used as the evaluation criteria. Two best configurations according to the obtained results were optimized using ANSYS Fluent Adjoint Solver. The pressure drop was reduced by 81.1% using this method. The obtained results will be used for design of solid geometry customized for production by lost wax casting process.
Highlights
Pneumobil is a racing vehicle powered by compressed air
This paper presents a shape optimization of the cap-end used as an intake on a double acting pneumatic cylinder
An analysis of velocity vector field at transversal plane of ports (Figure 8.) and at longitudinal mid-plane (Figure 9.), shows places which contribute to the pressure drop emerging in the endcap
Summary
Pneumobil is a racing vehicle powered by compressed air. These vehicles are designed and constructed by student teams for the Emerson International AV EN T ICST M Pneumobile Competition. Since 2012 Pneumobil Racing Team Brno has been participating in this competition. In order to increase the power of the engine with double acting pneumatic cylinder, the cap-end and rod-end were customized. The pressurized air flows into and out of the cylinder through the cap-end and rod-end, respectively (Figure 1.(A),(C)). A second inlet port has been added and this adjustment has contributed to better acceleration and higher maximum speed. When designing these parts, no analysis has been used. The performance has been improved using customized end-ports, an engineering approach with the use of numerical analyses could provide an optimal geometry with a significantly better performance
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