EXHAUST MANIFOLD SYSTEM AND COLLAR COOLANT JACKET

• US 20110131963A1
• Filed: 03/17/2010
• Published: 06/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Puhl, Raymond Gregory, Ladner, Eric Garner, Lee, Ramon Michael, Reinhart, Paul T.
• Granted Patent: US 8,733,088 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 60/321
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 13/10 of exhaust manifolds with cooling jacket F01N3/046
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 3/046 Exhaust manifolds with cooling jacket
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/12 Improving ICE efficiencies

Abstract

An exhaust manifold of a turbocharged engine includes a collar coolant jacket to maintain component temperatures within acceptable limits. The collar coolant jacket is specifically located around the exhaust outlet of the manifold.

Claims

1. An exhaust manifold system comprising:

a plurality of inlets to runners extending perpendicular a longitudinal manifold axis;

an outlet passage distal from the runners, the outlet passage terminating with a manifold flange; and

a coolant jacket including;

a coolant inlet and outlet both for coupling to a coolant system; and

a collar fluidically coupling the coolant inlet and outlet, the collar adjacent the outlet passage and the manifold flange and decoupled from the runners.

2. The exhaust manifold system of claim 1, further comprising a turbocharger coupled to the manifold flange.

3. The exhaust manifold system of claim 1, the collar including only a first flow path and a second flow path defined by an interior of the collar, the two flow paths collectively surrounding a circumference of the outlet passage, the collar including a smooth interior surface, the first flow path including a first collar profile, the second flow path including a second collar profile and the coolant inlet having an inlet profile, a cross-sectional area of the first and second collar profiles less than a cross-sectional area of the inlet profile.

4. The exhaust manifold system of claim 3, where the coolant jacket further includes a diverter rib extending into an interior of the coolant jacket collar, the diverter rib extending toward the coolant outlet where the first and second flow paths meet.

5. The exhaust manifold system of claim 1, where

the coolant outlet extends out parallel to the longitudinal axis of the manifold and the coolant inlet extends downward substantially perpendicular to both the runners and the coolant outlet, and

the collar surrounds the circumference of the outlet passage and coolant within the collar thermally communicates with the outlet passage via a cast metal wall defining partially the outlet passage and the collar, at least one of the collar and a manifold flange face in a first plane and the coolant inlet and coolant outlet extending out in a second plane not parallel to the first plane.

6. The exhaust manifold system of claim 5, where there are three runners, the collar only surrounding the outlet passage, the three runners sharing a third plane and the outlet passage extending out away from the third plane opposite the coolant inlet, the outlet passage also extending parallel the runners away from the inlets.

7. The exhaust manifold system of claim 1 wherein a cast manifold forms the plurality of inlets and runners, the outlet passage, and the coolant jacket, the manifold a silicon molybdenum alloy.

8. The exhaust manifold system of claim 1, further comprising a coolant system circuit coupled to the coolant outlet, the coolant system circuit including a heating element for at least one of a cabin heater, a catalyst, an injector, an intake air heater, and a positive crankcase ventilation system.

9. The exhaust manifold system of claim 8, further comprising a quick connect tube coupling at least one of the coolant jacket outlet and inlet to the coolant system, the quick connect tube including an annular elastomeric seal and a snap ring at an end of the tube, the snap ring for securing the tube in place via a straight line axial movement of the tube over the at least one of the outlet and inlet, the secured tube forming a dynamic seal.

10. A cooled exhaust manifold system comprising:

a plurality of inlets to runners extending perpendicular a longitudinal manifold axis, the plurality of runners sharing a plane;

an outlet passage distal from the runners and asymmetrically positioned at a first end of the manifold, the outlet passage extending out away from the plane of runners and the outlet passage extending parallel from the runners away from the inlets, and the outlet passage terminating with a manifold flange; and

a coolant jacket including;

a coolant inlet and outlet both for coupling to a coolant system; and

a collar fluidically coupling the coolant inlet and outlet, the collar adjacent the outlet passage and the manifold flange and decoupled from the runners, a longitudinal section of the jacket extending parallel the longitudinal axis, the longitudinal section directly coupled, via casting, to the collar and the coolant inlet, a length of the longitudinal section equal to, or less than, half the longitudinal length of the manifold.

11. The cooled exhaust manifold system of claim 10, where

the longitudinal section defines a longitudinal flow path from the inlet to the collar,

the collar splits the longitudinal flow path into only a first flow path and a second flow path, the first and second flow paths defined by an interior of the collar, the two flow paths collectively surrounding the circumference of the outlet passage, the collar including a smooth interior surface, the first flow path including a first collar profile, the second flow path including a second collar profile and the coolant inlet having an inlet profile, a cross-sectional area of the first or second collar profiles less than a cross-sectional area of the inlet profile, and

the coolant jacket further includes a diverter rib on the circumference of the manifold passage outlet and inside the coolant jacket collar, the diverter rib extending toward the coolant jacket outlet where the first and second flow paths meet.

12. The cooled exhaust manifold system of claim 10, where the exhaust manifold flange is coupled to a turbocharger.

13. The cooled exhaust manifold system of claim 10, wherein a cast manifold forms the plurality of inlets and runners, the outlet passage, and the coolant jacket, the manifold a silicon molybdenum alloy.

14. The cooled exhaust manifold system of claim 10, where

the coolant outlet extends out parallel to the longitudinal axis of the manifold and the coolant inlet extends downward substantially perpendicular to both the runners and the coolant outlet, and

the collar surrounds the circumference of the outlet passage and coolant within the collar thermally communicates with the outlet passage via a cast metal wall defining partially the outlet passage and the collar, the collar in a first cross section plane of the outlet passage and a face of the manifold flange in a second plane not parallel to the first plane.

15. The cooled exhaust manifold system of claim 10, where the coolant jacket outlet is coupled to a coolant system circuit, the coolant system circuit including a heating element for at least one of a cabin heater, a catalyst, an injector, an intake air heater, and a positive crankcase ventilation system.

16. The cooled exhaust manifold system of claim 15, further comprising a quick connect tube coupling at least one of the coolant jacket outlet and inlet to the coolant system, the quick connect tube including an annular elastomeric seal and a snap ring at an end of the tube, the snap ring for securing the tube in place via a straight line axial movement of the tube over the at least one of the outlet and inlet, the secured tube forming a dynamic seal.

17. The cooled exhaust manifold system of claim 10, where a length of longitudinal section is less than a distance between successive exhaust runners of the plurality of exhaust runners.

18. The cooled exhaust manifold system of claim 10, where the manifold flange includes a plurality of flange bolt eyelets, and the longitudinal section not penetrated by any of the flange bolt eyelets.

19. A method of heating engine systems, the method comprising:

combusting fuel in a cylinder of an engine;

adsorbing heat from combusted fuel exhaust into a coolant via a coolant jacket, the coolant jacket including a collar, the collar only surrounding the circumference of an exhaust passage outlet adjacent an exhaust manifold flange, the outlet asymmetrically positioned at a first manifold end, distal from a plurality of exhaust runners, the outlet passage extending out away from a plane including the totality of runners and the outlet passage extending parallel from the runners away from inlets included in the runners, and the outlet passage terminating with a manifold flange;

flowing heated coolant from an outlet of the coolant jacket to a coolant system circuit, the coolant system circuit including a heating element for at least one of a cabin heater, a catalyst, an injector, an intake air heater, and a positive crankcase ventilation system; and

flowing combusted fuel exhaust to a turbine of a turbocharger, an amount of retained heat of combusted fuel exhaust greater than an amount of coolant adsorbed heat.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising

flowing coolant through a coolant inlet fluidically coupled to the collar;

splitting coolant flow into a first flow path and a second flow path in the collar, the collar including only the first and second flow paths and an interior of the collar defining the flow paths, the flow paths collectively surrounding the circumference of the outlet passage, the collar including a smooth interior surface, the first flow path including a first collar profile, the second flow path including a second collar profile and the coolant inlet having an inlet profile, a cross-sectional area of at least one of the first and second collar profiles less than a cross-sectional area of the inlet profile; and

recombining heated coolant of the first and second flow paths within the collar while flowing the heated coolant to the coolant outlet.