US2688501A - Exhaust manifold joint - Google Patents

Description

Se t. 7, 1954 M. w. M LEoD EXHAUST MANIFOLD JOINT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 21 1950 m verzfor" Her/m M NozaLeoo) Sept. -7, 1954 M, w ac EXHAUST MANIFOLD JOINT 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 21 1950 NQE mvenfor (Yer/in M NacAeod Sept. 7, 1954 M. w. M LEOD EXHAUST MANIFOLD JOINT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 21, 1950 Qm on mwE.

lnvenior: Mel/m M NacLeoa Patented Sept. 7, I954 PQEELGEY EXHAUST.- MAN IFOLDWJ OI-NT.

MerIin W; MacLeod, winnipegy-Manitoba, Canada; assignorto Trans-Canada; Lines,- sMontreal, Quebec; Canada; aacorporationcof Ganada ApplicatioHAugustZl, 1950;Serial No. 180,546

being toprovide a device of the character-hem within described whereby the exhaust gases from the bank 'of cylinders adjacent the fuselage of theaircraft aretransferred to the opposite side of the engine remote from the fuselage and then connected intoan exhaust tail-pipe.

A further "object of the invention'in' conjunc-- tion with the foregoing objectis to provide adeviceof the character herewithin described, the

use of whichreduces'considerably the volume of exhaust noise heard: in: the cabin-"of the 1 aircraft;

Another object of the: invention i to. provide'a device of the character herewithin described in which the component parts are'readily interchangeable from -a port toz-starboardxengine thereby simplifying manufacturing and'l maintenance problems.

A'still further objeet of. the invention:is to provide an exhaust system: of: the .characterhere- Within described which interferes as little asprace ticable :with the exhaustigas flow from: the cyline ders to atmosphere, ,bywvhichtis 'meantflthatzthe back :pressure of 1" the:;exhaust 'gasesucwill be: increased as little as.practicable;-.

Anotherobject of T the: invention is :to i provide a .tdevioe of the characterzherewithin described which includes a novel expansion, joint thereby permitting linear expansion andcontraction of thesexhaust'manifoldinarelationto the individual.

exhaust stub pipes, a: serious problem ineline engine exhaust collecting systems.

A'zstillfurther-object of the 'device in. con-junc tionewithithe foregoing object-risito providean expansion joint of; thewcharacter'herewithin described which is extremely simple in manufacture and efficient in voperation.

A=further object of .the invention is toprovidean expansionjoint ofthe character here- Within described which is adapted to befitted relatively close to the exhaust 'port'thereby enabling the expulsion of exhaust gases'to-provide an aspirating'effect'instead'ef a positive pressure effect thereby eliminating the-necessity ofa rigid; clamped joint.

A yet further object of'the invention: is tonprovide a device ofthe'. character. herewithin de-* scribed in" which the aforementioned expansion joints are permitted; to expand a. and :contract in the :plane of the-joints independently:- ofone-another, thereby taking into consideration differences of temperature..existing,.at each exhaust port.

*Astill further obj ect of the invention isto pro 1 vide a device -of the 1 characterherewithin described in which the expansion joints hereinbefore-'mentioned are so constructed asto allow an -annular"aiz cooling heat dissipating area:

within the sl-ip seating thereof.

-Anotherobject of the invention is to provide a device of "the -"character: herewithin described in which the saddle-duct does not interfere with the eflicient streamlining of the. engine --as said duct can he i of streamlined section: itself andcan be retained sufficiently close to the periphery of the engine that'it:'can follow the external transverse:contourxof the engine att the pointaat which it spans same.

'A-further obj ect of the inventionaisa-t zprovide a vsfdevice i "of the .acharacter herewithin described Which 2 i uparticuiarly :well adapted .J for eieflici'ent aire'cooling iby relatively simple z'ducting. arrangements.

.nsayetifurtherse-object i of the invention in conjunction .cwitht-itherforegoing 'jobj eat is ,to:.provide' a: system: of the :character: herewithiniirdescribed il'liWhiChUCffiCiBIltfair-0001318aisi'DOSSlblE overrthe entiremexhanst system therebyweliminating hot spots::and:the,;like..

Yet: another obj ect of athe invention is to pro moretparticulariy described, reference being had to (the accompanying drawings. inwhich:

Figure 1. is-eaetophplan viewiof the exhaust system. installedlupon;atwin bank in-line engine.

Figure.2, is alfrontlendoviewof Figure 1.

FigureBisa sideelevational view ofLone-side' of the exhaustssystem.

FigureAist-an enlarged side elevation of one of theexpansion joints.

. -F!ig ure1- 5. isra tvertical sectionof Figure 4.

:In J the drawings .like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the -different.

figures.

Thezpresent invention relatesto aniexhaustv system whereby, the. :exhaustgasesvof the bank of cylindersxadjacent .the. fuselage of. the air-- craft are conductedvover the enginean'd remote, from the fuselage thereby relievingthe exhaust noise heard within the cabin considerably. By ducting the exhaust gases over the engine, the engine nacelle acts as a shield being interposed between the exhaust tail-pipe and the fuselage, as well as removing the point of egress of the gases a considerable distance away from. the fuselage.

In conjunction with the normal exhaust system hereinafter to be described, a novel expansion joint is disclosed, as it is essential, in a system of this nature, to provide means for longitudinal expansion and contraction of the manifold in relation to the individual exhaust ports of an in-line engine to which it is connected.

Reference to the accompanying drawings will show that an in-line engine of the V-bank type is illustrated schematically and indicated generally by the reference character I. It represents an engine situated upon the port or lefthand side of the aircraft (not shown) and includes two banks of in-line cylinders 2 and 3. Exhaust stub pipes 4 are bolted to the exhaust ports 5' of the individual cylinders and communicate with exhaust manifolds 5 and 6. These manifolds are substantially in line with the longitudinal axis l of the engine and are connected together by a duct or saddle 8 overspanning the engine substantially towards the rear end 9 thereof as shown most clearly in Figure 1.

In detail, each of the manifolds 5 and 6 includes a longitudinally extending portion substantially circular in cross-section and increasing in area from the forward end I l thereof towards the rear end l2 thereof for the purpose hereinafter to be described.

Exhaust stub pipes 4 extend from the exhaust port 5' of each of the in-line cylinders and communicate with the portion H) of the manifolds through the medium of an expansion joint collectively designated H3.

The manifolds 5 and 6 are supported by means of brackets Hi extending between the extremities thereof and an adjacent point of support upon the cylinder banks 2 and 3. Brackets I4 include a pair of plates l6 bolted at one end thereof to clevises I! which in turn are bolted to attachment plates I8 welded to the manifolds. The opposite ends of plates l6 are bolted to an angulated bracket [9 which in turn is bolted to the aforementioned points of attachment l5.

By this means the manifolds are held suspended upon brackets 14 and are capable of a certain amount of movement longitudinally due to the effects of expansion and contraction caused by the exhaust gases passing therethrough.

The rear ends E2 of the manifolds open internally into a T-branch 20, the axis of this branch being substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the portion [0 of the manifolds. The inner ends 2| of the T-branches are connected by the aforementioned duct or saddle 8 which is retained in position by means of clamp assemblies 22 which, in turn, are supported by brackets 23 secured to the engine block. The saddle 8 overspans the engine block substantially towards the rear thereof and is curved semi-circularly to present a circumferential flow to exhaust gases passing therethrough, the aforementioned T-branches 20 of the manifolds being curved also as clearly indicated in Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings. This curvature is necessary because of the angle between the two banks of cylinders 2 and 3 and because of the necessity to prevent a rapid change of direction of the gas flow.

The cross-sectional configuration of the saddle B as well as the T-branches 20 of the manifolds, are substantially elliptical or ovoid in order to present a minimum area 24 to the air flow and in order to fair-in with the frontal configuration of the engine and the like.

The outer ends 25 of the T-branches of the manifolds are downwardly turned when viewed from the front of the engine, the end of manifold 5 being provided with a blanking plug 26 insertable therein and secured by bolts 27. The end 25 of manifolds is connected to an exhaust tail-pipe section 28 which extends downwardly and rearwardly to a point adjacent the trailing edge of the wing of the aircraft (not illustrated).

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the exhaust gases passing through the exhaust stub pipes 4, enter the manifolds 5 and 5, and in this connection, it will be appreciated that the cross-sectional area of the manifold increases in order to accommodate the gases from each additional cylinder connected thereto. The gases are then ducted from the bank of cylinders 2, over the engine block, and join the exhaust gases from the bank of cylinders 3 which are discharging into the manifold 5. The exhaust gases of both banks then pass downwardly and outwardly to the tailpipe 28 which is situated on the side of the engine remote from the fuselage of the aircraft.

As hereinbefore described, the engine shown is assumed to be situated upon the port side of the aircraft but, the starboard system would be similar with the exception that the aforementioned blanking plug 26 would be fitted upon the opposite manifold, and the exhaust tail-pipe section 28 reversed to the other side.

Due to the configuration and lay-out of the manifolds 5 and 6, it will be appreciated that considerable longitudinal expansion and contraction movement will take place between said manifold and the exhaust ports connected thereto.

Consequently, it is necessary to provide means to permit this expansion and contraction and the expansion joint collectively designated I3 has been found extremely satisfactory in this respect.

Reference to Figures 4 and 5 will show the detailed structure of these expansion joints and it will be seen that they consist of what is defined as an annular and planar slip-seating collectively designated 29 and an annular floating flange designated 33 positioned therein,

The slip-seating 29 comprises an outturned annular flange 3| which is provided on the exhaust manifold and is disposed in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the joint. A marginal rim 33 is provided at the periphery 34 of the flange 3| and a complemental annulus 32 has its outer edge secured by welding, or the like, to the rim 33. The annulus 32 is juxtaposed in spaced relation to the flange 3i and coacts with the flange and with the rim 33 to provide an annular seat 31' which is open at its inner side and is disposed in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the joint.

A rigid annular adapter M] is provided on the exhaust stub pipe 4 and extends into the annulus 32. The adapter 40 is equipped with an outturned annular flange 39 which is freely and slidably disposed in the seat 31 through the open inner side of the latter. It is to be noted that the periphery of the flange 39 is spaced inwardly from the rim 33 as shown at 42, while the inner edge of the annulus 32 is spaced outwardly from the adapter 40. By virtue of this arrangement the flange 39 may not only expand radially in the seat 31, but

may also slide laterally in the plane of the seat with respect to the flange 3|.

Thus, the expansion joint is self-adjusting in response to both expansion and lateral movement or axial misalignment, which feature is of considerable importance Where several such joints are used in a row on an exhaust manifold and the latter, responding to a rise in temperature, expands longitudinally so that the distance between the axes of the manifold branches leading to the individual cylinder stub pipes is subject to substantial variations. Under such conditions, a joint constructed in accordance with the invention will automatically adjust itself to such variations without any binding, looking or deformation.

It will be also noted that the joint permits heat dissipation to take place, together with the over-all configuration of the joint which in fact acts as a cooling fin for this particular section of the exhaust system. Furthermore, due to the closeness of this expansion joint to the exhaust ports of the engine, exhaust gases passing therethrough have sufficient velocity to cause aspiration rather than blowing at this point thereby eliminating the necessity for rigid, clamped joints which would prevent expansion and contraction from taking place.

In conclusion, it is desired to stress that an exhaust system of this nature, particularly adapted for in-line engines, necessitates the use of an expansion joint adjacent each exhaust port in order to permit contraction and expansion to take place along the points of connection to the manifold. Furthermore, in an exhaust system of the character hereinbefore described eflicient aircooling thereof may readily be undertaken by cowlings as shown in Figure 3 and indicated by parently widely different embodiments of this invention may be made within the spirit and scope of the accompanying claim without departing from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense and I desire only such limitations placed thereon as justice dictates.

What I claim as my invention is:

In combination with first and second conduits subjected to relative lateral movement and expansion, a self-adjusting joint comprising an outturned annular flange provided on the first conduit and disposed in a plane perpendicular to the axis thereof, a marginal rim provided at the periphery of said flange, a complemental annulus secured at its outer edge to said rim and juxtaposed in spaced relation to said flange, said flange coacting with said annulus and said rim to provide an annular seat open at its inner side and disposed in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said first conduit, a rigid annular adapter provided on the second conduit and extending into said annulus, and an outturned annular flange provided on said adapter and disposed slidably in said seat through the open inner side of the latter, the periphery of said last mentioned flange being spaced inwardly from said rim and the inner edge of said annulus being spaced outwardly from said adapter, whereby said last mentioned flange may expand radially in said seat and slide laterally in the plane of the seat with respect to the first mentioned flange.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,632,042 Price et a1 June 14, 1927 1,818,858 McAlees Aug. 11, 1931 1,854,515 Jackes Apr. 19, 1932 2,022,982 Sikorsky Dec. 3, 1935 2,388,924 Mercier Nov. 13, 1945 2,423,462 Mercier July 8, 1947 2,541,973 Wiegman Feb. 13, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 311,134 Great Britain May 9, 1929

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