Bus-Integrated Aerodynamic Cyclone separator System for Ambient Dust Reduction

Abstract

Our invention is a novel way of reducing dust and particulate matter on the roads by sucking them out of the road surface by buses which ply on the roads. As a bus moves forward, it displaces air, creating a high-pressure zone in front of the bus and a low-pressure zone behind it. The system uses a cyclone separator which works due to differential pressures between underbody and back of the bus. The cyclone filter spins the air rapidly in a circular motion, creating a vortex. The centrifugal force generated separates larger particles from the air stream. Our system helps mitigate air pollution, especially in urban environments where buses often travel through areas with poor air quality. It could also improve the health and comfort of passengers by reducing airborne allergens and pollutants.

Specification

Description:FIELD OF INVENTION
[001] The invention relates to the field of equipment to reduce air pollution. More specifically to mitigate the concentration of particulate matter above 10 microns in size floating or settled on the road. The invention provides a versatile, low cost, no maintenance, no power requirement equipment which exploits the low pressure created behind the bus.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART
[002] The invention belongs to the category of equipment that are used to mitigate the concentration of particulate matter on or above the road surface with the use of a cyclone separator which uses pressure differential of the moving bus to suck the dust from zones behind the rear tires. Moving bus induces turbulent air under the busy body and rotating tires agitate the dust on the road giving a combined action of lifting the dust in to turbulent air which can carry dust for longer distances behind the bus which is called as the wake region This dust would spread if not captured and disposed suitably. With opening of the suction tubes in this region.
[003] There are many patents and applications using a cyclone separator to reduce the concentration of dust in the air. One application is to reduce dust in the air before it can clog the filters which supply clear air to the engine using the suction from the engine. But our invention exploits the low pressure created behind the bus to suck the dusty air through the cyclone separator through air ducts just behind the tires which has high concentration of dust. The cyclone separator which are suitably designed to fit in the rear part of the bus. The dimensions of the cyclone separators can be wisely chosen depending up on size of the bus and extent of modification allowed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[004] In view of the forgoing, an embodiment herein provides an equipment mounted on rear side of the bus which uses principles of centrifugal separation of dust and operates solely based on the pressure drop across the bus. The device operates based on vehicle aerodynamics, specifically modifying the airflow with the use of air ducts across the varying pressure regions connected by a cyclone separator. Most buses and trucks naturally produce a differential pressure which is proportional to vehicle speed. These pressure differences are used to channelize the dusty air sucked from the regions behind the rear tire and passes through a cyclone separator. The air carrying the dust enters the top of the cylindrical cyclone separator tangentially and spirals down the cyclone separator which centrifuges the heavier dust particles.
[005] The heavier dust particles gets attached to the walls of the cylinder and fall in to a detachable dust collector below. The central tube sucks clean which is connected to low pressure rear end of the bus through a expanding conical outlet. The expanding conical outlet helps in creating higher pressure drop due to larger area at the exit. The heavier dust collected in the dust pan can be disposed at the end of the bus trip. The dust has to be disposed into a pit and mixed with mud slurry so as to capture the dust.
[006] According to the embodiment, the apparatus is versatile where we can attach the 3 cylindrical shaped cyclone separators mounted on the rear side of the bus either extending the body of the bus or within existing bus design below the platform which is a vacant area of the bus. The system of 3 cyclone separators works independently as they have dedicated pipelines connecting the low pressure and high-pressure regions. The piping sizes can be varied depending on the size of the cyclone separator based on the size of the bus. The detachable dust collector is easily accessible from the bottom of the bus for dust disposal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF DRAWINGS
[007] Figure 1 (Vehicle Front View):The dust collector device (designated as number 3) is located close to the back wheel of the bus as depicted in the figure 1. The dust collection system is located underneath the bus, as indicated by the dashed circle. This placement of the system is part of the bus design and can be used to clean or purify the dusty air that is released.
[008] Figure 2 (vehicle top view):This top-down picture of the bus reveals 3 dust collector devices that are positioned at the back of the car, among other details. It is possible that several dust collectors will be used to filter air effectively, to handle emissions and dusty outside air intake.
[009] Figure 3 shows the dust collecting unit in detail. A closer look at the dust collector unit is shown below, along with more explanation. Dusty Air In (1), Dust Particles (2), Cyclone Separator (3), Detachable Dust Collector Box (4), and Clean Air Out (5) are the components that are displayed. As seen in the preceding image, the process of air purification entails employing a cyclone separator to remove dust particles from the air and releasing clean air.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[010] It is observed that the air is turbulent behind a bus which is called as wake region. Dust and fine sand particles are blown in to the air due to turbulence created by the bus which makes driving difficult and cause health hazards for people following the bus. The dust would settle down with time and gets finer with every vehicle grinding the dust between the tire and road. Wind will only move the dust from one place to another but hardly has beneficial effect unless the strong winds can move the dust out of the urban areas. Dust on the road is usually removed to an extent by good rains but they again bring in fresh mud and dirt on to the road to be crushed by the wheels to make it finer which make them easily suspend in air creating a health hazard. The invention is basically the use of principles of cyclone separator to capture the dust and release clean air in to the environment. , C , Claims:[011] 1. The invention provides a versatile, low cost, no maintenance, no power requirement equipment which exploits the low pressure created behind the bus to clean the air during its travel.
[012] 2. The air cleaning system claimed as our invention if introduced on the bus, will lead to beneficial effects of reducing drag by providing an air channel to low pressure side of the bus.
[013] 3. The designed system can mitigate the concentration of dust on the road which as good number public transport vehicles plying on the road fitted with the device claimed as our invention.
[014] 4. The claimed system can separate heavier dust particles and not the finer particles. A filtration system can be added to filter the fine particles but would prove inefficient if not maintained regularly.

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