Industrial engines and generators can create a huge amount of noise. It will primarily happen because high pressure gas releases from the exhausts. However, there can also be sounds from the air intakes. This can even change the sound of the whole piece of plant or system. In some cases it may be necessary to use an intake silencer to reduce the sound and make industrial facilities safer.
An air supply is essential to power generation in all kinds of combustion engines. There must be the correct air-to-fuel ratio to produce optimum power levels. If you get it wrong, you may waste resources and can even suffer a loss of power because the fuel level is too excessive. To achieve the right air flow, the systems can feature different types of air intakes. Below is a little bit of info about the three main ones.
Cold air intakes
The most common system draws in cold air. This is useful for a number of reasons. Most importantly, the colder it is, the denser it will be. When air is dense it contains more oxygen. As a result, you can burn more fuel to increase power.
To draw in cold air these systems generally have a long air intake tube. This will usually extend as far away from the engine as possible. It does this because air closer to it will be warmer.
Short ram air intakes
In some cases there is not enough space for a long air intake tube. When that happens, the best choice is generally to use one of these systems. They are more compact and generally sit closer to the engine. However, the air will not be as cold.
Ram air intakes
These systems are similar to cold air ones and have a long tube to draw in air. However, they are different in how they do this. Typically they will work to capture high pressure air from in front of the engine.
How to tackle the noise
Intakes can be very noisy for a number of reasons. For example, the interior surface of the tube may be rough and cause turbulence rather than letting the air flow smoothly. Plus, there could be awkward bends and other obstacles. Again they can disrupt the flow and cause noise.
One solution here is to use an intake silencer. This can feature a baffle to reduce the noise. What it does is transform the sound waves into heat by using a highly absorptive material. You can use them on many different pieces of plant, including generators.
The key thing to remember here though is the silencer must have the right design. If it will disrupt the air flow even more, the noise could actually get worse. Instead the design should allow the air to flow freely through the chamber while effectively reducing the noise.
Talk to us about designing an intake silencer
Ventx is a leading team with many happy customers all over the UK. They come from a variety of industries, from heavy manufacturing to power and more. A lot of them rely on generators and engines, but they have to tackle the noise to protect their employees, the general public, and the environment. We help them with that by offering first rate silencing products.
So, if you have this kind of issue and want us to design an intake silencer for you, please get in touch. You will find we offer a personal service every time to give our clients the best support.
