JP2014215006A - Snowstorm generating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a snowstorm generating device capable of uniformly distributing snowstorm over a height direction of a testing body while enabling a continuous test to be carried out, when simulating snowstorm by putting snow on gas flow and blow out it toward the testing body.SOLUTION: This invention relates to a snowstorm generating device 100 for generating snowstorm simulating snow storm by putting snow on gas flow in which there is provided a blowing-out port 102 for blowing out snow along a gas flow advancing direction. There is provided an opposing surface 104 opposing against the blowing-out port 102 at a forward prescribed position in the gas flow advancing direction, thereby the snowstorm blown out of the blowing-out port 102 and generated along the gas flow advancing direction while being put on the gas flow strikes against the opposing surface 104 and is deflected to diffuse toward all directions along the opposing surface 104.

Description

  The present invention relates to a snowstorm generating device, and more particularly to a snowstorm generating device capable of distributing a snowstorm over a desired wide range when simulating a snowstorm by placing snow on an air stream.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an environmental test room has been used for placing a complete model vehicle indoors, setting various natural environments and weather conditions, and collecting and analyzing loads on the vehicle as data.
As an example, we simulate snowstorms with artificial snow in an environmental test room, blow off the snowstorms toward the vehicle, and deal with problems such as problems caused by snow in the engine room and icing problems such as freezing of suspension parts. Things have been done.

For this reason, an environmental test room has a wind tunnel of a space enough for a vehicle to be arranged and blowing a snowstorm toward the vehicle, and a snowstorm generating device.
The snowstorm generator is simulated by an ice making machine that produces flaky ice pieces, an ice breaker that breaks the produced flaky ice pieces into ice particles of a predetermined particle size, and ice particles of a predetermined particle size that are crushed ice A pipe that conveys the artificial snow into the wind tunnel, and a blowing nozzle that is installed at the tip of the pipe and blows out toward the front of the vehicle.
According to such an environmental test room, it is possible to perform an environmental test simulating natural environment and weather conditions by blowing a snowstorm toward a vehicle in a wind tunnel using a snowstorm generator.

At this time, in order to perform an appropriate and effective environmental test, it is necessary to simulate a snowstorm in a natural state. In particular, from the viewpoint of reproducing the adhesion of the snowstorm to a vehicle, the temperature and particle size of the snow constituting the snowstorm Furthermore, it is important to secure the amount of snow necessary for the test.
On the other hand, in the wind tunnel where the vehicle is placed, there is a restriction that the distance between the vehicle and the air flow outlet is short (about 1 to 2 meters), and a natural snowstorm is simulated between these short distances, Need to spray on the vehicle.

However, as shown in FIG. 8, if the blowing snow is blown from the blowing nozzle 170 toward the vehicle simply on the airflow F from behind the blowing nozzle 170, the blowing snow I that blows out is near the center in the airflow F. It is difficult to reproduce the snowstorm that occurs in nature without concentrating on (substantially A range in the figure) and diffusing up to the B range in the airflow F.
In this regard, as a generation principle of a snowstorm, there has been a water spray method in which water is sprayed in a low-temperature air stream, frozen at an ambient temperature, and a snowstorm is generated in a space immediately before being sprayed on a vehicle.
According to this principle, it is difficult to secure the amount of snow necessary for the test, and it is difficult to perform an appropriate and effective environmental test because the adhesion of snowstorm cannot be simulated.

On the other hand, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a deflector system. According to this system, an opening / closing deflector is disposed in a tapered blowing nozzle that generates an air flow, and a flow path area is formed downstream by the opening / closing deflector. Using the snow from the snowdrop shooter provided on the ceiling of the tapered blowing nozzle, the swirling and floating of the snow due to the spiral turbulent state generated in the tapered blowing nozzle It is possible to make the concentration distribution uniform in the vertical direction.
However, this principle has the following technical problems.

First, it is difficult to adjust the spread of the snowstorm as desired under the constraint that the distance between the vehicle and the airflow outlet is short.
More specifically, in the case of the deflector system, since the spread of the snowstorm is limited by the opening area of the outlet of the tapered nozzle, it is usually necessary to secure the breadth of the snowstorm with a large outlet. In this case, it is difficult to adjust the spread of the snowstorm.

Second, snow accumulates in the tapered blowing nozzle, making continuous testing difficult.
More specifically, the snow from the snow removal shooter is deflected by the open / close deflector, but the snow falls to the bottom of the nozzle without flowing out from the tapered nozzle as a snowstorm and accumulates over time, It will be necessary to remove the snow pile once accumulated, making it difficult to continue the test.

Third, it is difficult to achieve a desired concentration level distribution of snowstorm in the height direction of the vehicle.
More specifically, ice particles blown out from the blowing nozzle are transported toward the vehicle by an air current. By changing the speed of the air current with respect to a stationary vehicle, a snowstorm is generated with respect to a vehicle traveling at various speeds. Simulates the situation where the In this case, if the concentration of the snowstorm naturally changes by changing the speed of the airflow, it will not be an appropriate test, so the concentration of the snowstorm must be kept constant.
In particular, when a snowstorm occurs when a vehicle in front passes over snow on the road, the concentration distribution of the snowstorm in the height direction of the vehicle is higher as it is closer to the road. If it is simulated, it is necessary to change the concentration distribution of the snowstorm in the height direction of the vehicle.
In addition, the snow environment test is not limited to vehicles, but there are various types of houses such as stationary houses and utility poles. In such cases, the concentration distribution of snowstorms in nature is generally darker as it approaches the ground surface. Even in such a case, it is necessary to change the concentration distribution in the height direction of the snowstorm.
Patent No. 2739716

In view of the above technical problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a snowstorm generating device capable of distributing a snowstorm over a desired wide range when simulating a snowstorm by placing snow on an airflow. is there.
In view of the above technical problems, the object of the present invention is to allow a continuous test to be performed in the height direction of the specimen while simulating a snowstorm by blowing snow on an air stream and blowing it out toward the specimen. An object of the present invention is to provide a snowstorm generating device capable of uniformly distributing snowstorm over the area.
In view of the above technical problems, the object of the present invention is to enable a continuous test when simulating a snowstorm by blowing snow on an air current and blow it out toward the vehicle, and to reach the vehicle. An object of the present invention is to provide a snowstorm generating device capable of realizing a desired concentration distribution of snowstorm in the height direction of a vehicle between distances.

In order to achieve the above object, a snowstorm generating device of the present invention comprises:
A snowstorm generator that simulates a snowstorm by putting snow in an air current,
A blowout port that blows snow along the traveling direction of the airflow is provided, and a facing surface that is opposed to the blowout port is disposed at a predetermined position outside the blowout port and in front of the traveling direction of the airflow,
Thereby, the snowstorm blown out from the outlet and generated along the airflow traveling direction on the airflow is deflected against the facing surface and diffuses toward the four sides outward of the facing surface.

According to the snowstorm generator having the above-described configuration, the snow blown out from the air outlet rides on the airflow and flows as a snowstorm along the direction of the airflow, and the snowstorm is outside the air outlet, It hits the opposite surface arranged to face the air outlet at a predetermined position in the front of the traveling direction, and as in the conventional case, snow accumulates until it reaches the air outlet, and it is not difficult to continuously generate snowstorm. Diffuses outward in all directions along the opposing surface, and the diffused snowstorm flows further along the airflow, and the snowstorm also circulates in the area behind the opposing surface, adjusting the speed of the airflow By doing so, it becomes possible to broaden the spatial distribution through which the snowstorm flows as desired.
Here, “snow” has a broad meaning that includes both snowflakes in which snowflakes overlap like natural snow and snow particles like artificial snow made of ice particles. "Has a broad meaning which means not only a snowstorm state due to snowfall but also a situation in which such snowflakes or snow particles move due to wind or passing of a car.

In addition, the snowstorm is blown out toward the specimen, and is used to perform an environmental test on the specimen.
When the snowstorm reaches the test body, the size of the facing surface is determined according to the distance between the air outlet and the test body and the air velocity so that the spatial concentration distribution of the snowstorm becomes substantially uniform. Good.
Furthermore, the snowstorm is blown out toward a stationary vehicle arranged in the wind tunnel, and is used to perform an environmental test on the stationary vehicle.
The distance between the outlet and the vehicle is 1 to 3 meters;
When the snowstorm reaches the vehicle, the size of the facing surface may be determined in accordance with the distance between the outlet and the vehicle and the airflow velocity so that the spatial concentration distribution of the snowstorm becomes substantially uniform.

Furthermore, the snow is preferably artificial snow that breaks ice pieces that have been made into ice particles.
In addition, the snow may be artificial crystal snow generated using cold air having a predetermined humidity and a predetermined temperature.
As the snow, natural snow may be used.
Furthermore, a plurality of the outlets are provided at intervals in the height direction so as to cover the entire height of the vehicle,
The amount of snow blown out from each outlet can be adjusted independently of each other,
It is preferable that the concentration distribution of the snowstorm can be adjusted according to the height of the vehicle.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the facing surface has a planar point-symmetric shape, is disposed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the traveling direction of the air flow, and is disposed so that the center of symmetry overlaps the center of the outlet.
In addition, the facing surface may be circular.
Further, the blowing port may be provided at a tip of the blowing nozzle, and the facing surface may be attached to the blowing nozzle so that an interval between the blowing port and the blowing port can be adjusted.

Furthermore, when simulating a traveling vehicle at a predetermined vehicle speed by blowing an air current at a predetermined wind speed toward a stationary vehicle,
The opposed surfaces corresponding to the respective outlets may be arranged so that a desired snowstorm concentration is achieved in the height direction of the vehicle at the front portion of the vehicle with respect to an airflow of a predetermined speed.

In addition, it is preferable to arrange the facing surfaces corresponding to the respective outlets so that the concentration becomes higher in the lower direction in the vehicle height direction.
Further, a blower port for blowing out the airflow is provided, and the blowing nozzle is disposed along the direction of the airflow in front of the airflow blown out from the blower port, and the band of the airflow blown out from the blower port The outlet may be installed inside.

The snowstorm generator of the present invention will be described in detail below, taking as an example the case where a snowstorm is simulated by the snowstorm generator of the present invention and used for a snow environment test.
First, the snow environment test system will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the snow environment test system 10 uses artificial snow composed of ice particles and simulates a snowstorm by placing the artificial snow on an airflow from behind. Thus, it is configured to spray toward the vehicle V, which is a test specimen, and for that purpose, it has a snowstorm supply system 12 and an airflow supply system 14.
In particular, when continuously blowing toward the vehicle V using the required amount of snowstorm with a predetermined snow quality, where the particle size and moisture content of ice particles are the main influencing factors, the entire height of the vehicle V In order to achieve a desired snowstorm concentration distribution in the height direction of the vehicle V in some cases, a group of ice particles used as artificial snow is manufactured immediately before the test under a predetermined temperature and humidity control. And prompt supply is required.

More specifically, the snow environment test system 10 includes a wind tunnel 16 in which the vehicle V to be tested is disposed, a low temperature chamber 18 disposed above the wind tunnel 16, and an ice making chamber disposed above the low temperature chamber 18. 20, an ice making machine 22 is arranged in the ice making chamber 20, and an ice temperature stabilizing conveyor 24, an ice breaker 26, a blower 28, a cooler 30, and artificial snow distribution are arranged in the low temperature chamber 18. A device 34 is disposed, and a wet snow device 32, an artificial snow blowing nozzle 36, and a snow collecting device 38 are disposed in the wind tunnel 16. In general, ice pieces made in the ice making chamber 20 are cooled at low temperature. Artificial snow is manufactured by crushed ice in the chamber 18 and pulverizing into ice, and the artificial snow is pumped toward the wind tunnel 16 to distribute wet artificial snow into the low temperature air current in the wind tunnel 16. It is configured to be put on snowstorm and sprayed toward vehicle V To have.

The wind tunnel 16 is an open type circulation type, and a measurement chamber 200 in which a vehicle to be measured is installed (open type), and first to fourth bent cylinders 302, 304, 306, 308 (bent portions). Are formed in a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. The air flow generated by the blower 25 passes through the second diffusion cylinder 310, the third bending cylinder 306, the fourth bending cylinder 308, the rectifying cylinder 312 (see FIG. 2), and the contracted flow cylinder 314 (see FIG. 2), and the measurement chamber 300. The air flows into the measurement chamber from a blowout port 316 (see FIG. 2) that opens to the first bending cylinder 302 and the second bending cylinder 304 in this order.
The airflow blown by the blower 25 is measured by once reducing the wind speed (dynamic pressure) of the entire airflow and increasing the pressure (static pressure) in the intermediate body portion, and then passing through the contracted flow drum 314. Therefore, an air flow having a necessary and sufficient air volume (wind speed) can be blown out from the blow-out port 316 to the measurement chamber 300.

As a result, as will be described later, the ice particles that are conveyed by air through the ice making process, the ice breaking process, the separation process, and the wet snow process are blown into the measurement chamber 300 by riding on the airflow from the back toward the vehicle. By adjusting the wind speed of the airflow with the blower 25, the traveling vehicle can be simulated while being a stationary vehicle.
Further, in the case of the circulating wind tunnel 16 for a snowstorm test, a snow repair device 38 is separately provided downstream of the vehicle V in order to separate and collect the snow after the test. In order to separate snow by the inertia effect, an area where the airflow is not rectified is provided downstream of the vehicle V.

The snow blowing supply system 12 is provided in three systems. In each system, a snow supply pipe 40 that connects the ice breaker 26 and the blowing nozzle 36 and an air duct 44 that connects the suction port 42 in the wind tunnel 16 and the ice breaker 26 are provided. In the snow supply pipe 40, an artificial snow distribution device 34 and a wet snow device 32 are connected in this order between the ice breaker 26 and the blowing nozzle 36, while the air duct 44 has an inside of the wind tunnel 16. A blower 28 and a cooler 30 are connected between the suction port 42 and the ice breaker 26.
The artificial snow distribution device 34 is installed on the upstream side of the wet snow device 32. If the artificial snow distribution device 34 is installed on the downstream side, the wet snow is sent to the distribution device 34, and the inside of the distribution device 34 This is to prevent clogging due to adhesion.

The ice making machine 22 is a so-called reamer type ice making machine 22 that produces flaky ice pieces, and a plurality of ice making machines 22 that produce cracked ice pieces according to the total required amount of artificial snow used in the snow environment test. By selecting an arbitrary number from the above and making ice with the selected ice making machine 22 according to the change in the required amount of artificial snow used for the environmental test, the ice making amount is roughly adjusted and the artificial snow used for the environmental test In accordance with the difference between the required amount of artificial snow and the roughly adjusted ice making amount, the evaporating temperature and / or the water temperature and / or the reamer rotation speed are selected in each selected ice making machine 22 in accordance with the difference in the required amount of snow. It has a control device (not shown) that finely adjusts the amount of ice making by adjusting.

The ice crusher 26 mainly includes a rotary feeder (not shown) arranged at the upper part and a pair of crushing drums (not shown) arranged at the lower part, and is supplied by the ice temperature stabilizing conveyor 24. Ice pieces are quantified by a rotary feeder, supplied to a pair of crushing drums, crushed by a pair of crushing drums, and supplied to the snow supply pipe 40 as ice particles having a predetermined particle diameter.

The artificial snow distribution device 34 is used to distribute the artificial snow conveyed by the snow supply pipe 40 to a plurality of branch pipes (not shown). More specifically, the blowing nozzle 36 at the same level is used for the vehicle. The snow supply pipes 40 in each system are branched into a plurality of branch pipes in the width direction of the vehicle V so that a plurality of the snow supply pipes 40 are provided in the width direction of the vehicle V. A blowing nozzle 36 is provided at the tip of the nozzle.

The artificial snow distribution device 34 includes a rotating body (not shown) in which an upstream end face and a downstream end face are respectively arranged in parallel with a downstream end face of the snow supply pipe 40 and an upstream end face of each of the plurality of branch pipes; A rotation drive unit (not shown) that rotates the rotating body at a predetermined rotation speed about its axial direction, and the rotating body has a pressure feed passage (not shown) penetrating the rotating body in the axial direction inside thereof. ), And the pressure-feed passage is disposed on the upstream end face in a non-contact manner in close proximity to an outflow opening (not shown) provided on the downstream end face of the snow supply pipe 40 (not shown). And a discharge port (not shown) arranged in a non-contact manner in close proximity to an inflow opening (not shown) provided on the upstream end surface of each of the plurality of branch pipes. Equipped with a plurality of branch pipes on the passage trajectory of the discharge port by rotation of the rotating body Inlet openings respectively are provided so as to be located.

The wet snow device 32 has a hot air supply pipe (not shown) communicating with the snow supply pipe 40, and the hot air supply pipe has a predetermined length in the extending direction of the snow supply pipe 40 at the downstream end thereof. A hot air inflow portion (not shown) that forms an annular space that covers the entire outer peripheral surface of the snow supply pipe 40, and the hot air inflow opening (not shown) is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the snow supply pipe 40 that is covered by the annular space. )) Are uniformly provided, whereby an aging space (heat exchange aging region) is formed in the snow supply pipe 40 on the downstream side of the portion where the hot air inflow portion of the snow supply pipe 40 is attached. It is designed to be wet and snowy.

Regarding the airflow supply system 14, the wind tunnel 16 is formed in a part of the circulation space, and is configured to blow snowstorm over the vehicle height of the vehicle V in one direction from the front to the rear of the vehicle V. Specifically, an air flow having a predetermined wind speed is generated in one direction from the front to the rear of the vehicle V by the blower 25 installed in the circulation space, and the air flow passes through the vehicle V to a predetermined temperature by the cooler 30. It is cooled and returned to the blower 25 to generate airflow again and repeat this.

With regard to the blowing device, the three blowing nozzles 36 for blowing snow 36 are arranged at a predetermined distance in front of the vehicle V at a predetermined distance in the height direction over the vehicle height of the vehicle V. The concentration of the snowstorm to be supplied can be adjusted for each blowing nozzle 36. A snow collecting device 38 is arranged at a predetermined distance behind the vehicle V, and the snowstorm that has passed through the snow collecting device 38 is blower arranged in the low temperature chamber 18 through the suction port 42 in the wind tunnel 16. 28, cooled by the cooler 30, returned to the ice breaker 26, iced by the ice making machine 22, supplied to the ice breaker 26 by the ice temperature stabilizing conveyor 24, mixed with the ice particles to be crushed, and supplied again with snow. It is used for blowing snow from the blowing nozzle 36 through the tube 40. The blowout nozzle 36 is arranged along the direction of airflow, and the blowout port 102 is installed in the zone of the airflow blown from the blower 25.
In this regard, snow blowing is performed when the snow blown out from each blowing nozzle 36 by the air blown by the blower 28 is blown toward the vehicle V on the air flow blown out from the blower 25. As long as snow clogging in the tube 40 does not occur, the speed is preferably as low as possible, and the speed of snow blowing is preferably simulated by the airflow blown from the blower 25.
More specifically, when the blizzard is diffused by the diffusion plate 74 (described later) and blown toward the vehicle V, if the pumping speed of the pumped air is high, the speed of the blizzard increases only in the blizzard of the blowing nozzle 36 portion. In addition, while deviating from the natural snowstorm, it is possible to change the speed of the entire diffused snowstorm uniformly by changing the speed of the airflow blown from the blower 25. When simulating the above, it is advantageous to vary the speed of the airflow blown from the blower 25.

As shown in FIG. 2, a diffusion plate 74 is provided in front of each blowing nozzle 36, and the snowstorm blown out from the blowing nozzle 36 on the low temperature airflow from the blower toward the vehicle V is shown in FIG. 3. In this way, it hits the diffusion plate 74 and diffuses outward in all directions, and the three blowing snow blowout nozzles 36 cooperate with each other, so that the snowstorm occurs in the front part of the vehicle V over the height direction of the vehicle V. To be distributed.
In this respect, since the wind tunnel 16 is not a so-called aerodynamic wind tunnel 16 but a simple wind tunnel 16, the distance between the blowing nozzle 36 and the front portion of the vehicle V is about 1 to 3 meters. The snowstorm blown out from the blowout nozzle 36 over a short distance is diffused over the entire height at the front portion of the vehicle V.
The diffusion plate 74 may be provided when the wind speed is 80 km / h or more, or the distance between the blowing nozzle 36 and the front portion of the vehicle V is about 1 to 3 meters.
A plurality of air outlets 102 are provided at intervals in the height direction so as to cover the entire height of the vehicle V, and the amount of snow blown out from each air outlet 102 can be adjusted independently of each other. According to the height of the vehicle V, the concentration distribution of the snowstorm can be adjusted.

A facing surface 104 is provided on the side of the diffusing plate 74 facing the blowing port 102, and the facing surface 104 is disposed outside the blowing port 102 and at a predetermined position in the forward direction of the airflow. The snowstorm that blows out from the mouth 102 and travels along the airflow traveling direction along the airflow is deflected against the facing surface 104 and diffuses outward in the four directions of the facing surface 104.
The snowstorm is blown out toward a stationary vehicle disposed in the wind tunnel, and is used to perform an environmental test on the stationary vehicle. A distance D between the outlet 102 and the vehicle V is 1 to 3 meters, When the snowstorm reaches the vehicle V, the airflow velocity from the rear of the air outlet 102 and the distance D between the air outlet 102 and the airflow velocity from the rear of the air outlet 102 is adjusted so that the spatial concentration distribution of the snowstorm becomes substantially uniform. The size is determined.

The facing surface 104 has a planar point-symmetric shape and is disposed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the traveling direction of the airflow, and is disposed so that the center of symmetry overlaps the center of the outlet 102.
The facing surface 104 is circular, for example, and the diameter thereof is set to be the same as the diameter of the outlet 102.

The outlet 102 is provided at the tip of the outlet nozzle 36, and the facing surface 104 is attached to the outlet nozzle 36 so that the distance d between the outlet 102 and the outlet 102 can be adjusted.
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3B, the diffusion plate 74 is attached to the snow supply pipe 40 around the blowing nozzle 36 via an L-shaped member 108 for the convenience of attachment. More specifically, one portion 108A of the L-shaped member 108 extends forward from the side peripheral surface of the vertical portion of the snow supply pipe 40 around the blowing nozzle 36, and the other portion 108B of the L-shaped member 108 extends downward. The diffusion plate 74 is attached to the tip of the other portion 108B of the L-shaped member 108 so as to face the blowing nozzle 36. As will be described later, the distance D between the blowing nozzle 36 and the diffusion plate 74 can affect the diffusion range of the snowstorm when the snowstorm blown from the blowing nozzle 36 strikes the diffusion plate 74 and diffuses.

More specifically, the larger the d, the narrower the blizzard diffusion range, and the smaller d, the wider the blizzard diffusion range. In this regard, when the snowstorm diffused by the diffusion plate 74 reaches the vehicle V as the test specimen, it needs to spread over the entire height direction and width direction of the vehicle V. Is also affected by the air velocity from behind the blowing nozzle 36. When changing the air velocity to simulate the traveling vehicle, in order to realize a desired diffusion range using the same diffusion plate 74, one of the L-shaped members 108 is made variable so that the distance d is variable. It is preferable to make the portion extendable.

When a traveling vehicle V having a predetermined vehicle speed is simulated by blowing an airflow at a predetermined wind speed toward the stationary vehicle V, the desired airflow at a predetermined speed is desired in the height direction of the vehicle V at the front portion of the vehicle V. The facing surfaces 104 corresponding to the respective outlets 102 are arranged so that the snowstorm concentration of 1 is achieved. You may arrange | position the opposing surface 104 corresponding to each blower outlet 102 so that it may become a high density | concentration in the height direction of the vehicle V below.
Moreover, if the snow amount is adjusted from small to medium and large from the top to the bottom, the snowstorm having the same snow density as that in the natural snowstorm shown in FIG. 4 can be reproduced.

The operation of the snowstorm generator 100 having the above configuration will be described below.
First, in each system, ice pieces made by the ice making machine 22 are crushed by the ice breaker 26 to become ice particles having a predetermined particle diameter, and are pumped by an air current by the snow supply pipe 40, and a plurality of branch pipes are fed by the distribution device 34. In each branch pipe, the wet snow device 32 makes wet snow having a predetermined moisture content, and reaches the blowing nozzle 36.
In this case, the blowing nozzles 36 are arranged at intervals in the vehicle height direction for each system, and the plurality of blowing nozzles 36 of the same system are arranged at intervals in the width direction of the vehicle V.
On the other hand, the air flow generated from the blower 25 flows from the outlet 316 toward the vehicle V through the second diffusion cylinder 310, the third bending cylinder 306, the fourth bending cylinder 308, the rectifying cylinder 312, and the contracting cylinder 314. The first bent cylinder 302 and the second bent cylinder 304 are returned to the blower 25 so as to circulate.
In each blowing nozzle 36, the snow blown out from the blowing port 102 rides on the airflow and flows as a snowstorm along the direction of the airflow, and the snowstorm is outside the blowing port 102 and in the forward direction of the airflow. The snow blows without hitting the facing surface 104 arranged at a predetermined position so as to face the air outlet 102, and collecting snow until reaching the air outlet 102 as in the past, making it difficult for the snowstorm to be continuously generated. The diffused snowstorm diffuses outward in all directions along the facing surface 104. The diffused snowstorm further flows along the airflow, and the snowstorm also goes around the area behind the facing surface 104. By adjusting, the spatial distribution through which the snowstorm flows can be expanded as desired.

Hereinafter, how the snowstorm blown from the blowing nozzle 36 diffuses by the diffusion plate 74 of the present invention before reaching the front part of the vehicle as the test body will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing how the diffusion state and concentration distribution (or snowstorm intensity distribution) of the snowstorm blown from the blowing nozzle 36 changes according to the distance from the blowing nozzle 36.

As shown in FIG. 5, immediately after the snowstorm blown from the blowing nozzle 36 hits the diffusion plate 74, the mainstream of the snowstorm diffuses in the circumferential direction diagonally forward of the diffusion plate 74. The direction of the main flow is originally diffusion in the vertical circumferential direction when only the blowout nozzle 36 is used, but due to the influence of the wind tunnel blowout wind (vehicle wind speed reproduction wind speed), Diffusion in the direction. And the area | region behind the diffusion plate 74 between the spreading | diffusion mainstream becomes negative pressure, and produces the vortex | eddy_current V with respect to any mainstream, As a result, as the distance from the blowing nozzle 36 leaves | separates, the mainstream of a snowstorm Goes around. On the other hand, the concentration distribution (or snowstorm intensity distribution) in the vertical direction of the snowstorm is particularly high in the circumferential direction diagonally forward of the diffusion plate 74 immediately after the snowstorm blown from the blowing nozzle 36 hits the diffusion plate 74. As the distance from the nozzle 36 increases, it gradually becomes uniform in the vertical direction.

  When the low-temperature airflow that reproduces the vehicle wind speed from behind the blowout nozzle 36 is 20 to 100 km / h to simulate a traveling vehicle, the vehicle is placed about 1 m ahead of the blowout nozzle 36, and the snowstorm in the natural world is Reproduction, that is, in order to make the snow concentration (or snowstorm intensity) uniformly 50 to 500 kg / m2h in the vertical direction, considering the snowstorm state range indicated by one blowing nozzle 36, the entire snowstorm reproduction area is considered. The plurality of blowing nozzles 36 are appropriately arranged to reproduce the snow blowing state as a whole.

In the case of the natural world where the concentration distribution of snowstorms differs in the vertical direction (the ground surface has the highest concentration, and the concentration gradually decreases in the height direction), It goes without saying that the change in snow concentration (or snow blowing intensity) can be easily reproduced by changing the amount of supplied snow and appropriately arranging the blowing nozzles 36 to be arranged.

The concept of configuring the blowing nozzle 36 will be described below.
It is important that the airflow velocity in the blowout nozzle 36 is carried at a wind speed of 15 m / s or more so that the snowstorm particles to be carried are not clogged with the adhesion of snow into the nozzle. In addition, an interval d between the diffusion plate 74 and the blowing nozzle 36 is ensured so that the wind speed in the diffusion plate 74 at the outlet of the blowing nozzle 36 is the same. Otherwise, the snow particles that collide with the diffusion plate 74 will adhere and accumulate, making it impossible to carry out in the vertical direction.
In addition, although it is the idea of the space | interval d of the diffusion plate 74 and the blowing nozzle 36, when installing in the blower outlet which reproduced the vehicle wind speed (20-100 km / h), the mainstream airflow which came out of the diffusion plate 74 is vertical. The interval d is set so as to blow out in the direction. Then, as described above, coupled with the vehicle wind speed airflow, diffusion of the snowstorm concentration in an appropriate forward direction is indicated. At this time, in order to finely adjust the degree of diffusion, it is possible to appropriately change the distance d between the diffusion plate 74 and the blowing nozzle 36 as well as changing the amount of air flow of the blowing nozzle 36.

When the installation environment of the blowing nozzle 36 is not as fast as the vehicle wind speed, the main flow immediately after the diffusion plate 74 is in the vertical direction because the blowing nozzle 36 has a high wind speed of 15 m / s or more. Blowing out is too diffuse and problematic. In that case, by setting the distance d between the diffusion plate 74 and the blowing nozzle 36 to be extremely wide, the snowdrift concentration range after blowing can be adjusted.

In addition, when considering the diffusion range of the snowstorm and the adhesion of the snow particles in the snow supply pipe 40 until the blowing of the snowstorm, the mixing ratio of the snow particles and the carrier air is important. More specifically, when the mixing ratio of the snow particles is small, adhesion in the snow supply pipe 40 hardly occurs and the diffusion range of the snowstorm is easy to expand, while when the mixing ratio of the snow particles is large, The diffusion range is difficult to widen and tends to easily adhere within the snow supply pipe 40.
Therefore, in consideration of the degree of wet snow (water content with respect to the snow particles), the mixing ratio is obtained so as to obtain a desired snowdrift diffusion range in a state in which the snow particles hardly adhere in the snow supply pipe 40. It is also possible to set

As described above, when snow is blown toward the vehicle by simulating snow blowing by putting it on the airflow, it is possible to perform a continuous test in the height direction of the vehicle for a short distance before reaching the vehicle. A desired concentration distribution of snowstorm can be realized.
As a modification, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the three snow blowing supply systems 12 are not provided, but a single diffusion plate 74 is provided as a single system as shown in FIG. 7. It's okay.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but various modifications or changes can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.
For example, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the air outlet 102 is installed on the vehicle V side outside the air outlet 216 of the contracted body 214 of the wind tunnel 16, but the present invention is not limited to this. The snowstorm diffuses outward in all directions along the facing surface 104. The diffused snowstorm further flows along the airflow, and the snowstorm wraps around the area behind the facing surface 104, thereby adjusting the speed of the airflow. As long as the spatial distribution through which the snowstorm flows can be expanded as desired, it may be installed in the contracted flow drum 214 of the wind tunnel 16.
For example, in the present embodiment, it has been described that snow is artificial snow that breaks ice pieces that have been made into ice particles, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and snow has a predetermined humidity and a predetermined temperature. Artificial crystal snow generated using cold air or natural snow may be used.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, it has been described that the center of symmetry of the diffusion plate 74 is disposed so as to overlap the center of the blowing nozzle 36, but the present invention is not limited to this, for example, according to the installation level of the blowing nozzle 36. If the diffusion range needs to be biased, the center of symmetry may be offset from the center of the blowing nozzle 36.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the plate-shaped diffusion plate 74 has been described as a snowstorm diffusion member. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as long as it has a diffusion surface facing the blowing nozzle 36, it is not plate-shaped. May be.

1 is an overall schematic diagram of an environmental test system in which a snowstorm generating device according to an embodiment of the present invention is arranged. It is a partial side view which shows the surroundings of the blowing part of the snowstorm generator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the generation | occurrence | production state of the snowstorm by the snowstorm generator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows distribution of the snow density in the snowstorm in the natural world. It is a partial side view which shows the surroundings of the blowing part of the snowstorm generator which concerns on another embodiment of this invention. It is another figure of the environmental test system which arrange | positions the snowstorm generator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows progress of the snowstorm by the snowstorm generator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure similar to FIG. 3 which shows the generation | occurrence | production state of the snowstorm by the conventional snowstorm generator.

V Vehicle D Distance between outlet 102 and vehicle V Distance between outlet 102 and opposing surface 104 Snow environment test system 12 Snow blowing supply system 14 Air flow supply system 16 Wind tunnel 18 Low greenhouse 20 Ice making room 22 Ice making machine 24 Ice temperature Stabilizing conveyor 25 Blower 26 Ice crusher 27
28 Blower 30 Cooler 32 Wet snow device 34 Distributing device 36 Blowing nozzle 38 Blowing snow collecting device 40 Snow supply pipe 42 Suction port 44 Air duct 74 Diffusion plate 100 Blowing snow generating device 102 Blowing port 104 Opposite surface 108 L-shaped member 300 Measurement Chamber 302 First bending cylinder 304 Second bending cylinder 306 Third bending cylinder 308 Fourth bending cylinder 310 Second diffusion cylinder 312 Rectification cylinder 314 Condensation cylinder 316 Outlet

Claims (13)

A snowstorm generator that simulates a snowstorm by putting snow in an air current,
A blowout port that blows snow along the traveling direction of the airflow is provided, and a facing surface that is opposed to the blowout port is disposed at a predetermined position outside the blowout port and in front of the traveling direction of the airflow,
Thereby, the snowstorm blown out from the outlet and generated along the airflow traveling direction on the airflow is deflected against the opposing surface and diffuses toward the four sides outward of the opposing surface. Snowstorm generator. The snowstorm is blown out toward the specimen and is used to conduct environmental tests on the specimen.
The size of the facing surface is determined according to the distance between the air outlet and the test body and the air velocity so that the spatial concentration distribution of the snowstorm becomes substantially uniform when the snowstorm reaches the test body. Item 1. A snowstorm generator according to Item 1. The blizzard is blown out toward a stationary vehicle located in the wind tunnel, and is used to perform an environmental test on the stationary vehicle.
The distance between the outlet and the vehicle is 1 to 3 meters;
The size of the facing surface is determined according to the distance between the air outlet and the vehicle and the airflow velocity so that the spatial concentration distribution of the snowstorm becomes substantially uniform when the snowstorm reaches the vehicle. The blizzard generator described in 1. The snowstorm generating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the snow is artificial snow that breaks ice pieces that have been made into ice particles. The snowstorm generating device according to claim 3, wherein the snow is artificial crystal snow generated using cold air having a predetermined humidity and a predetermined temperature. The snowstorm generating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the snow uses natural snow. A plurality of the outlets are provided at intervals in the height direction so as to cover the entire height of the vehicle,
The amount of snow blown out from each outlet can be adjusted independently of each other,
The snowstorm generator according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the snowstorm concentration distribution can be adjusted according to the height of the vehicle.         The said opposing surface is a planar point symmetrical shape, is arrange | positioned in the direction substantially orthogonal to the advancing direction of an air flow, and is arrange | positioned so that the symmetrical center may overlap with the center of the said blower outlet. The snowstorm generator according to any one of claims 6 to 6.         The snowstorm generating device according to claim 8, wherein the facing surface is circular.         The said blowing outlet is provided in the front-end | tip of a blowing nozzle, The said opposing surface is attached to the said blowing nozzle so that the space | interval with the said blowing outlet can be adjusted, The Claim 1 thru | or 6 of any one of Claim 6 Snowstorm generator. When simulating a traveling vehicle at a predetermined vehicle speed by blowing an airflow at a predetermined wind speed toward a stationary vehicle,
The opposed surfaces corresponding to the respective outlets are arranged so that a desired snowstorm concentration is achieved in the height direction of the vehicle at a front portion of the vehicle with respect to an airflow at a predetermined speed. The snowstorm generator according to claim 6.       The snowstorm generating device according to claim 11, wherein the facing surface corresponding to each of the air outlets is arranged so that the concentration becomes lower in the vehicle height direction. An air outlet that blows out the airflow is provided, and in the forward direction of the airflow blown out from the airoutlet, the blowing nozzle is disposed along the airflow advancing direction, and within the zone of the airflow blown out from the air outlet. The snowstorm generating device according to claim 10, wherein the blowout port is installed.

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