Vortex air cleaner assembly with acoustic attenuator

A vortex air cleaner-acoustic attenuator comprising, in combination, a housing having an inlet and an outlet arranged for air flow therethrough;

• and, disposed in the housing across the line of air flow from the inlet to the outlet, in sequence, a first array comprising a plurality of vortex air cleaners, in which the vortex air cleaners comprise a straight tubular air cleaner body having a cylindrical central passage with an inlet and an outlet at opposite ends, and a deflector adjacent the inlet for creating a vortex stream in the influent air to concentrate any contaminant particles in the air at the periphery of the passage, and clean the air at the center of the passage, and an outlet member having a central clean air passage communicating with the cylindrical central passage of the tubular body and disposed within the passage at the outlet, the exterior wall of the outlet member defining a generally annular contaminant scavenge passage within the cylindrical central passage of the tubular body through which pass contaminant particles, while relatively clean air at the center of the passage passes through the central clean air passage of the outlet member;
• and a second array comprising a plurality of spaced acoustic sheets defining passages therebetween arranged in flow communication with the clean air passages of the outlet members of the vortex air cleaners in the first array, the acoustic sheet passages having a diameter that is approximately the same as the diameter at the narrowest point of the clean air passages of the outlet members of the vortex air cleaners in the air cleaner array, so that the total of acoustic sheet thickness plus acoustic sheet passage diameter approximates the total of clean air passage inside diameter at the narrowest point plus the distance between the inside walls of the clean air passages, taken at the narrowest point of the clean air passages, of the outlet members of the air cleaners in one row, and the inside walls of the clean air passages, taken at the narrowest point of the clean air passages, of the outlet members of the air cleaners in the next adjacent row in the air cleaner array feeding air into the acoustic sheet passages, the inlet end openings of the acoustic sheet passages being substantially in alignment with the air cleaner passages for direct flow thereinto from the vortex air cleaner array in a straightthrough course, the acoustic sheets being arranged to deflect such air at least once from the acoustic surface of the sheets in the course of travel through the passages, the total pressure drop across the combination of vortex air cleaner array and array of intercepting spaced acoustic sheets being less than the additive pressure drop across either the vortex air cleaner array or the array of intercepting acoustic sheets, taken separately.