Tran Le Phuoc (Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry) created a system to prevent water from entering the exhaust pipe, spark plug, separate water and gas... helping motorbikes operate for more than 20 minutes when flooded.
When he first came to Saigon to study, Phuoc (a student of the Faculty of Electrical and Electronics) had to walk his motorbike many times when it rained heavily and the roads were flooded. Witnessing many elderly people and women struggling to walk their motorbikes through flooded areas, Phuoc wondered how to overcome this.
In early 2022, Phuoc researched the operating principles of vehicles to design an anti-flooding system. He believed that spark plugs and exhaust pipes were the first two parts that affected the vehicle's engine stalling. When water enters the vehicle, the spark plugs will be affected first because they will not ignite. This causes the vehicle to stall, allowing water to enter the exhaust pipe.
Tran Le Phuoc (left) introduces the anti-flooding system integrated into motorbikes to students at the same school. Photo: Ha An
Phuoc researched and manufactured a spark plug cap made of flexible rubber with a tight design to increase water resistance. The exhaust pipe has a different way of working compared to conventional products. He designed it according to the principle of a sealed box upside down in water. Then water will not flow inside. From this principle, Phuoc manufactured an exhaust pipe with three different chambers, with an operating mechanism similar to the upside down principle so that the pressure inside is always greater than the pressure outside. Water will not enter the exhaust pipe, or if there is, it will be very little, when one chamber is full, it will flow to another chamber. The exhaust pipe will not have a vent like traditional vehicles, but will be attached with a removable screw to drain water, ensuring the inside is sealed. According to Phuoc, designing a different exhaust pipe will not affect the operation of the vehicle.
To increase the ability to resist flooding, he designed a water separation system in the form of a tube placed in front of the vehicle's fuel tank. When water floods the fuel tank, the water and air separation system will operate to separate the water from the outside air so as not to affect the operation of the machine. When the water is separated, it will flow through a compartment equipped with a sensor switch. "When there is water, the one-way pump will push water from the inside out to prevent the tank from having too much water and being sucked back into the combustion chamber," Phuoc said.
With this system, a motorbike that is turned off can still be restarted when it is flooded. According to Phuoc, the system meets the requirements for motorbikes that are flooded in apartment basements or when people leave their motorbikes in flooded houses. The product can help the motorbike go through flooded areas without turning off. In case the motorbike turns off, they just need to push it out of the flooded area and it can still be restarted and run normally.
The author tested by soaking the car engine in a water tank for more than 20 minutes and it still started.
Testing the anti-flooding system in Phuoc's car. Video: NVCC
Associate Professor Dr. Truong Quang Vinh, an electrical and electronic expert and Deputy Director of the International Training Office at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, highly appreciated the research product. He said that the product has a complete model of a motorbike with a water and exhaust separation system to prevent flooding. Testing in a water tank proved that the product works well.
However, according to him, to be practically applicable, the product must be suitable for the user experience because adding a new system to the vehicle will increase the bulkiness, affect motorcycle standards and pose a safety risk.
Associate Professor Vinh said that there needs to be a specialized agency to evaluate the applicability of the solution to suit Vietnam's technical standards.
Ha An
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