GM Developing Adaptive Air Intake

General Motors is developing adaptive air intake ducts that expand and contract in response to airflow.

The adaptive air intake was the subject of a patent application filed by GM in 2022, but first surfaced when it was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on June 27, 2024.

In the application, GM discusses an air intake system with a fixed intake and exhaust port and a movable element in between. That intermediate portion is "made of a flexible material having a cross-sectional area that expands and contracts in response to incoming air flow," GM states in its application.

According to GM, materials that may achieve the required level of flexibility include "waterproof felt, silicone fabrics, and platinum-catalyzed silicone," as well as various polyethylene blends.

If the inside of the air intake can expand and contract to accommodate different airflow velocities, the packaging does not need to be modified for different applications, GM notes. This would reduce the need to design different air intakes for different vehicle models and reduce manufacturing costs associated with specific tooling to accommodate design variations. Adaptive air intakes are also more space efficient and easier to package into vehicles and ship to the factory, GM claims.

The cost-saving power of component commonality cannot be underestimated. That's why automakers try to use big ticket items like engines and infotainment systems in as many models as possible. And that will be the motivation once these adaptive air intakes are in production.