Axial Flux Machine Sealed Housing Cooling Path
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Solution Overview
Problem
High power axial flux electrical machines experience significant overheating due to high magnetic and electric current densities, which existing open-chassis designs fail to adequately address.
Innovation Solution
A sealed housing with a contiguous fluid flow path between the stator, rotor, and housing, utilizing cooling channels and a heat exchanger to facilitate effective heat transfer and cooling, with features like centrifugal fluid flow and thermal contact between stator and housing to manage heat dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If open chassis design is used for cooling, then air flow cooling is provided for magnetic and electrical components, but insufficient cooling occurs in higher power machines
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into multiple distinct fluid flow paths: a first flow path for cooling the rotor, a second flow path for cooling the stator, and a third flow path for cooling the housing. This segmentation allows each component to be cooled independently and optimally, addressing the insufficient cooling problem in high-power machines where different components generate different heat loads.
Solution Approach 2:
A cooling fluid acts as an intermediary medium to transfer heat from the rotor and stator to the housing and ultimately to the external environment. The fluid flow paths enable thermal energy to be carried away from heat-generating components through controlled circulation, solving the cooling inadequacy in high-power applications.
2Temperature
If sealed housing is used, then thermal management is improved through controlled fluid flow paths, but heat dissipation to external environment becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The fluid flow channels are nested within the housing structure itself, with the housing serving as both the external enclosure and the cooling system infrastructure. The channels are integrated into the housing walls, allowing internal components to be cooled while maintaining a compact, sealed external structure.
Solution Approach 2:
A liquid or gas cooling fluid is circulated through the sealed housing's internal channels to transfer heat from internal components to the housing exterior. This hydraulic/pneumatic cooling system enables effective thermal management within the sealed structure without requiring complex external cooling apparatus.
3Power
If high magnetic field and electric current densities are used, then high power output is achieved, but significant overheating occurs particularly in permanent magnets
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system provides localized cooling specifically targeted at the permanent magnets in the rotor through the first fluid flow path. The cooling channels are positioned to directly cool the magnet regions, which are most susceptible to overheating from high current densities, while other components receive appropriate cooling through separate flow paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling fluid flows through channels positioned to cool the permanent magnets before the magnets reach critical temperatures. The continuous circulation of cooling fluid prevents heat accumulation in the magnet regions, enabling the system to sustain high magnetic field and current densities without thermal damage.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively mitigates overheating by creating a continuous cooling path within the machine, enhancing heat removal from both the rotor and stator, thereby improving the thermal management of high-power axial flux electrical machines.
Implementation Method 1
a fluid flow path is defined within the housing, the fluid flow path having a first portion which extends between the stator and the rotor, a second portion that extends between the stator and the housing and a third portion which links the first and second portions
Implementation Method 2
the or each stator is preferably in thermal contact with the housing
Implementation Method 3
Such a machine may further comprise a heat exchanger for transferring heat energy from a fluid flowing in a fluid flow path to another fluid
Data Source
AI summary
An axial flux electrical machine comprises a substantially sealed housing (10) defining a fluid flow path (20), a heat exchanger (22) for transferring heat energy from a fluid flowing in the fluid flow path to another fluid, a stator (16) located within the housing (10), a rotatable shaft (12), a rotor (18) located within the housing (10) on the shaft (12) adjacent the stator (16) and rotatable with respect to the stator (16), wherein the fluid flow path extends between the stator (16) and the rotor (18).