Battery Cold Plate Interlocking Joints for Vibration Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cold plates for heat-generating components, such as batteries in aircraft, face challenges in providing a fluid-tight seal and adequate support in vibratory environments, leading to coolant leakage and the need for additional weight-bearing parts.
Innovation Solution
A cold plate design featuring interlocking joints between thermally conductive top and bottom plates, which form a fluid-tight seal and support the component, allowing for both efficient heat transfer and weight distribution, using recesses in the walls of the plates to create compartments for the coolant flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional joining methods (brazing, soldering, friction stir-welding) are used to join the two plates, then the plates can be connected, but the joints are insufficient for providing a fluid-tight bond in vibratory environments
Solution Approach 1:
The cold plate is divided into two separate plates joined by multiple individual interlocking joints rather than a single continuous joint. Each wall forms a separate interlocking connection with recesses and protrusions, distributing the sealing requirement across multiple discrete locations that can each be optimized for fluid-tightness
Solution Approach 2:
One plate is nested within the other through the interlocking joint structure where walls of one plate fit into recesses of the opposing plate. This nesting creates a mechanically interlocked assembly that provides both structural connection and fluid sealing without requiring additional sealing components
2Strength
If additional parts are added to support the cooled component, then the component can be properly supported, but the weight of the aircraft increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cold plate structure merges the cooling function with the support function into a single integrated component. The same top and bottom plates that provide thermal management also serve as the structural support for the cooled component, eliminating the need for separate support brackets or mounting structures
Solution Approach 2:
The cold plate plates are designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: they provide thermal conduction for cooling, structural support for the component, and fluid containment. This multi-functionality reduces the total number of parts and decreases overall system weight
3Reliability
If a robust cold plate structure is designed to withstand vibratory environments, then coolant leakage is inhibited, but the number of parts and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The interlocking joints are designed with predetermined recesses and protrusions that are formed during manufacturing. This preliminary structuring of the joint geometry ensures that when the plates are assembled, the interlocking connection is automatically achieved without requiring additional fasteners, seals, or complex assembly procedures
Solution Approach 2:
The interlocking joint structure is self-containing and self-sealing. The recesses and protrusions create a mechanically interlocked assembly that inherently resists separation and maintains fluid containment under vibratory conditions without requiring external reinforcement or additional sealing components
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 design effectively inhibits coolant leakage in vibratory environments while reducing the number of parts needed, conserving space and weight by providing both cooling and support for the component.
Implementation Method 1
the cold plate is configured to transfer heat generated from the component to the cooling medium to provide cooling of the component
Data Source
AI summary
A cold plate is couplable with a component for dissipating heat from a component. The cold plate includes a top plate coupled with a bottom plate to receive a cooling medium therebetween. The top plate includes a body and a plurality of walls extending from the body, wherein each wall of the plurality of walls includes a recess extending within the wall. The bottom plate includes a body and a plurality of walls extending from the body such that an end portion of each wall of the bottom plate is inserted within the recess of each wall of the top plate to form an interlocking joint.