Air-Cooled Compact Power Converter Assembly Without Liquid Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current power converters, particularly in electric vehicles and eVTOLs, face challenges with size, weight, and efficiency due to the use of liquid cooling systems, which are costly, complex, and reduce battery range, while air-cooled solutions struggle to meet high power density targets.
Innovation Solution
The development of air-cooled power converters using packaged switches and diodes with metal heat-fins and heat-pipes, eliminating the need for liquid cooling systems and achieving high power density without the drawbacks of traditional cooling methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If liquid cooling systems are used in power converters, then heat management efficiency is improved, but device complexity, weight, and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the liquid cooling system from the power converter architecture and replaces it with air-cooled heat sinks integrated directly into the housing. This removes the complex liquid cooling infrastructure (pumps, tubes, reservoirs) while maintaining effective heat dissipation through direct air contact with finned heat sinks attached to power semiconductor devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces air as the cooling medium instead of liquid coolant, and uses heat sinks with extended surfaces (fins) as intermediaries to transfer heat from power semiconductors to the air. This simplifies the system by eliminating liquid cooling components while maintaining thermal management effectiveness.
2Temperature
If liquid cooling systems are used in power converters, then heat management efficiency is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the heavy liquid cooling system components (pumps, radiators, coolant reservoirs, tubing) and replaces them with lightweight air-cooled heat sinks. This significantly reduces the overall weight of the power converter while maintaining adequate thermal management through direct air cooling of power semiconductor devices.
3Temperature
If liquid cooling systems are used in power converters, then heat management efficiency is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates expensive liquid cooling components (pumps, specialized radiators, coolant, sealing systems) and replaces them with simple air-cooled heat sinks that can be manufactured more economically. This reduces material costs, assembly complexity, and maintenance requirements while achieving effective thermal management.
4Device complexity
If air-cooled solutions are used in power converters, then device complexity is reduced, but power density decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses heat sinks with extended surfaces (fins) that increase the cooling surface area in the vertical dimension without increasing the horizontal footprint. This allows air-cooled power converters to achieve high power density by efficiently dissipating heat through vertically oriented fin structures that maximize air contact area within a compact volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies localized heat sinking with high surface-area-to-volume ratio fin structures directly at the heat-generating power semiconductor devices. This concentrated cooling approach enables effective heat dissipation in a small volume, maintaining high power density while using simple air-cooled technology.
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 air-cooled power converters achieve or exceed the 100 kW/L power density target without liquid cooling, reducing weight, complexity, and cost, while maintaining efficient heat management and operational reliability.
Implementation Method 1
The converter may include one or more heat pipes thermally connected to the air-cooled bus bars and configured to conduct heat away from the converter
Implementation Method 2
air-cooled power converters using packaged switches and diodes with metal heat-fins and heat-pipes
Implementation Method 3
The air-cooled power converters achieve or exceed the 100 kW/L power density target without liquid cooling, reducing weight, complexity, and cost, while maintaining efficient heat management
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus with a bus bar, a heat-pipe, and device, which has a metal structure, a metal element, and a transistor. The metal structure may include first and second surfaces, that are flat and opposite facing. The metal element may include first and second surfaces that are flat and opposite facing. The transistor may include first and second terminals between which electrical current is transmitted when the transistor is activated. The first and second terminals may include first and second surfaces, respectively, that are substantially flat and opposite facing. The first and second surfaces of the first and second terminals, respectively, may be sintered to the first and second surfaces, respectively, of the metal structure and the metal element, respectively. The heat-pipe is thermally connected to the bus bar. The second surface of the metal structure is electrically and thermally connected to the bus bar.