Coolant Equalizing Reservoir Vortex Chamber for High-Flow Degassing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Coolant equalizing reservoirs in battery-run electric vehicles face challenges in efficiently managing higher coolant volume flows, leading to reduced degassing effectiveness due to shorter dwell times, which is not addressed by existing designs that typically operate at lower volume flows.
Innovation Solution
The design of the coolant equalizing reservoir features a vortex chamber with a wall protruding from the reservoir housing, creating a long flow path and annular flow outside the vortex chamber, allowing coolant to circulate around it, thereby increasing dwell time and degassing efficiency without increasing installation space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the volume flow of coolant is increased to meet the cooling demands of battery-run electric vehicles, then the cooling capacity is improved, but the dwell time of coolant in the equalizing reservoir is shortened, reducing degassing effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a circumferential flow path dimension around the vortex chamber, where coolant flows annularly between the vortex chamber outer surface and reservoir housing inner wall. This additional dimensional path extends the dwell time without increasing the reservoir's axial length, allowing effective degassing even at high volume flows of 10-12 l/min or more.
2Reliability
If the equalizing reservoir accommodating volume is increased to extend coolant dwell time, then degassing effectiveness is improved, but the installation space requirement is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The vortex chamber is nested within the reservoir housing, with the circumferential flow path formed in the annular space between the vortex chamber outer surface and the reservoir housing inner wall. This nested configuration allows the coolant to utilize the available space efficiently, creating an extended flow path without increasing the overall reservoir volume, thus maintaining compact installation space while improving degassing effectiveness.
3Ease of manufacture
If the vortex chamber wall is integrated into the reservoir wall to save materials and production costs, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but the flow path length and dwell time are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the reservoir housing into distinct regions: the vortex chamber with its own wall, and the circumferential flow path region between the vortex chamber wall and reservoir housing wall. This segmentation creates an extended flow path that increases dwell time. The vortex chamber wall can still be integrated with the reservoir wall where needed, balancing manufacturing simplicity with extended coolant residence time for effective degassing at high volume flows.
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
This configuration enhances coolant degassing and dwell time, ensuring effective thermal expansion and degassing even at higher volume flows, such as 10 or 12 l/min, by extending the flow path and promoting longer contact with the reservoir housing, thus improving degassing success.
Implementation Method 1
a vortex chamber (42) in the reservoir housing (12), into which the feed line (40) discharges
Implementation Method 2
ensure degassing of the coolant which is advantageous for preventing undesirable cavitation at conveying devices
Implementation Method 3
provide an equalizing volume, in order to take up a volume increase of the coolant circulating in the cooling circuit caused by a temperature increase
Data Source
AI summary
A coolant equalizing reservoir for arrangement in a coolant circuit, having:a reservoir housing,a vortex chamber in the reservoir housing,a feed line for introducing coolant into the reservoir housing, andan outflow aperture for discharging coolant from the reservoir housing,where the feed line discharges into the vortex chamber, and wherein the vortex chamber is defined by a wall protruding from a base-wall section of the reservoir housing along a vortex chamber's axis, encircling the vortex chamber's axis in a closed manner, which in every direction orthogonal to the vortex chamber's axis is arranged at a distance from the reservoir housing.