Centrally Located Cooling Tower for Electric Machine Electronics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electric machines, such as vehicle alternators, face challenges in efficiently managing heat dissipation due to increased demands, leading to elevated temperatures and reduced performance, particularly in air-cooled designs where cooling air flow is restricted and heat transfer is inefficient.
Innovation Solution
The electronic package incorporates a centrally located cooling tower with radially extending fins and a thermally insulative receptacle, positioning power electronics devices and control circuitry to maximize heat dissipation through conductive and convective cooling, while minimizing thermal interaction and electrical noise, and allowing for both air and liquid cooling configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If power electronics devices are placed close to control circuitry to reduce electrical noise, then electrical noise is reduced, but thermal interaction increases causing higher temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The electronic package is segmented into distinct functional zones: a radially inner region housing control circuitry and a radially outer region housing power electronics devices. This spatial segmentation allows electrical noise reduction through proximity while thermal management is achieved through radial separation and dedicated cooling paths for each zone.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the electronic package are assigned different thermal management characteristics. The control circuitry region receives cooling air from an axial inlet, while the power electronics region is cooled by air flowing radially outward through cooling towers. This local quality differentiation optimizes cooling efficiency for each component type.
2Loss of energy
If cooling air flow is increased to improve heat dissipation, then heat dissipation efficiency is improved, but air flow restrictions increase reducing system performance
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system transitions from conventional axial or radial cooling to a hybrid three-dimensional cooling architecture. Cooling air enters axially, flows through radially extending cooling towers with finned surfaces, and exits through multiple paths. This multi-dimensional approach maximizes heat transfer surface area while maintaining acceptable pressure drop and air flow rates.
Solution Approach 2:
Cooling towers with finned surfaces act as intermediary heat transfer elements between the power electronics devices and the cooling air. These towers increase the effective heat transfer surface area without blocking the air flow path, enabling efficient heat dissipation while maintaining high air flow rates through the electronic package.
3Volume of moving object
If electronic components are densely packed to reduce device size, then device compactness is improved, but heat dissipation becomes less efficient
Solution Approach 1:
The electronic package employs a nested arrangement where control circuitry is positioned in the radially inner region and power electronics devices are positioned in the radially outer region. Cooling towers are nested within the annular space between these components, creating a compact three-dimensional structure that maximizes heat dissipation surface area within a minimized volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The design utilizes the radial dimension extensively by extending cooling towers radially outward from the central axis. This radial expansion allows heat dissipation surfaces to be distributed throughout the package volume without increasing the axial or radial footprint, achieving efficient heat dissipation in a compact configuration.
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 design effectively reduces heat loss in power electronics by half, minimizes thermal conduction resistance, and enhances cooling efficiency, leading to improved performance and reliability of electric machines by maintaining lower component temperatures and reducing electrical noise issues.
Implementation Method 1
A plurality of power electronics devices are in conductive thermal communication with the cooling tower whereby the cooling tower provides a heat sink for heat loss from the power electronics devices
Implementation Method 2
The cooling tower includes an air flow passage having an inlet for cooling air... the ribs traversing the air flow space
Implementation Method 3
The electronic control circuitry is disposed in a well defined by a radially inner second wall surface... The receptacle is made of a thermally insulative material
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic package adapted for connection to a rear frame member of an electric machine. The electronic package includes a cooling tower having first and second axial ends and a central axis. The cooling tower includes a metallic first wall extending about the central axis and defining radially inner and outer first wall surfaces. An axially extending air flow passage extends through the cooling tower. Spaced metallic ribs traverse the air flow space and are in conductive thermal communication with the radially inner first wall surface. A plurality of circumferentially distributed power electronics devices are in conductive thermal communication with the cooling tower and secured to the radially outer first wall surface to thereby provide a heat sink for the power electronics devices. Electronic control circuitry is operatively connected to and substantially surrounded by the power electronics devices. An electric machine with such an electronic package is also disclosed.