Cooling Apparatus Vertical Flow Channels Uniform Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooling apparatuses exhibit irregularities in cooling performance among heat-generating elements due to uneven flow velocity of liquid coolant, leading to inefficient cooling as the number of elements increases.
Innovation Solution
A cooling apparatus with a frame-shaped main body and partitioning plate that forms upper and lower sections, featuring a liquid coolant supplying header with a gradually decreasing cross-sectional area and a vertical flow channel, which distributes coolant uniformly to alleviate inertial force effects and ensure consistent cooling performance across heat-generating elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the flow channel cross-sectional area of the liquid coolant supplying flow channel is configured to be constant in the flow channel direction, then the device structure is simple, but flow velocity becomes uneven due to inertial force, causing irregularities in cooling performance among heat-generating elements
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid coolant supplying flow channel is designed with a cross-sectional area that gradually decreases from the upstream end toward the downstream end. This local variation in geometry compensates for the inertial force effects, maintaining relatively uniform flow velocity across all cooling flow channels connected to the supplying flow channel, thereby achieving uniform cooling performance without excessive structural complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The cross-sectional area parameter of the liquid coolant supplying flow channel is changed along the flow direction, specifically decreasing from upstream to downstream. This parameter change counteracts the acceleration caused by inertial force, resulting in more uniform flow distribution to the cooling flow channels and improved cooling performance uniformity
2Quantity of substance
If the number of power semiconductor elements disposed in parallel is increased, then the cooling capacity requirement increases, but irregularities in cooling performance among elements become more pronounced
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid coolant supplying flow channel features a cross-sectional area that gradually decreases from upstream to downstream, creating local variations in flow distribution. This design ensures that elements farther downstream receive adequate coolant flow despite the increased number of parallel elements, maintaining uniform cooling performance across all heat-generating elements even as their quantity increases
3Temperature
If cooling flow channels are connected upstream in the liquid coolant supplying flow channel, then these channels receive cooler coolant, but their flow velocity is slower due to inertial force, resulting in poor cooling performance
Solution Approach 1:
The cross-sectional area of the liquid coolant supplying flow channel is designed to decrease from upstream to downstream. This parameter change compensates for the inertial force that slows down flow velocity in upstream-connected channels, ensuring that coolant flow velocity remains relatively uniform across all cooling flow channels while maintaining the temperature gradient necessary for effective cooling
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 ensures uniform coolant distribution and improved cooling performance, suppressing irregularities in cooling capacity among heat-generating elements even when their number increases, enhancing the overall efficiency of the cooling process.
Implementation Method 1
flow velocity in the cooling flow channels that are connected upstream in the liquid coolant supplying flow channel is slower than flow velocity in the cooling flow channels that are connected downstream in the liquid coolant supplying flow channel due to inertial force of the liquid coolant inside the liquid coolant supplying flow channel
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid coolant supplying header is configured on a central portion in the width direction between an upper portion heatsink and a partitioning plate, a liquid coolant discharging header is configured on a central portion in the width direction between a lower portion heatsink and the partitioning plate so as to be parallel to the liquid coolant supplying header, vertical flow channels are formed so as to pass through the partitioning plate vertically on two sides in the width direction so as to be parallel to the liquid coolant supplying header, a liquid coolant distributing structural body is disposed inside the liquid coolant supplying header, and an external shape of the liquid coolant distributing structural body is formed such that flow channel cross-sectional area of the liquid coolant supplying header becomes gradually smaller from an upstream end toward a downstream end.