Dual-Cycle Cooling for Superconducting Motors Using Liquid Hydrogen
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional cooling solutions for high-temperature superconducting motors in hydrogen-powered aircrafts are not suitable for the application environment and do not efficiently utilize liquid hydrogen as a cooling source, leading to inefficiencies and complexity.
Innovation Solution
A dual evaporation-condensation cycle cooling device utilizing liquid hydrogen as a cooling source, incorporating a liquid hydrogen pipeline, liquid nitrogen pipeline, insulated dewar, and low-temperature heat pipe to create internal and external evaporation-condensation cycles for efficient heat transfer and backup cooling capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If traditional low-temperature coolers or vaporized low-temperature media (immersion cooling) are used for cooling, then the superconducting motor can operate in a low-temperature environment, but the power consumption increases and the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses liquid hydrogen fuel from the aircraft's fuel tank as the cooling medium, allowing the fuel to serve dual purposes: both energy supply and cooling. The fuel naturally evaporates and absorbs heat during normal operation, providing self-service cooling without requiring additional power consumption for refrigeration systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid hydrogen fuel performs multiple functions simultaneously: it serves as the aircraft's fuel source, the cooling medium for the superconducting motor, and the working fluid for the heat pipe system. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate cooling systems and reduces overall power consumption.
2Temperature
If traditional low-temperature coolers or vaporized low-temperature media (immersion cooling) are used for cooling, then the superconducting motor can operate in a low-temperature environment, but the system weight increases and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid hydrogen fuel tank serves dual purposes: storing fuel for propulsion and providing cooling medium for the superconducting motor. This eliminates the need for separate cooling system components, reducing overall system weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the cooling function from the fuel system itself, using the fuel's natural evaporation and heat absorption properties. This removes the need for additional cooling equipment that would increase system weight.
3Device complexity
If a simple cooling system is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability decreases under extreme operational conditions such as heat pipe damage or liquid hydrogen supply interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates a liquid nitrogen reservoir as a pre-prepared backup cooling source. In case of liquid hydrogen supply interruptions or heat pipe failures, the liquid nitrogen automatically activates to provide cooling, ensuring continuous operation of the superconducting motor without requiring complex control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical state and temperature parameters of the cooling medium dynamically. During normal operation, liquid hydrogen provides primary cooling. When abnormalities occur, the system transitions to using liquid nitrogen, changing the cooling parameter regime to maintain reliability without increasing structural complexity.
4Productivity
If liquid hydrogen is used as the cooling source with direct heat exchange, then the cooling efficiency is improved, but the risk of overpressure and safety issues increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat pipe serves as an intermediary heat transfer device between the liquid hydrogen and the superconducting motor. It enables efficient heat extraction through phase change heat transfer while isolating the liquid hydrogen system from direct contact with the motor, preventing overpressure issues and improving safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat pipe utilizes phase transitions (evaporation and condensation) of the working fluid to transfer heat efficiently from the superconducting motor to the liquid hydrogen. This phase change mechanism provides high cooling efficiency while maintaining system pressure control and safety.
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 device effectively utilizes latent heat of vaporization for continuous cooling, ensuring the high-temperature superconducting motor operates within required temperature ranges, even under abnormal conditions, reducing power consumption and system complexity.
Implementation Method 1
An evaporation section and a condensation section of the low-temperature heat pipe are respectively connected to the high-temperature superconducting motor cooling end and the liquid hydrogen heat exchanger, thereby forming an internal evaporation and condensation cycle
Implementation Method 2
a low-temperature heat pipe
Implementation Method 3
The liquid hydrogen pipeline is connected to the liquid hydrogen heat exchanger and the fuel cell in sequence, and is configured to provide a cooling capacity for the liquid hydrogen heat exchanger and the fuel cell
Implementation Method 4
The system effectively utilizes latent heat of vaporization for efficient cooling
Implementation Method 5
so that the nitrogen gas rising due to heat evaporation is allowed to be directly cooled, re-condensed into the liquid nitrogen and refluxed, thereby forming an external evaporation and condensation cycle
Implementation Method 6
the nitrogen gas rising due to heat evaporation is allowed to be directly cooled, re-condensed into the liquid nitrogen and refluxed
Implementation Method 7
The high-temperature superconducting motor cooling end and the high-temperature superconducting motor body are both immersed in the liquid nitrogen medium
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling device and method for a high-temperature superconducting motor of a hydrogen-powered aircraft based on a dual evaporation-condensation cycle is provided. The latent heat of vaporization of liquid hydrogen fuel in the hydrogen-powered aircraft is used as the cooling source of the superconducting motor. The internal evaporation-condensation cycle can meet the cooling requirements of the superconducting motor during normal operation, and the external evaporation-condensation cycle can be used as a supplement to the cooling capacity of the device when the internal evaporation-condensation cycle is damaged or cannot meet the requirements. The coupling of the two effectively increases the adaptability of the cooling device to complex environments. When the supply of the liquid hydrogen is interrupted for a short time, the liquid nitrogen absorbs the heat of the high-temperature superconducting motor and vaporizes, ensuring the continuous operation of the high-temperature superconducting motor in extreme environments.