Electric Aircraft Cooling With Pulsating Heat Pipes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooling systems for electric aircraft inefficiently spread heat across the casing and fins, leading to poor heat dissipation and reduced electronic functionality due to heat concentration near the heat source.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing pulsating heat pipes (PHPs) integrated with a heat spreader casing and cooling fins, where PHPs have evaporator and condenser sections to enhance heat transfer and distribution across the entire casing and fin surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If conventional cooling systems use casing surface area and cooling fins to spread heat, then the cooling system structure is simple, but heat spreading capability is poor and cooling effectiveness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the thermal conduction parameter by introducing pulsating heat pipes with phase-change refrigerant, transforming the heat transfer mechanism from simple conduction to phase-change heat transfer, thereby dramatically improving heat spreading capability while maintaining reasonable structural complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes phase transitions of the refrigerant within the pulsating heat pipes, where the refrigerant alternates between liquid and vapor phases to absorb and release heat, enabling efficient heat spreading across the casing surface and cooling fins
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional cooling systems concentrate heat near the heat source, then the cooling system is easy to manufacture, but electronic functionality is reduced due to poor heat dissipation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces pulsating heat pipes as an intermediary heat transfer medium between the heat source and the cooling fins, enabling uniform heat distribution across the entire cooling surface and preventing localized overheating that would compromise electronic functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the heat pipe into multiple sections (evaporator section, adiabatic section, condenser section) that work together to distribute heat uniformly across the casing surface, ensuring reliable operation of electronic devices while maintaining manufacturability
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 PHPs provide higher heat transfer capability, uniform heat spreading, and increased cooling capacity, effectively managing heat generation in electric aircraft while maintaining electronic devices within optimal operating temperatures.
Implementation Method 1
The refrigerant can travel between an evaporator section and a condenser section, transforming between vapor phase and liquid phase. Such transformation can absorb and release heat
Implementation Method 2
PHPs include a channel which has an evaporator section and a condenser section. The refrigerant can travel between an evaporator section and a condenser section, transforming between vapor phase and liquid phase
Implementation Method 3
This can provide the advantage of higher heat transfer capability, spreading of high heat flux
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for cooling an electric aircraft. The system comprises an electronic device, a casing, a fin, and at least one PHP. The casing comprises an inner surface. A PHP may be coupled to the inner surface. The fin comprises a fin interior cavity. A PHP may be embedded within the fin interior cavity. The same PHP may be both coupled to the casing inner surface and embedded within the fin interior cavity, or there may be a plurality of fins such that at least one fin is coupled to the casing inner surface and at least one fin is embedded within the fin interior cavity. The portion of the PHP closest to the electronic device comprises an evaporator section and the portion of the PHP furthest from the electronic device comprises a condenser section.