Centralized EV Charger Cooling With Thermal Storage Buffering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electric vehicle charging infrastructure faces challenges with noise, complexity, and inadequate cooling capacity during peak hours due to the inefficiencies in existing cooling systems for heat-generating components.
Innovation Solution
A centralized cooling system with a thermal energy storage element and primary heat exchanger that collects and temporarily stores heat from multiple components, allowing for efficient dissipation and providing additional cooling capacity during surges, using a primary and secondary coolant loop with liquid-liquid heat exchangers to reduce noise and complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple decentralized heat exchangers are used at each charging station, then each station can independently dissipate heat, but the system produces more noise and has greater complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent consolidates multiple decentralized heat exchangers into a single centralized heat exchanger that serves all charging stations. This merging approach reduces the total number of heat exchangers from multiple units at each station to one central unit, thereby reducing noise and system complexity while maintaining the ability to handle heat from all stations.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralized heat exchanger is designed to serve multiple charging stations simultaneously, performing the heat dissipation function for the entire network rather than each station having its own dedicated unit. This multi-functional design reduces redundancy and simplifies the overall system architecture.
2Temperature
If multiple small heat exchangers are distributed across charging stations, then heat can be dissipated locally, but the cumulative noise and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple small noise-generating heat exchangers into one larger centralized unit. By consolidating the heat dissipation function into a single location, the cumulative noise from multiple units is replaced by one unit, significantly reducing the overall noise impact on the environment and charging station areas.
3Ease of operation
If cooling capacity is distributed across multiple stations, then each station has basic cooling, but the system cannot meet peak demand during high-usage hours
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal energy storage element is pre-charged with cooling capacity during off-peak hours when demand is low. This preliminary action allows the stored thermal energy to be utilized during peak demand periods, enabling the system to meet high-usage requirements without requiring proportional increases in active cooling infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts its cooling capacity by combining the continuous operation of the centralized heat exchanger with the discharge of pre-stored thermal energy. This parameter change allows the system to transition from baseline cooling operation to peak demand response, effectively increasing productivity during high-usage hours.
4Productivity
If thermal energy storage is added to provide peak capacity, then cooling availability during surges improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal energy storage element utilizes phase change materials that transition between solid and liquid states to store and release thermal energy. This phase transition mechanism provides a natural, passive method of storing and releasing cooling capacity without requiring complex active control systems, thereby adding peak capacity while minimizing the increase in system complexity.
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 centralized cooling system effectively manages peak demand by providing increased thermal capacity, reducing noise and complexity, and allowing for quieter and more efficient operation by using a single primary heat exchanger and liquid-liquid heat exchangers, which can operate intermittently to minimize energy costs and user impact.
Implementation Method 1
a thermal energy storage element configured to act as a buffer for temporarily storing the heat collected from the plurality of heat-generating components
Implementation Method 2
a primary heat exchanger, serving as the common outlet, wherein the primary heat exchanger is configured to dissipate the heat temporarily stored by the thermal energy storage element to the surrounding or ambient environment
Implementation Method 3
using a primary and secondary coolant loop with liquid-liquid heat exchangers
Data Source
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AI summary
There is provided a cooling system (100) for electric vehicle charging infrastructure (EVCI). The cooling system exhibits a centralized cooling arrangement in which heat is collected from a plurality of heat-generating components of the EVCI and dissipated into the surrounding environment via a common outlet. The cooling system comprises: a thermal energy storage element (102) configured to act as a buffer for temporarily storing the heat collected from the plurality of heat-generating components; and a primary heat exchanger (110), serving as the common outlet, wherein the primary heat exchanger is configured to dissipate the heat temporarily stored by the thermal energy storage element with the surrounding environment.