Flat Heat Pipe Cooling for Bus Bar Assemblies
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooled electrical assemblies with tubular heat pipes have a complex structure, making it difficult to scale cooling power as the number of heat pipes increases, requiring more heat pipes for greater cooling capacity.
Innovation Solution
The use of flat evaporator and condenser portions for each heat pipe simplifies the structure and allows for a larger heat transfer area with the heat sink, enabling easier adjustment of cooling power by modifying the dimensions of the flat condenser portions without changing the number of heat pipes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If tubular heat pipes with ceramic insulation elements are used, then electrical insulation between evaporator and condenser is achieved, but the structure becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the electrical insulation function with the heat pipe structure itself by making the heat pipe body electrically insulating. Instead of adding separate ceramic insulation elements between evaporator and condenser, the heat pipe material itself provides both thermal conduction and electrical insulation, eliminating the need for additional insulation components and simplifying the overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat pipe body is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: it serves as the thermal conduction path for heat transfer and as the electrical insulation barrier between the evaporator and condenser portions. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed and simplifies the assembly structure.
2Power
If the number of heat pipes is increased to provide greater cooling power, then cooling capacity is improved, but the device complexity and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from tubular heat pipes to flat heat pipes, changing the geometric dimension from three-dimensional cylindrical structures to two-dimensional planar structures. This dimensional change allows for larger heat transfer areas within the same footprint, enabling greater cooling power without increasing the number of heat pipes or overall device size.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the heat pipes from tubular to flat configuration. By modifying the shape and surface area parameters, the heat transfer efficiency is improved, allowing each individual heat pipe to provide greater cooling capacity, thereby reducing the total number of heat pipes needed for a given cooling power requirement.
3Area of stationary object
If flat condenser portions are used, then heat transfer area with heat sink is increased, but manufacturing complexity may increase
Solution Approach 1:
The flat heat pipe is segmented into distinct functional portions: evaporator portion, adiabatic portion, and condenser portion. Each portion has optimized dimensions and properties for its specific function. The condenser portion is designed with dimensions specifically optimized for heat sink contact, maximizing the heat transfer area while maintaining manufacturability through standardized segmentation.
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 approach results in a simpler structure with enhanced cooling efficiency and flexibility, allowing for increased cooling power without the need for additional heat pipes, while maintaining a compact design.
Implementation Method 1
The heat pipe means is adapted for cooling the bus bar means and the electrical component means. The heat pipe means includes a heat pipe for each bus bar of the bus bar means.
Implementation Method 2
heat pipe having a tubular evaporator portion, a tubular condenser portion, and a ceramic insulation element between the tubular evaporator portion and the tubular condenser portion
Implementation Method 3
An evaporator portion of each of the heat pipes is heat conductively connected to a corresponding bus bar by an integral connection such as brazing.
Implementation Method 4
The heat sink means is heat conductively connected to the flat condenser portion of each of the heat pipes
Implementation Method 5
An evaporator portion of each of the heat pipes is heat conductively connected to a corresponding bus bar by an integral connection such as brazing.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4
AI summary
A cooled electrical assembly comprising bus bar means including at least a first bus bar (BB1) and a second bus bar (BB2), electrical component means including at least a first electrical component (EC1) connected between the first bus bar (BB1) and the second bus bar (BB2), and heat pipe means for cooling the bus bar means, the heat pipe means including a heat pipe (HP1, HP2, HP3) for each bus bar (BB1, BB2, BB3) of the bus bar means. Both an evaporator portion and a condenser portion of each heat pipe (HP1, HP2, HP3) of the heat pipe means are flat portions, the cooled electrical assembly further comprising heat sink means (HS) heat conductively connected to the flat condenser portion of each of the heat pipes, an evaporator portion of each of the heats pipes being electrically insulated from the heat sink means (HS) by electrical insulation means.