Gravity-Based Vehicle Cooling System Using Two-Phase Coolant
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cooling systems for electric vehicles face inefficiencies and thermal management challenges, particularly in regulating thermal energy from battery cells, which can impact range, safety, and performance, as traditional systems rely on pumps that consume electrical energy and may not effectively manage thermal runaway.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle cooling system utilizing gravity-based fluid flow, where a heat radiator module is positioned higher than a heat sink module, using a two-phase coolant that changes phases to facilitate natural convection, eliminating the need for a coolant pump and optimizing thermal management by leveraging buoyancy and gravity for coolant circulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a traditional pump-based cooling system is used, then the coolant can be circulated effectively, but electrical energy is consumed and parasitic losses occur
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system uses natural convection currents generated by temperature differences to circulate coolant without requiring an external pump. The heated coolant naturally rises from the battery module to the radiator, and the cooled coolant naturally descends back to the battery module, creating a self-sustaining circulation loop that eliminates parasitic energy losses.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical pump-based circulation system with a thermally-driven natural convection system. Instead of using mechanical force to move the coolant, the system relies on buoyancy forces generated by density differences in the coolant caused by temperature variations, substituting a mechanical system with a thermal field-based system.
2Ease of operation
If the heat radiator module is positioned higher than the heat sink module, then gravity-based coolant flow is enabled, but the system requires specific spatial configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the vertical dimension (elevation difference) between the heat radiator module and heat sink module to enable gravity-based coolant flow. By positioning the radiator higher than the battery module, the system creates a natural downward flow path for cooled coolant, leveraging gravitational potential energy without requiring additional mechanical components.
3Productivity
If a two-phase coolant is used, then thermal management efficiency is improved, but the system must manage phase change dynamics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a two-phase coolant that undergoes phase change (liquid to vapor and vapor to liquid) as it absorbs and releases heat. The coolant evaporates at the battery module heat sink, absorbing thermal energy, and condenses at the heat radiator module, releasing thermal energy. This phase transition mechanism significantly enhances thermal management efficiency by leveraging the latent heat of vaporization and condensation.
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 enhances cooling efficiency, reduces electrical energy consumption, and effectively regulates battery module temperatures, improving the range and safety of electric vehicles by utilizing natural convection currents without the need for a pump, thus avoiding parasitic losses.
Implementation Method 1
transfer heat from the heat-generating component to heat the two-phase coolant into a substantially gaseous form
Implementation Method 2
cool the two-phase coolant into a substantially liquid form
Implementation Method 3
the two-phase coolant, in substantially gaseous form, is moved primarily by force of buoyancy from the heat sink module to the heat radiator module
Implementation Method 4
the two-phase coolant, in substantially liquid form, is moved from the heat radiator module to the heat sink module primarily by force of gravity
Implementation Method 5
The cooling plate can define one or more internal fluid channels fluidly coupling the input port and the output port. The one or more internal fluid channels can be configured to provide thermal coupling between coolant flowing through the one or more internal fluid channels and the axial faces of the elongated battery cells
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure relates to techniques for implementing a cooling system for a vehicle heat-generating component wherein a two-phase coolant flows between a heat sink module and a heat radiator module. The heat radiator module can be mounted at a higher elevation within the vehicle than the heat sink module. High and low temperature fluid paths can fluidly couple the heat sink module and the heat radiator module. The heat sink module can be coupled to a heat-generating component.As the coolant is heated at the heat sink module by heat from the heat-generating component, it can change to a substantially gaseous phase and move, primarily by force of buoyancy, to the heat radiator module via the high temperature fluid path. As the coolant is cooled by the heat radiator module, it can change to a substantially liquid phase and move, primarily by force of gravity, to the heat sink module.