Laminated Core Stepped Cooling Channels for Electrical Machine Heat Dissipation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling methods for electrical machines with laminated cores, particularly those using modest thermal conductivity materials like titanium, face limitations in heat removal due to surface-to-volume ratio constraints, necessitating an improved approach to enhance cooling efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a laminated core with a plurality of laminations configured to define stepped-profile channels for coolant flow, featuring circumferential projections and varying radiuses of curvature, which create helical or parallel circumferential channels for improved heat dissipation and homogeneous cooling distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If cooling fluid is passed into the casing (water jacket casing or void in stator), then cooling is provided to remove thermal energy, but the surface to volume ratio becomes a limiting factor for power density
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from external casing cooling to internal lamination cooling by creating channels within the stator core laminations themselves. This dimensional change allows cooling surfaces to be embedded within the volume of the core rather than being external, dramatically increasing the effective surface area for heat transfer and enabling higher power density without being constrained by the external surface-to-volume ratio.
Solution Approach 2:
The stator core is segmented into multiple laminations with cooling channels formed between them. This segmentation creates numerous internal cooling pathways distributed throughout the core volume, allowing heat to be removed from multiple locations simultaneously, thereby overcoming the limitations of single-path external cooling and enabling higher power density.
2Temperature
If cooling channels are formed in laminated core, then heat removal is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases due to stepped profile requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process is segmented into sequential steps where each lamination is progressively formed with stepped profiles. This allows complex three-dimensional cooling channels to be created through a series of simpler, standardized manufacturing operations rather than requiring complex single-step processes, thereby reducing overall manufacturing difficulty while achieving superior cooling efficiency.
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 configuration allows for shorter cooling paths and more uniform cooling distribution, effectively addressing the limitations of surface-to-volume ratio and enhancing the power density of electrical machines by improving heat removal from the stator core.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling fluid is supplied axially along an axis of the core between the housing and the core in order to cool the core
Implementation Method 2
the surface to volume ratio is an important factor in determining the level of cooling which is available
Data Source
AI summary
This invention relates to a laminated core for an electrical machine, including: a plurality of laminations configured to define a channel in a surface of the laminated core for the flow of a cooling fluid, wherein the channel has a base and at least one side wall, the at least one side wall having a stepped profile.