LD Module Cooling Plate Parallel Flow Paths
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing LD module cooling devices face challenges in maintaining uniform low temperatures across multiple LD modules with limited cooling water flow rates, leading to increased maintenance costs and reduced laser apparatus lifetime due to temperature differences and inefficient cooling structures.
Innovation Solution
The proposed LD module cooling device features a water cooling plate with a flow path structure that includes parallel cooling portion flow paths, a common supply flow path, and a common drainage flow path, where the cooling portion flow path has a constant height and width, and a flow path height of 0.5 mm or less, ensuring equal pressure loss and efficient cooling medium distribution, thereby maintaining uniform temperatures across LD modules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If cooling water flows in series through multiple LD modules, then the flow path structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the cooling water temperature increases downstream causing non-uniform cooling and reduced LD lifetime
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into multiple independent parallel flow paths, each cooling a specific LD module. This segmentation allows each path to receive fresh cooling water at the same temperature, eliminating the temperature gradient problem in series cooling while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through modular flow path design.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a one-dimensional series flow arrangement to a two-dimensional parallel flow network. By distributing cooling water across multiple parallel pathways simultaneously, the system achieves uniform cooling across all LD modules while keeping the overall structure compact and manufacturable.
2Temperature
If cooling water flows in parallel near each LD module, then temperature difference between upstream and downstream modules is reduced, but the flow rate per module becomes too low to provide sufficient cooling
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple parallel flow paths are merged into a unified cooling system with a common supply and drainage structure. This merging allows the total cooling water flow rate to be distributed across all parallel paths, ensuring each LD module receives adequate cooling water flow while maintaining uniform temperature across all modules.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow path design ensures equal pressure loss across all parallel cooling paths by making them have identical length, width, and height characteristics. This equipotentiality in pressure distribution ensures uniform flow rate distribution to each LD module, achieving both cooling uniformity and sufficient cooling capacity.
3Productivity
If the flow path height is increased, then the flow rate of cooling water increases improving cooling capacity, but the pressure loss increases reducing cooling efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The invention optimizes the flow path height parameter to a specific range (0.5 mm or less) that balances cooling capacity and pressure loss. By precisely controlling this geometric parameter, the system achieves efficient heat transfer from LD modules to cooling water while minimizing pressure loss and maintaining high 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 effective cooling of multiple LD modules at uniform low temperatures, reducing maintenance costs and extending the lifetime of the laser apparatus by ensuring consistent cooling characteristics across all modules.
Implementation Method 1
cooling water absorbs heat generated by the LD modules while flowing along the LD modules
Implementation Method 2
a flow path structure in which cooling water flows in series through a plurality of LD modules
Data Source
AI summary
An LD module cooling device includes, in a cooling plate, common flow paths that supply/drain a cooling medium in parallel to/from a plurality of cooling portion flow paths that correspond to a plurality of LD modules, in which the cooling portion flow path is a thin layer flow path having a flow path height and a flow path width that are constant in at least a majority of a flow path length, a rectangular shape of the cooling portion flow path defined by the dimensions flow path length×flow path width overlaps with at least the majority of a main contact surface between the cooling plate and the LD modules as viewed from a front surface of the cooling plate, the flow path height of the cooling portion flow path satisfies at least either one of a condition that flow path height is 1/20 or less of the flow path length and the flow path width, and a condition that the flow path height is 0.5 mm or less, and pressure loss of a cooling medium in the cooling portion flow path is greater than pressure loss of a cooling medium in the common flow paths.