Meandering Trough Coolant Channel for Electric Machine End Winding Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current thermal management assemblies for electric machines in electrified vehicles are inefficient in cooling the end windings due to non-uniform coolant flow, which affects the thermal management of high-power electric machines required for extended drive ranges.
Innovation Solution
A thermal management assembly with a coolant channel encasement that includes a base sidewall, inner sidewall, and outer sidewall, featuring a meandering trough and extrusions to promote turbulence and targeted coolant flow around the end windings, along with a cover with fins for thermal communication to act as a heat sink.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a conventional coolant channel is used for cooling end windings, then the structure is simple, but the coolant flow is non-uniform and cooling efficiency is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The coolant channel incorporates a meandering trough that creates localized turbulence zones at specific positions around the end windings. This local modification to the flow pattern enhances heat transfer efficiency in critical areas without requiring a complete redesign of the entire cooling system, thus improving cooling efficiency while maintaining reasonable structural complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The meandering trough introduces curved flow paths within the coolant channel, creating a serpentine pattern that increases coolant residence time and promotes turbulent flow. This curved geometry enhances thermal management effectiveness by improving coolant contact with the end windings surface, achieving better cooling without proportionally increasing structural complexity
2Duration of action of moving object
If high-power electric machines are used for extended drive range, then the drive range is extended, but the thermal management requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The meandering trough modifies the coolant flow parameters by inducing turbulence and increasing flow velocity variations. This parameter change enhances the convective heat transfer coefficient, enabling the cooling system to handle the increased thermal loads from high-power electric machines that provide extended drive range
Solution Approach 2:
The coolant channel design with meandering trough creates preliminary turbulence before the coolant reaches the end windings. This preliminary flow conditioning ensures that the coolant is already in a high-heat-transfer state when it contacts the hot end windings, improving the system's ability to manage thermal loads from extended-range electric machines
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
Enhances heat dissipation from the end windings by promoting turbulent coolant flow and targeted heat removal, improving the thermal management efficiency of high-power electric machines in electrified vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
The base sidewall may define features between the sidewalls to promote turbulence of coolant flowing through the coolant channel
Implementation Method 2
The encasement may be arranged with a cover defining one or more fins arranged on an exterior surface of the cover for thermal communication with coolant of the coolant channel to operate as a heat sink
Implementation Method 3
one or more fins arranged on an exterior surface of the cover for thermal communication with coolant of the coolant channel
Data Source
AI summary
An encasement of an electric machine of an electrified vehicle is provided. The encasement may include a base sidewall, an inner sidewall, and an outer sidewall. The inner sidewall may extend in a circular pattern about the base sidewall. The outer sidewall may extend from the base sidewall and may be spaced apart from the inner sidewall to define a coolant channel at least partially surrounding end windings of a stator of the electric machine. The base sidewall may define features between the sidewalls to promote turbulence of coolant flowing through the coolant channel. The base sidewall may define a meandering trough between the sidewalls to form a predetermined coolant path relative to a location of the end windings.