Electric Motor Cooling Layout With Circumferential Airflow Recirculation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling systems for wind-power electric generators are complex, occupy excessive space, and suffer from inefficiencies in heat dissipation, particularly in harsh environments, leading to reduced reliability and increased maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
A compact cooling system design featuring a flow-confluence chamber and accommodating chamber arranged in the circumferential direction of the stator support, with a heat exchanger and circulating fan positioned axially, and ventilation holes at the stator support's ends, facilitating cyclic cooling of heat-generating components while minimizing space and enhancing reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a water-cooling system is adopted to ensure temperature limitation and uniformity, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but the system produces too many loops and joints, increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the air cooling and water cooling systems into a single integrated cooling device. The air cooling component and water cooling component share a common housing and control unit, merging two separate cooling systems into one unified structure that reduces overall complexity while maintaining effective temperature control.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling device is designed to perform multiple cooling functions simultaneously - it can operate in air cooling mode, water cooling mode, or a combination of both modes depending on the thermal load requirements. This multi-functionality allows the single device to replace what would traditionally require separate cooling systems.
2Temperature
If air cooling is used for both ends and rotor of the winding set, then cooling coverage is improved, but the structure becomes complicated and reliability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the air cooling paths for the ends and rotor into a unified air cooling component with a single fan and shared airflow channels. This merging of previously separate air cooling systems simplifies the overall structure while ensuring comprehensive cooling coverage for all heat-generating parts.
3Volume of stationary object
If a compact flow channel is designed to reduce space occupation, then device size is reduced, but the resistance of the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs three-dimensional optimized flow channels that utilize vertical and radial dimensions in addition to horizontal flow paths. The water cooling channels are designed with multi-level structures and the air cooling passages use three-dimensional routing, allowing compact space utilization while maintaining adequate flow cross-sections to minimize resistance.
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
The solution results in a simpler, more compact cooling system that effectively reduces the size of the nacelle, lowers overall machine costs, and improves the reliability and maintainability of wind-power electric generator sets by ensuring efficient heat dissipation and uniform airflow.
Implementation Method 1
the cooling air enters the heat exchanger to perform heat exchange with the external environment
Implementation Method 2
the cooling air enters the heat exchanger to perform heat exchange with the external environment through the liquid supplying pipe and liquid returning pipe
Implementation Method 3
the cooling air enters one end of the ventilation chamber, and another part of the cooling air enters the other end of the ventilation chamber through the first ventilation holes
Implementation Method 4
the cooling air enters the heat exchanger under the action of the circulating fan
Implementation Method 5
another part of the cooling air enters the other end of the ventilation chamber through the first ventilation holes formed at two ends of the stator support in the axial direction respectively
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a cooling system, an electric motor and a wind-power electric generator set. The cooling system is applied to an electric motor; the electric motor includes a stator support and a rotor support, the stator support is dynamically sealingly connected to the rotor support to form ventilation chambers respectively arranged at two ends of the electric motor in an axial direction, first ventilation holes are formed at two ends of the stator support in the axial direction respectively, and the cooling system includes: a flow-confluence chamber, arranged in a circumferential direction of the stator support; an accommodating chamber, arranged in the circumferential direction of the stator support, in which the accommodating chamber is located at an inner side of the flow-confluence chamber in a radial direction and communicates with the flow-confluence chamber, and the first ventilation holes are located outside the accommodating chamber; a heat exchanger, arranged in the accommodating chamber or in the flow-confluence chamber; a circulating fan, arranged in the circumferential direction of the stator support and located at a side of the stator support in the axial direction, in which the circulating fan has an air inlet and an air outlet; after cooling air flows out of the air outlet of the circulating fan, a part of the cooling air enters one end of the ventilation chamber which is closer; the other part of the cooling air enters the other end of the ventilation chamber through the first ventilation holes.