Electric Motor Cooling Frame With Header Channels for Compact Liquid Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid-cooled electric motors face high fabrication costs and long lead times due to complex frame weldments, which are labor-intensive and result in expensive components, while traditional jacket-cooled motors are less power dense and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A cooling frame with headers and fluid conduits that facilitate a serpentine coolant flow path, reducing fabrication complexity and costs, while ensuring efficient heat exchange and alignment of rotor and stator axes, and providing sealed coolant channels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional jacket-cooled motor design is used, then cooling efficiency is achieved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase due to complex frame weldments
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling frame is divided into modular components: a stator with circumferential coolant channels, separate header assemblies with inlet/outlet ports, and end plate connections. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently using simpler processes rather than complex integrated weldments, while maintaining effective cooling pathways through the stator.
Solution Approach 2:
The coolant flow path is extracted from the traditional enclosed jacket design and repositioned as external channels on the stator surface. The headers and end plates serve as separate connection elements rather than being integrated into a monolithic welded frame, simplifying manufacturing while preserving cooling functionality.
2Reliability
If traditional fabricated enclosure is used, then motor protection is achieved, but production time and cost increase due to labor-intensive fabrication
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling channels are pre-formed in the stator during its fabrication process rather than being added through subsequent weldment operations. The headers and end plates are prepared as separate components with predetermined connection points, allowing for faster assembly without compromising the protective enclosure integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling frame components (stator, headers, end plates) are designed to be bolted or mechanically connected rather than welded together. This merging of simple connection methods replaces complex fabrication processes, significantly reducing labor time and production cost while maintaining structural protection.
3Temperature
If water-cooled design is used, then heat dissipation is improved, but power density decreases due to larger jacket size
Solution Approach 1:
Coolant channels are positioned directly on the stator surface where heat generation occurs, providing localized cooling exactly where needed. This eliminates the need for a large external jacket, as cooling is applied precisely at the heat source, maintaining compact motor dimensions and high power density while achieving effective heat dissipation.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling approach transitions from a three-dimensional external jacket surrounding the motor to a two-dimensional surface-level channel system on the stator. This dimensional change allows efficient heat removal without adding external volume, preserving compact motor size and high power density.
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 enables faster, cheaper construction of liquid-cooled motors with improved cooling efficiency, reduced material usage, and alignment accuracy, allowing for smaller, more power-dense designs.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of fluid conduits positioned along a surface of the stator, the plurality of fluid conduits configured to carry a fluid and facilitate an exchange of heat between the fluid and the surface of the stator
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling frame for cooling an electric motor is provided. The cooling frame includes a header and a plurality of fluid conduits configured to carry a fluid and facilitate an exchange of heat between the fluid and the electric motor. The header includes at least one header port for exchanging fluid into or out from the header; a first plate comprising a central opening; and a plurality of conduit ports on the first plate positioned around the central opening, wherein each conduit port is fluidly connectable to a respective fluid conduit of the plurality of fluid conduits. The header also includes a first channel fluidly connecting the at least one header port and a first conduit port of the plurality of conduit ports, and a second channel fluidly connecting a second conduit port and the at least one header port.