Electric Motor Cooling Jacket with Variable Channel Cross-Section
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling systems for electric motors suffer from non-uniform cooling, leading to heat gradients and hot spots due to the temperature increase of the cooling liquid as it absorbs heat, which reduces their efficiency and causes component degradation.
Innovation Solution
A cylindrical cooling jacket with a channel that gradually changes in width or height from the inlet to the outlet, increasing the velocity of the cooling liquid and maintaining uniform heat transfer across the motor components, ensuring efficient heat extraction and balanced cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a cooling liquid flows through a winding passageway to cool motor components, then heat is extracted from the components, but the temperature of the cooling liquid increases causing non-uniform cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling channel cross-sectional area is varied along its length to create different cooling characteristics at different locations. The channel has a larger cross-sectional area at the inlet end and a smaller cross-sectional area at the outlet end, allowing the cooling liquid velocity to increase as it flows along the channel. This compensates for the temperature increase of the cooling liquid by enhancing convective heat transfer at locations further from the inlet, thereby achieving more uniform cooling across all motor components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameter of the cooling channel (cross-sectional area) along its length to optimize cooling performance. By gradually reducing the cross-sectional area from inlet to outlet, the cooling liquid velocity increases, which enhances the heat transfer coefficient and compensates for the rising liquid temperature, thus maintaining effective heat extraction throughout the channel.
2Productivity
If the cooling liquid velocity is increased to improve heat transfer, then cooling efficiency improves, but the pressure drop increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling channel is designed with non-uniform cross-sectional area distribution, being larger at the inlet and smaller at the outlet. This allows the system to achieve higher velocities (and thus better heat transfer) at the outlet end where the cooling liquid is hottest, while maintaining lower velocities at the inlet end where the pressure drop accumulation begins. This spatial variation in velocity profile optimizes the balance between heat transfer efficiency and pressure drop.
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 design achieves uniform temperature distribution across the electric motor, reducing the risk of hot spots and component degradation, thereby improving motor functionality and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
heat transferred to the cooling liquid from the heated motor components
Implementation Method 2
heat transfer via convection may take place from the hot motor component to the circulating cooling liquid
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for a cooling jacket for an electric motor. In one example, a system may include a channel extending along a circumference of an inner surface of the cooling jacket between an inlet and an outlet of the cooling jacket. A cross-section of the channel may gradually change from the inlet to the outlet along the circumference in order to compensate an increase in coolant temperature by an increase in convective heat transfer such that cooling is balanced around a circumferential surface of the electric motor.