Pluggable Cooled Power Module With Dielectric Busbar Channels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing power electronics in electric and hybrid vehicles face high thermal resistance and heat flux densities due to conventional cooling methods, leading to inefficiencies and the need for compact and modular designs.
Innovation Solution
The use of dielectric fluids for cooling, eliminating the need for ceramic insulation layers, and incorporating pluggable fluid and electrical connections to reduce thermal resistance and enable modular, compact power modules with higher power density.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional coolant cooling with ceramic insulation layers is used, then electrical insulation between charge carriers and cooling medium is achieved, but thermal resistance increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the ceramic insulation layer from the cooling system. By extracting this thermal barrier component, the system achieves direct thermal contact between the coolant and charge carriers, reducing thermal resistance while maintaining electrical insulation through the dielectric fluid alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state and properties of the cooling medium by using a dielectric fluid instead of conventional coolant. This parameter change allows the cooling medium to provide both thermal conduction and electrical insulation simultaneously, eliminating the need for ceramic layers.
2Reliability
If ceramic insulation layers are used to separate coolant from voltage-carrying components, then electrical insulation is maintained, but the structure size increases and power density decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the ceramic insulation layer, reducing structural size and enabling higher power density while relying on the dielectric fluid to provide necessary electrical insulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The dielectric fluid serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides electrical insulation between charge carriers and cooling medium, conducts heat away from power semiconductors, and enables direct thermal contact. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate ceramic insulation layers.
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 approach significantly reduces thermal resistance by up to 50%, allowing for miniaturization, cost reduction, and flexible power scaling while maintaining efficient heat dissipation.
Implementation Method 1
The heat between the semiconductors to be cooled and the heat-transfer surface (cooler-coolant contact surface) is transferred exclusively by thermal conduction
Implementation Method 2
each have at least one cooling channel through which a dielectric fluid flows
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to: a power module (11), in particular for power electronics of a vehicle, said power module comprising: two DC busbars (12, 14) and three phase busbars (16), which are located between the two DC busbars (12, 14), and a number of power semiconductors (18), each of which are located between one of the DC busbars (12, 14) and one of the phase busbars (16); power electronics comprising at least one such power module (11); and a vehicle comprising such power electronics. The DC busbars (12, 14) and the phase busbars (16) are electrically insulated from one another and each have at least one cooling channel (13, 15, 17) through which a dielectric fluid flows, the DC busbars (12, 14) and the phase busbars (16) each having at least one plug-in electrical contact connection (12.1, 14.1, 16.1) and at least one plug-in fluid connection (13.1, 15.1, 17.1) at both open ends, which connections each form a combined plug-in connection so that a number of power modules (11) can be connected to one another fluid-tightly by means of plug connections.