Die-Cast Powertrain Housing Cooling Channels With Dense Inner Walls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Shrinkage holes and porosities in cooling channels of powertrain housings, which increase the risk of heat dissipation medium leakage and reduce the reliability and stability of the powertrain.
Innovation Solution
Manufacturing powertrain housings with intersecting cooling channels that have a compact layer on their inner walls, formed using pre-embedded components and precise drilling techniques to ensure high density and minimize shrinkage defects, along with guided assembly to maintain channel integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If cooling channels are processed in the housing through machining after die casting, then the cooling channels can be formed in the housing, but shrinkage holes or shrinkage porosities are easily exposed on the inner wall of the cooling channel, leading to leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by forming the cooling channels during the die casting process itself rather than through subsequent machining. Pre-embedded components are placed in the mold before casting, and the housing material is cast around them, automatically forming the cooling channels with compact layers that prevent shrinkage defects. This preliminary formation eliminates the need for post-casting machining that would expose shrinkage holes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the density parameter of the housing material by forming a compact layer with higher density around the pre-embedded components during die casting. This compact layer has different density characteristics than the bulk material, creating a region with fewer shrinkage holes and porosities that lines the cooling channel inner wall and prevents leakage.
2Reliability
If a compact layer with higher density is formed in the cooling channel inner wall, then leakage risk is reduced, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the cooling channel formation process with the housing die casting process into a single integrated operation. By embedding pre-components in the mold and casting the housing around them, the cooling channels and the compact layer are formed simultaneously with the housing, eliminating separate machining steps and reducing overall manufacturing complexity despite the enhanced reliability features.
Solution Approach 2:
The pre-embedded components serve as intermediaries that facilitate the formation of cooling channels with compact layers. These temporary components are placed in the mold, around which the housing material is cast to automatically form the desired cooling channel geometry and compact layer structure, simplifying the overall process compared to direct machining.
3Reliability
If pre-embedded components are used to form cooling channels during die casting, then shrinkage holes are avoided, but the assembly process requires additional steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-embedding components into the die casting mold before the casting process. This ensures that the cooling channels are formed with compact layers during the initial casting operation, preventing shrinkage holes from forming in the first place, rather than requiring post-casting repairs or treatments.
Solution Approach 2:
The pre-embedded components are temporarily inserted into the mold for casting purposes and are subsequently removed after the housing is formed. This extraction leaves behind the cooling channels with compact layer walls, achieving the desired structure without permanently complicating the final assembly process.
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments of this application provide a powertrain and a vehicle. The powertrain includes a housing, and the housing has a plurality of cooling channels that intersect and communicate with each other. The housing is a die casting part. An inner wall of the cooling channel includes a compact layer, and density of the compact layer is greater than density of another part of the housing. The density of the compact layer is relatively high, and there are relatively few shrinkage holes and shrinkage porosities in the compact layer, so that compactness of the inner wall of the cooling channel can be effectively improved, penetration of a heat dissipation medium in the cooling channel is reduced or avoided, and a penetration risk of the cooling channel is reduced, thereby effectively improving reliability and stability of the powertrain.