Processor Cold Plate Cooling Loop for Harsh Vehicle Environments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous driving vehicles face challenges in thermal management due to the limitations of air cooling methods, which provide insufficient thermal performance for high-power processors and generate noise when installed in the passenger compartment.
Innovation Solution
A liquid cooling system is designed for autonomous driving vehicles, integrating a cold plate cooling design with the vehicle's motor/inverter cooling system, sharing the same fluid, pump, radiator, and fan, and including a backup radiator and fan for redundancy, with a heating feature to operate in cold environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If air cooling is used for processors, then the system structure is simple, but thermal performance is insufficient for high-power processors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the processor cooling system with the vehicle's existing motor/inverter cooling system by integrating cold plates for processors into the same liquid cooling loop. This allows heat from processors to be dissipated through the vehicle's radiator along with heat from the motor and inverter, improving thermal performance without proportionally increasing system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid cooling system serves multiple functions: cooling the processor, cooling the motor, and cooling the inverter all through a single integrated system. This multi-functionality approach allows one cooling infrastructure to handle multiple heat sources, thereby improving overall thermal management efficiency
2Temperature
If air cooling with fan is installed in passenger compartment, then cooling capability is provided, but fan noise is generated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from air cooling (pneumatic) to liquid cooling (hydraulic) for processor heat dissipation. The liquid cooling system circulates coolant through cold plates attached to processors, absorbing heat and transporting it to the radiator for dissipation. This hydraulic approach provides superior heat transfer efficiency while eliminating the need for noisy fans in the passenger compartment
3Temperature
If liquid cooling system is integrated with vehicle cooling system, then thermal performance is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the processor cooling requirements with the vehicle's existing cooling infrastructure. By integrating cold plates for processors into the same liquid cooling loop that serves the motor and inverter, the system achieves improved thermal management without proportionally increasing complexity, as it leverages existing pumps, radiators, and coolant circulation systems
4Volume of moving object
If compact space is used for computing equipment, then space efficiency is improved, but thermal management becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs liquid cooling with cold plates that can be directly mounted on processors in compact configurations. The liquid coolant provides efficient heat transfer in a confined space, allowing effective thermal management within the limited volume available in the vehicle's computing equipment bay, unlike air cooling which requires larger spaces for heat dissipation
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 liquid cooling system effectively manages heat dissipation for high-performance processors in autonomous driving vehicles, providing improved thermal performance and reducing noise, while ensuring system reliability and functionality in varying temperatures.
Implementation Method 1
Cold plate liquid cooling design is integrated with vehicle's motor/inverter cooling system
Implementation Method 2
liquid cooling system effectively manages heat dissipation for high-performance processors
Implementation Method 3
radiator and fan... to cool the vehicle's electric motor and the power electronics
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, an autonomous driving system to autonomously drive an autonomous driving vehicle (ADV) includes one or more processors, a perception module executed by the processors to perceive a driving environment surrounding the ADV, and a planning module executed by the processors to plan a path based on perception data of the driving environment to navigate through the driving environment. The processors are mounted on one or more cold plates coupled to a vehicle cooling system of the ADV, the vehicle cooling system having a first radiator and a first coolant distribution loop coupled to a vehicle engine of the ADV to provide liquid cooling to the vehicle engine. The cold plates are coupled to the first radiator via a second coolant distribution loop to receive a portion of the coolant from the first radiator to extract heat from the cold plates.