Vehicle heat exchanger
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Solution Overview
Problem
Motor vehicles with battery systems face challenges in efficiently managing excess heat during charging or discharging, necessitating a compact and effective cooling system to maintain optimal battery operation.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger with a gyroid structure that incorporates refrigerant and coolant channels, featuring conical recesses for efficient fluid flow and a controller to adjust refrigerant distribution based on cooling demands, enhancing thermal transfer and cooling efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a compact heat exchanger is designed for battery cooling, then cooling efficiency is improved, but thermal contact area is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional planar heat exchanger surfaces to a three-dimensional gyroid lattice structure. This volumetric approach allows refrigerant channels to penetrate throughout the entire heat exchanger volume, creating extensive thermal contact areas with coolant flow paths in multiple dimensions, thereby resolving the contradiction between compact size and thermal contact area.
Solution Approach 2:
The gyroid structure functions as a porous-like three-dimensional lattice that provides numerous interconnected channels for refrigerant and coolant flow. This lattice architecture maximizes surface area for heat transfer within a compact volume, enabling efficient thermal contact between refrigerant and coolant without requiring large physical dimensions.
2Productivity
If refrigerant flow is increased for better cooling, then heat exchange efficiency is improved, but refrigerant distribution uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The gyroid structure divides the refrigerant flow into numerous smaller channels distributed throughout the volume. This segmentation ensures that refrigerant is evenly distributed across multiple flow paths simultaneously, preventing concentration in single areas and maintaining uniform heat exchange efficiency throughout the entire heat exchanger.
Solution Approach 2:
By distributing refrigerant channels in three-dimensional space rather than single-plane configurations, the gyroid structure creates multiple parallel flow paths that naturally balance refrigerant distribution. This volumetric arrangement ensures uniform refrigerant delivery to all regions of the heat exchanger regardless of flow rate increases.
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 gyroid structure facilitates substantial thermal contact and efficient heat exchange, effectively cooling both battery systems and HVAC components while optimizing refrigerant flow for varying cooling needs.
Implementation Method 1
a gyroid structure disposed within the housing, the gyroid structure defining a set of refrigerant channels that direct refrigerant fluid through the gyroid structure and at least one set of coolant channels that direct coolant fluid through the gyroid structure
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger includes a housing. The housing defines a refrigerant inlet, a refrigerant outlet opposing the refrigerant inlet, at least one coolant inlet, and at least one coolant outlet. A gyroid structure is disposed within the housing. The gyroid structure defines a set of refrigerant channels that direct refrigerant through the gyroid structure, a first set of coolant channels that direct coolant through a first region of the gyroid structure, and a second set of coolant channels that direct coolant fluid through a second region of the gyroid structure. A valve is disposed within the refrigerant inlet. The valve is configured to direct refrigerant fluid to at least one of the first region and the second region of the gyroid structure.