Water Jacket Fin Structure for Uniform Refrigerant Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing water jackets do not effectively manage the refrigerant flow to ensure uniform cooling of heat-generating components like inverters, leading to temperature gradients and inefficient heat exchange.
Innovation Solution
A water jacket design featuring a base with a refrigerant supply and discharge path and chambers, equipped with columnar and wing-like fins that guide refrigerant flow to enhance heat exchange and temperature uniformity, utilizing 3D print additive manufacturing for complex fin structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If conventional water jacket design is used, then结构简单 (simple structure), but 冷却效果不足 (insufficient cooling effect) and 温度分布不均 (uneven temperature distribution)
Solution Approach 1:
The fin structure is segmented into multiple types (columnar fins, wing-like fins, and plate fins) arranged in different regions. This segmentation allows each fin type to address specific cooling needs in different areas, achieving uniform temperature distribution while managing structural complexity through functional differentiation.
Solution Approach 2:
Different fin configurations are applied to different regions of the water jacket based on local heat generation characteristics. The columnar fins are positioned in regions requiring high cooling capacity, while wing-like and plate fins are placed in regions needing flow guidance or supplemental cooling, creating locally optimized cooling zones.
2Productivity
If refrigerant flow is not optimized, then 结构简单 (simple structure), but 热交换效率低 (low heat exchange efficiency)
Solution Approach 1:
The wing-like fins are positioned upstream to preliminarily guide and distribute the refrigerant flow before it reaches the heat generating component. This preliminary flow organization ensures efficient heat exchange by pre-conditioning the refrigerant flow pattern, reducing the need for complex flow control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The plate fins act as intermediary elements between the refrigerant supply paths and the heat generating component. These fins facilitate smooth refrigerant flow transition and distribution, improving heat exchange efficiency by mediating the flow dynamics without requiring direct complex flow control.
3Reliability
If fin structure is simplified, then 制造成本低 (low manufacturing cost), but 冷却性能不足 (insufficient cooling performance)
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple fin types (columnar, wing-like, and plate fins) are merged into a single integrated water jacket structure. This merging approach maintains manufacturing simplicity while achieving superior cooling performance through the combined effects of different fin configurations working together as a unified system.
Solution Approach 2:
The water jacket fin structure is designed with multi-functionality, where the same basic fin architecture serves multiple purposes: columnar fins provide primary heat exchange surface area, wing-like fins guide refrigerant flow, and plate fins provide supplemental cooling and flow distribution. This universal design achieves enhanced cooling performance without proportionally increasing manufacturing complexity.
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 design achieves uniform cooling of heat-generating components by optimizing refrigerant flow, enhancing heat exchange efficiency, and maintaining temperature stability across the component surface.
Implementation Method 1
heat exchange is performed between a refrigerant and the fin
Implementation Method 2
a flow of the refrigerant from a position far from a heating element to a portion near the heating element
Data Source
AI summary
A water jacket includes a base having a plate shape. The base includes: a refrigerant supply path having a refrigerant inflow portion configured to allow a refrigerant to flow thereinto; a refrigerant discharge path having a refrigerant outflow portion configured to allow the refrigerant to flow out therethrough; and a chamber communicating with the refrigerant supply path and the refrigerant discharge path. The chamber includes: a first surface and a second surface facing the first surface; a plurality of columnar fins erected from the first surface and intersecting a flow direction of the refrigerant; and a plurality of wing-like fins disposed closer to the second surface than the first surface and inclined or curved from an upstream side toward a downstream side in the flow direction of the refrigerant as the plurality of wing-like fins go from the second surface toward the first surface.