Wing Battery Cooling Layout for High-Altitude Flying Bodies
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-altitude flight vehicles face challenges in maintaining efficient heat radiation and aerodynamic performance due to low-density air at high altitudes, which affects the cooling of solar cell panels and propeller motors, and existing solutions either increase weight or require complex structures.
Innovation Solution
The flight vehicle incorporates a heat sink unit with a harmonica shape and an exhaust unit that generates propulsion power by accelerating air, allowing for efficient heat dissipation and laminar flow maintenance without the need for a forced convection fan or plasma actuator, using a wing unit with air intake, heat sink, and exhaust units to manage temperature and airflow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If forced convection heat radiation fan is used to cool solar cell panels and propeller motors, then heat radiation efficiency is improved, but structural weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the propeller's wake flow (a byproduct of propulsion) to provide forced convection cooling for the solar cell panels and propeller motor. The propeller motor drives the propeller, which generates wake flow that is then directed through channels to cool the heat-generating components, making the cooling system self-powered without requiring additional fans or energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The propeller serves dual functions: generating propulsion thrust and providing forced convection cooling. The wake flow generated for propulsion purposes is simultaneously utilized as the cooling medium, eliminating the need for separate cooling fans and reducing overall system weight while maintaining effective heat radiation.
2Temperature
If conventional heat radiation structures are used at high altitude, then cooling function is provided, but aerodynamic performance deteriorates due to turbulence
Solution Approach 1:
The system converts the harmful turbulence and wake flow that would normally deteriorate aerodynamic performance into a beneficial cooling resource. The propeller wake, which creates turbulence and drag, is redirected through cooling channels to efficiently cool the solar cell panels and motor, transforming an aerodynamic disadvantage into a thermal management advantage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the flow parameters by directing the high-velocity wake flow through specially designed cooling channels with specific geometries. This transforms the chaotic turbulence into a controlled cooling flow that effectively removes heat while minimizing adverse aerodynamic effects on the overall vehicle performance.
3Temperature
If heat radiation is performed at 30,000-meter high altitude, then cooling is provided, but heat radiation efficiency is greatly reduced by low-density air
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses pneumatic principles by utilizing the propeller wake flow (a gas flow) as the cooling medium. The high-velocity air flow generated by the propeller is directed through cooling channels to enhance convective heat transfer, compensating for the low ambient air density at high altitude and maintaining effective heat radiation despite the thin atmosphere.
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 solution effectively cools the battery, maintains laminar flow, and reduces drag while minimizing weight and power consumption, enhancing the flight vehicle's performance and efficiency in stratospheric conditions.
Implementation Method 1
a heat sink unit that is arranged for the battery and that cools the battery by air which flows in from the air intake unit
Implementation Method 2
an exhaust unit that is formed at a position corresponding to the battery on the rear side of the wing unit and that exhausts air which flows out from the heat sink unit
Implementation Method 3
The air intake unit may take in a laminar boundary layer on the front side of the wing unit by a negative pressure of a rear portion
Data Source
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AI summary
There is provided a flight vehicle including: a wing unit; a battery that is arranged in the wing unit; an air intake unit that is formed at a position corresponding to the battery on a front side of the wing unit; a heat sink unit that is arranged for the battery and cools the battery by air which flows in from the air intake unit and that includes a ventilation unit having a shape widening from the front side toward a rear side; and an exhaust unit that is formed at a position corresponding to the battery on the rear side of the wing unit and that exhausts air which flows out from the heat sink unit.