This invention relates to the field of cooling systems, and more particularly, a refrigerant circuit and a cooling system for high power and compact heat sink associated with a variable frequency drive and/or electronic devices.
Compressors of a chiller system are generally configured with a heat sink and two-phased cooled variable frequency drive (VFD) that enable the chiller system to attain high efficiency at part load conditions and provide uniform temperature distribution. However, the distribution of the two-phase flow and achieving a high heat dissipation rate in a high power VFD while keeping the heat sink design compact and keeping the pressure drop low are very challenging, which has not been achieved in the existing systems. There is therefore a need to enable efficient distribution of the two-phase flow and achieve a high heat dissipation rate in a high power VFD while keeping the heat sink design compact and keeping the pressure drop low.
Described herein is a refrigerant circuit for a variable frequency drive (VFD) heat sink. The refrigerant circuit comprises one or more channels machined in a predefined profile with one or more passes and positioned in thermal contact with one or more heat generating components associated with a VFD, wherein the channels are adapted to allow flow of a cooling fluid therethrough to facilitate dissipation of heat generated by the VFD.
In one or more embodiments, the one or more channels extend over one or more heat dissipating zones of the heat sink, wherein the one or more heat dissipating zones are at an electronic and/or electrical mount area of the one or more heat generating components associated with the VFD.
In one or more embodiments, the refrigeration circuit comprises an inlet conduit fluidically connected to a first end of the one or more channels, wherein the inlet conduit is configured to receive and supply the cooling fluid to the one or more channels, such that the cooling fluid while flowing through the one or more channels absorbs the heat dissipated by the VFD, and an outlet conduit fluidically connected to a second end of the one or more channels, wherein the outlet conduit is configured to enable outflow of the heat-absorbed cooling fluid from the one or more channels.
In one or more embodiments, the inlet conduit and the outlet conduit are configured parallelly at two opposite ends of the heat sink, wherein each of the channels having the predefined profile extends between the inlet conduit and the outlet conduit.
In one or more embodiments, the inlet conduit and the outlet conduit are fluidically configured with a refrigerant line associated with a refrigeration system that enables controlled flow of the cooling fluid through the inlet conduit, the one or more channels, and the outlet conduit.
In one or more embodiments, the VFD is associated with a compressor of the refrigeration system.
In one or more embodiments, the one or more channels comprises a flow path having a predefined cross-sectional shape machined in the predefined profile such that each of the machined channels comprises a predefined number of turns or a predefined number of passes.
Also described herein is a cooling system for a VFD. The cooling system comprises a heat sink in thermal contact with one or more components of the VFD, and a refrigerant circuit machined in the heat sink such that the refrigerant circuit extends over and remains in thermal contact with the one or more components of the VFD, wherein the refrigerant circuit comprises one or more channels having a predefined profile and in thermal contact with the corresponding components of the VFD.
In one or more embodiments, the refrigerant circuit comprises an inlet conduit fluidically connected to a first end of the one or more channels of the refrigerant circuit, wherein the inlet conduit is configured to receive and supply the cooling fluid to the one or more channels, such that the cooling fluid while flowing through the one or more channels absorbs the heat dissipated by the VFD, and an outlet conduit fluidically connected to a second end of the one or more channels of the corresponding refrigerant circuit, wherein the outlet conduit is configured to enable outflow of the heat-absorbed cooling fluid from the one or more channels.
In one or more embodiments, the inlet conduit and the outlet conduit associated with the refrigerant circuit are fluidically connected to a refrigerant line associated with a refrigeration system that is configured to enable controlled flow of the cooling fluid through the refrigerant circuit.
In one or more embodiments, the cooling system comprises a controller in communication with the refrigeration system, wherein the controller is configured to monitor temperature of the heat sink and/or the VFD, and enable the refrigeration system to facilitate a controlled flow of the cooling fluid through the refrigeration circuit of the heat sink to keep the heat sink or the VFD at a predefined temperature.
In one or more embodiments, the one or more channels comprises a flowpath having a predefined cross-sectional shape being machined in the predefined profile such that each of the machined channels comprises a predefined number of turns or a predefined number of passes.
In one or more embodiments, the one or more channels extend over one or more heat dissipating zones of the VFD, wherein the one or more heat dissipating zones are at an electronic and/or electrical mount area of the one or more components associated with the VFD.
Further described herein is a cooling system for a heat dissipating device, the cooling system comprising: a heat sink in thermal contact with one or more components of the device; and a refrigerant circuit machined in the heat sink such that the refrigerant circuit extends over and remains in thermal contact with the one or more components of the device, wherein the refrigerant circuit comprises one or more channels machined in a predefined profile and in thermal contact with the corresponding components of the device.
In one or more embodiments, the refrigerant circuit comprises an inlet conduit fluidically connected to a first end of the one or more channels of the refrigerant circuit, wherein the inlet conduit is configured to receive and supply the cooling fluid to the one or more channels, such that the cooling fluid while flowing through the one or more channels absorbs the heat dissipated by the device, and an outlet conduit fluidically connected to a second end of the one or more channels of the corresponding refrigerant circuit, wherein the outlet conduit is configured to enable outflow of the heat-absorbed cooling fluid from the one or more channels.
In one or more embodiments, the inlet conduit and the outlet conduit of the refrigeration circuit are configured parallelly at two opposite ends of the corresponding heat sink, wherein each of the channels having the predefined profile extends between the two opposite ends of the heat sink.
In one or more embodiments, the inlet conduit and the outlet conduit associated with the refrigerant circuit are fluidically configured with a refrigerant line associated with a refrigeration system that enables controlled flow of the cooling fluid through the refrigerant circuit.
In one or more embodiments, the cooling system comprises a controller in communication with the refrigeration system, wherein the controller is configured to monitor temperature of the heat sink and/or the device, and enable the refrigeration system to facilitate a controlled flow of the cooling fluid through the refrigeration circuit of the heat sink to keep the heat sink or the device at a predefined temperature.
In one or more embodiments, the one or more channels comprise a flow path having a predefined cross-sectional shape being machined in the predefined profile such that each of the machined channels comprises a predefined number of turns or a predefined number of passes.
In one or more embodiments, the device comprises one or more of a semiconductor device, a power-electronic device, an electrical circuit, and a printed circuit board.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, features, and techniques of the invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the subject disclosure of this invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the subject disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the subject disclosure.
In the drawings, similar components and/or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label with a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.
The following is a detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure depicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are in such detail as to clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of detail offered is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
Various terms are used herein. To the extent a term used in a claim is not defined below, it should be given the broadest definition persons in the pertinent art have given that term as reflected in printed publications and issued patents at the time of filing.
In the specification, reference may be made to the spatial relationships between various components and to the spatial orientation of various aspects of components as the devices are depicted in the attached drawings. However, as will be recognized by those skilled in the art after a complete reading of the subject disclosure, the components of this invention. described herein may be positioned in any desired orientation. Thus, the use of terms such as “above,” “below,” “upper,” “lower,” “first”, “second” or other like terms to describe a spatial relationship between various components or to describe the spatial orientation of aspects of such components should be understood to describe a relative relationship between the components or a spatial orientation of aspects of such components, respectively, as the conduits, inlet conduit, outlet conduit, heat sink, and refrigeration line, described herein may be oriented in any desired direction.
Referring to
The refrigerant circuit 100 further includes a longitudinal inlet conduit 104 and a longitudinal outlet conduit 106 that extend parallel on two opposite ends of the device or VFD 202. Further, a first end of all the channels 102 is fluidically connected to the inlet conduit 104 and a second end of all the channels 102 is fluidically connected to the outlet conduit 106, such that the channels 102 extend between the inlet conduit 104 and the outlet conduit 106, thereby forming a heat sink 108 having one or more channels 102 with a predefined number of turns or a predefined number of passes. This increases the surface area of the refrigerant circuit 100 while keeping the refrigerant circuit 100 and the associated heat sink 108 compact and with minimal pressure drop.
As illustrated in
The distance between the channels 102, length of the channel 102, and the number of turns or passes in the channels 102 can be selected based on the dimension and location of the one or more heat zones 204-1 to 204-3 of the heat sink 108, such that the channels 102 can efficiently cover the heat zones 204 of the heat sink 108, especially when the heat load is more and when the electronic or electrical components of the VFD or devices 202 are distributed so that the cooling fluid while flowing through the channels 102 can efficiently absorb the heat from the device or VFD 202. The heat dissipating zones 204 (marked with a hashed area in
In an embodiment, as shown in
In an embodiment, as shown in
In an embodiment, as shown in
Referring to
The configuration of
The cooling system 300 includes a refrigeration system 302 having a refrigeration line 314 fluidically coupled to the inlet conduit 104 and the outlet conduit 106 of the refrigerant circuits 100. The refrigeration system 302 is configured to enable the controlled flow of the cooling fluid through each of the refrigerant circuits 100. In some embodiments, the cooling system 300 or refrigerant circuit 100 is configured with a VFD 202 that is operatively coupled to a compressor (not shown) of the same refrigeration system 302. Herein, the cooling fluid of the refrigeration system 302 is circulated to the refrigerant circuit 100 of the VFD 202 to keep the VFD 202 or heat zones 204 at a predefined temperature. In other embodiments, the cooling system 300 or refrigerant circuit 100 for the VFD or devices 202 can also be fluidically connected to a separate refrigeration system.
In an operation, the refrigeration system 302 supplies the cooling fluid to the inlet conduit 104 of the refrigerant circuit 100. The cooling fluid then passes through each of the channels 102 and moves into the outlet conduit 106. The channels 102 made of thermally conductive material allow the cooling fluid to absorb heat from the heat dissipating units or heat zones 204 of the device 202 while flowing through the channels 102. In addition, the predefined profile of the channels 102 (as shown in
Referring back to
In an exemplary embodiment, the controller 304 includes a processor 306, a memory 308, heat sensors 310, and a communication unit 312 (wired or wireless media), being configured within a single housing that can be easily installed with the refrigeration system 302. The processor 306 is coupled to the memory 308, where the processor 306 includes suitable logic, circuitry, and/or interfaces that are operable to execute one or more instructions stored in the memory 308 to perform a predetermined operation. The memory 308 may be operable to store one or more instructions. The processor 306 may be implemented using the processors known in the art. Some of the commonly known memory implementations include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a hard disk drive (HDD), and a secure digital (SD) card. Further, the memory 308 includes the one or more instructions that are executable by the processor 306 to perform specific operations. It is apparent to a person having ordinary skills in the art that the one or more instructions stored in the memory 308 enable the hardware of the controller 304 to perform the predetermined operations as explained above.
It should be obvious to a person skilled in the art that while drawing and some embodiments of this invention have been elaborated for a fixed number of channels, turns, and passes for the sake of simplicity and better explanation purpose, however, the teachings of this invention are equally applicable for any number of channels, turns, and passes based on the dimension and heat zones of the heat sink and/or the device, and all such embodiments are well within the scope of this invention.
Thus, this invention (refrigerant circuit and cooling system) overcomes the drawbacks, limitations, and shortcomings associated with existing technologies by enabling efficient distribution of the cooling fluid and achieving a high heat dissipation rate in high-power VFD and other devices while keeping the heat sink design compact and keeping the pressure drop low.
While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Modifications may be made to adopt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the invention includes all embodiments falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
In interpreting the specification, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. Where the specification claims refer to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C . . . and N, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc.
This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/476,263, filed on Dec. 20, 2022, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
63476263 | Dec 2022 | US |