California Institute of Technology

Benjamin I Furst

Scott N Roberts

Eric T Sunada

Dan M Goebel

Ratnakumar V Bugga

Robert Peter Dillon

Sean W Reilly

Weibo Chen

Arthur J Mastropietro

Jordan Mizerak

Elham Maghsoudi

Hiroki Nagai

Jay D Jasper

Stefano Cappucci

Systems and methods for integrating a heat exchanger in an electric motor (EM) system that includes a stator and a rotor are presented. An oscillating heat pipe (OHP) is provided within a housing of the EM system. The OHP includes channel segments with a sealed working fluid. According to another aspect, channel segments formed within a core of the stator communicate with the channel segments of the housing to provide an OHP. According to another aspect, the core of the stator includes an OHP. According to another aspect, the housing includes protruding structures with embedded channel segments. According to one aspect, the protruding structures include a plurality of fins. According to yet another aspect, the protruding structures are in contact with a fluid coolant that flows in a cavity of a structure coupled to the housing.

Electric motor with integrated heat exchanger

Systems and methods for embedding a thermal management system in an electric propulsion (EP) system is presented. According to one aspect, one or more oscillating heat pipes (OHPs) are provided within functional elements of the EP system. Each OHP includes channel segments that include a sealed working fluid. The channel segments are joined to form a continuous serpentine channel with a channel path that alternates between hot and cold regions of the EP system. According to another aspect, the functional elements of the EP system are reduced to a single monolithic structure with an embedded OHP. The single monolithic structure may be a single material or a multi material. According to yet another aspect, the functional elements are elements of a magnetic circuit of the EP system, including one or more of a backplate, an outer pole, an inner pole, or a center pole.

Thermally managed electric propulsion systems

Systems and methods for thermal management using separable heat pipes and methods of manufacture thereof. Various embodiments provide a porous insert that can be used to join or connect heat pipes. Further embodiments provide thermal management systems that are modular, expandable, reparable, by allowing for joining of evaporators, condensers, and adiabatic sections via porous inserts. Various embodiments allow for two-phase thermal management systems, where liquid and gaseous phases can be transported simultaneously. Certain embodiments incorporate heat generating components with embedded evaporators and/or condensers. Many embodiments are additively manufactured, including via 3D printing.

Systems and methods for thermal management using separable heat pipes and methods of manufacture thereof

Thermal management systems for battery cells and methods for their additive manufacture are provided. The thermal management systems include at least one heat pipe that physically contacts the battery cell and conforms to its geometry. Each battery cell is deposited within a separate heat pipe, and each heat pipe is disposed on a base plate, which itself connects to a heat sink. In many embodiments, the heat pipe is a two-phase heat exchanger having three major components: liquid channels, wick elements, and vapor channels. In such embodiments, the wick component comprises a porous body configured to be disposed between the liquid channels and vapor channels. The wick component may be made using a stochastic additive manufacturing process such that the wick component may take any configuration and/or such that the wick component may be directly integrated into the body of the heat pipe as a unitary piece thereof. In other embodiments, the heat pipe is a cavity with flow channels in which fluid can be pumped through. In some such embodiments, the fluid can occupy the heat pipe in a one-phase or two-phase state. This unitary heat pipe is part of a monolithic thermal management system.

Thermal management systems for battery cells and methods of their manufacture

Multi-phase thermal control systems, evaporators, variable porous wick elements, heat transfer structures, and methods for their production are provided. Two-phase evaporators for use in such multi-phase thermal control systems are also provided. Two-phase evaporators incorporate a vapor plate body having there three major layers: a vapor channel network, a wick, and a liquid channel. The vapor channel network comprises a plurality of extrusions (e.g., vapor pillars) and associated channels (e.g., vapor channels) configured to allow a vapor to flow therethrough. The wick comprises a porous body configured to be disposed between the vapor channel network of and the liquid flow reservoir.

Multi-phase thermal control apparatus, evaporators and methods of manufacture thereof

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Pasadena, CA, United States of America

Benjamin I Furst