Motor rotor cooling with rotation heat pipes
US7443062B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 30, 2004 |
| Grant date | Oct 28, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 25, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH02K9/225
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A heat pipe is partially-filled with a liquid, such as water, and is used to transfer heat from a rotating element, such as a rotor, via phase change and internal recycle of the liquid. Several heat pipes may be disposed radially around the rotating axis of the rotating element. The heat pipes may have a curved inner surface with a curvature not corresponding to the central axis of the heat pipe and positioned opposite the rotating axis so to experience greater centrifugal forces, to advance formation of a liquid film to improve heat transfer. For a rotor, the heat pipes, though individually placed as revolving heat pipes, in total exhibit behavior that approximates the favorable heat-transfer behavior of a single larger rotating heat pipe, but with heat-transfer surface area dispersed throughout the rotor, and without compromising structural integrity of the rotor shaft.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.