Title :
A Unique Approach to Power Electronics and Motor Cooling in a Hybrid Electric Vehicle Environment
Author :
Ayers, Curt W. ; Conklin, James C. ; Hsu, John S. ; Lowe, Kirk T.
Author_Institution :
Power Electron. & Electr. Machinery Res. Center, Oak Ridge Nat. Lab., Knoxville, TN
Abstract :
An innovative system for cooling the power electronics of hybrid electric vehicles is presented. This system uses a typical automotive refrigerant R-134a (1,1,1,2 tetrafluoroethane) as the cooling fluid in a system that can be used as either part of the existing vehicle passenger air conditioning system or separately and independently of the existing air conditioner. Because of the design characteristics, the cooling coefficient of performance is on the order of 40. Because liquid refrigerant is used to cool the electronics directly, high heat fluxes can result while maintaining an electronics junction temperature at an acceptable value. In addition, an inverter housing that occupies only half the volume of a conventional inverter has been designed to take advantage of this cooling system. Planned improvements should result in further volume reductions while maintaining a high power level.
Keywords :
air conditioning; hybrid electric vehicles; invertors; refrigerants; R-134a; air conditioning system; automotive refrigerant; cooling fluid; electronics junction; hybrid electric vehicle; liquid refrigerant; motor cooling; power electronics; vehicle passenger; Coolants; Electronics cooling; Heat sinks; Hybrid electric vehicles; Inverters; Laboratories; Power electronics; Refrigerants; Temperature; Traction motors; direct cooled electronics; floating loop; hybrid electric vehicle thermal management; power electronics; refrigerant R-134a; two-phase cooling;
Conference_Titel :
Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference, 2007. VPPC 2007. IEEE
Conference_Location :
Arlington, TX
Print_ISBN :
978-0-7803-9760-6
Electronic_ISBN :
978-0-7803-9761-3
DOI :
10.1109/VPPC.2007.4544107
