Method and assembly of a power generation system

• US 10,199,907 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2016
• Issued: 02/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Aviation Systems LLC (GE Aerospace)
• Original Assignee: GE Aviation Systems LLC (GE Aerospace)
• Inventors: Lin, Lanchao, Huang, Hao, Jia, Xiaochuan
• Primary Examiner(s): Mullins, Burton
• Application Number:
  US15/051,990
• Publication Number:
  US 20170244306A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,077 Days
• Field of Search: 310 54, 310 57, 310 61, 310 64, 174DIG 19, 174DIG 32
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 15/02 in which the medium condenses and evaporates, e.g. heat pipes heat pipes used in solar heat collectors F24S10/95; in radiators F28D1/0226; in nuclear reactors G21C15/257
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 9/19 for machines with closed casing and closed-circuit cooling using a liquid cooling medium, e.g. oil
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 9/225 Heat pipes

Abstract

A wet cavity electric machine includes a stator core having stator poles formed by a post and a wire wound about the post to form a stator winding, with the stator winding having end turns, a rotor having two rotor poles and configured to rotate relative to the stator and a channel for liquid coolant to flow through the rotor to at least one nozzle, and liquid coolant sprays from the at least one nozzle at least a portion of the stator windings.

Claims

1. A wet cavity electric machine comprising:

a stator core having at least two stator poles formed by a set of stator windings, with the stator winding having end turns;

a rotor having at least two rotor poles, and configured to rotate relative to the stator core, and having a channel for liquid coolant to flow through the rotor to at least one nozzle;

at least one oscillating heat pipe received within the set of stator windings and having an evaporator portion extending through the stator core and a condenser portion extending axially past the stator core proximate to the at least one nozzle, and wherein the evaporator portion and the condenser portion are positioned between sealed opposing ends of the at least one oscillating heat pipe; and

a working fluid in the at least one oscillating heat pipe, wherein the working fluid is disposed in alternating liquid and vapor phases in the at least one oscillating heat pipe;

wherein liquid coolant from the at least one nozzle can be sprayed onto the condenser portion of the at least one oscillating heat pipe to cause the working fluid to oscillate and extract heat from the stator core.

2. The wet cavity electric machine of claim 1 wherein the condenser portion includes a set of end turns in the at least one oscillating heat pipe.

3. The wet cavity electric machine of claim 1 wherein the at least one oscillating heat pipe is filled to a ratio of fluid volume to total volume within a range of 15-60%.

4. The wet cavity electric machine of claim 1 further comprising a scavenge device for discharge of liquid coolant from the rotor.

5. The wet cavity electric machine of claim 4 wherein scavenge device is one of an exit port or a shaft outlet port.

6. The wet cavity electric machine of claim 1 wherein the liquid coolant is oil.

7. The wet cavity electric machine of claim 1 wherein the working fluid is water.

8. The wet cavity electric machine of claim 1 further comprising at least two nozzles at a wall of the rotor.

9. The wet cavity electric machine of claim 1 further comprising stator teeth in the stator core and wherein the slot teeth are wound with the at least one oscillating heat pipe.

10. The wet cavity electric machine of claim 1 wherein the at least one oscillating heat pipe is electrically insulated.

11. The wet cavity electric machine of claim 1 wherein the at least one oscillating heat pipe has a quadrilateral cross section with an internal fluid channel.

12. A power generation system includes:

a wet cavity machine comprising;

a stator core having a set of teeth and a set of stator poles formed a wire wound about the set of teeth to form a set of stator windings, with the set of stator windings having end turns;

a rotor having two rotor poles and configured to rotate relative to the stator core, and having channel for liquid coolant to flow through the rotor to at least one nozzle;

at least one oscillating heat pipe received within the set of stator windings and having an evaporator portion extending through the stator core and a condenser portion extending axially past the stator core proximate to the at least one nozzle to be thermally exposed to liquid coolant passing through the at least one nozzle, and wherein the evaporator portion and the condenser portion are positioned between sealed opposing ends of the at least one oscillating heat pipe; and

a working fluid in the at least one oscillating heat pipe;

wherein the exposure of the condenser portion to liquid coolant will extract enough heat from the wet cavity machine to enable the power generation system to operate within a set of predetermined parameters free of a cooling system external to the wet cavity machine.

13. The power generation system of claim 12 wherein the condenser portion includes a plurality of turns in the at least one oscillating heat pipe.

14. The power generation system of claim 12 wherein the system is free of an external liquid cooling jacket.

15. The power generation system of claim 12 wherein the system is positioned proximate to a turbine engine.

16. The power generation system of claim 12 wherein the wet cavity machine further comprises a starter generator.

17. The power generation system of claim 12 wherein the working fluid is water.