Liquid cooled magnetic component with indirect cooling for high frequency and high power applications

• US 8,928,441 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2011
• Issued: 01/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Prabhakaran, Satish, Weeber, Konrad Roman, Zhang, Richard S., Stephens, Charles Michael, Dame, Mark Edward, Cao, Yang
• Primary Examiner(s): Talpalatski, Alexander
• Assistant Examiner(s): BAISA, JOSELITO SASIS
• Application Number:
  US13/275,544
• Publication Number:
  US 20120092108A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,176 Days
• Field of Search: 336/55, 336/57, 336/62, 336/195, 219/632, 219/635, 310/64, 310/180, 310/201
• US Class Current: 336/55
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/10 Liquid cooling
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/2876 Cooling cooling transformers and inductances in general H01F27/08
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/32 Insulating of coils, windings, or parts thereof

Abstract

A magnetic component such as a transformer or inductor comprises one or more litz-wire windings and one or more metallic cooling tube windings. Each litz-wire winding is wound together with a corresponding single metallic cooling tube winding on a common bobbin to provide an indirectly-cooled magnetic component.

Claims

1. A magnetic component comprising:

a first layer of litz-wire windings; and

one or more first cooling tube windings which are metallic and hollow, and configured to extract heat from the corresponding first layer of litz-wire windings, wherein the first layer of litz-wire windings is wound together with a corresponding first cooling tube winding on a common bobbin, and wherein the first layer of litz-wire winding is configured to be spaced apart from the corresponding first cooling tube winding to provide an indirectly-cooled magnetic component spindle assembly, and wherein the first layer of litz-wire windings are disposed outside of the corresponding first cooling tube windings relative to the common bobbin;

a second layer of litz-wire windings, wherein the second layer of litz-wire windings wound together with a second cooling tube winding, the second cooling tube windings being hollow and metallic; and

an insulating layer disposed between the first layer of litz-wire windings and the second layer of litz-wire windings to electrically insulate the first and second layers of litz-wire windings from one another;

wherein the first layer of litz-wire windings and its corresponding first cooling tube winding comprise an identical number of winding turns;

wherein the second layer of litz-wire windings and its corresponding second cooling tube winding comprise an identical number of winding turns.

2. The magnetic component according to claim 1, wherein each spindle assembly is embedded in resin or epoxy, and wherein the resin or epoxy fills the space between the first layer of litz-wire windings and the corresponding one or more metallic cooling tube windings.

3. The magnetic component according to claim 1, further comprising a thermal coolant disposed within each cooling tube.

4. The magnetic component according to claim 1, further comprising:

a magnetic core; and

wherein each second layer of litz-wire windings is configured to be spaced apart from corresponding second metallic cooling tube winding.

5. The magnetic component according to claim 4, further comprising a plurality of cold plates attached to predetermined surfaces of the magnetic core.

6. The magnetic component according to claim 5, wherein each cold plate comprises at least one cooling tube disposed therein and configured to transfer heat away from the magnetic core via a thermal fluid passing through the at least one cooling tube.

7. The magnetic component according to claim 5, wherein each cold plate is bonded to a surface of the magnetic core via a thermally conductive epoxy.

8. The magnetic component according to claim 4, wherein the magnetic core comprises a plurality of legs, wherein each leg comprises an air gap configured to control a magnetizing inductance.

9. The magnetic component according to claim 1, wherein each cooling tube is wrapped in electrical insulation material.

10. The magnetic component according to claim 1, wherein each litz-wire is wrapped in electrical insulation tape sufficient to withstand a corresponding turn-to-turn induced voltage.

11. The magnetic component according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic component comprises an inductor.

12. The magnetic component according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic component comprises a transformer.

13. The magnetic component according to claim 1, wherein the bobbin comprises an electrical insulation material selected from Nomex.

14. A magnetic component comprising:

a first layer of litz wire windings;

one or more first metallic cooling tube windings which are metallic and hollow configured to extract heat from a corresponding first layer of litz-wire windings;

wherein the first layer of litz-wire windings is wound together with a corresponding first metallic cooling tube winding on a common bobbin, wherein the first layer of litz-wire winding is configured to be spaced apart from the corresponding metallic cooling tube windings so as to provide an indirectly-cooled magnetic component spindle assembly;

a second layer of litz-wire windings, second layer of litz-wire windings wound together with one or more second cooling tube winding, the second cooling tube windings being hollow and metallic; and

an insulating layer disposed between the first layer of litz-wire windings and the second layer of litz-wire windings to electrically insulate the first and second layers of litz-wire windings from one another;

wherein the first layer of litz-wire windings and its corresponding first cooling tube winding comprise an identical number of winding turns;

wherein the second layer of litz-wire windings and its corresponding second cooling tube winding comprise an identical number of winding turns.

15. A transformer, comprising:

a first layer of litz-wire windings; and

a layer of one or more first cooling tube windings which are metallic and hollow, configured to extract heat from the corresponding first layer of litz-wire windings and wound together with the first layer of litz-wire windings on a common bobbin, wherein the first layer of litz-wire winding is configured to be spaced apart from the corresponding metallic cooling tube windings so as to provide an indirectly-cooled magnetic component spindle assembly;

a second layer of litz-wire windings, the second layer of litz-wire windings wound together with one or more second cooling tube winding, the second cooling tube windings being hollow and metallic; and

an insulating layer disposed between the first layer of litz-wire winding and the second layer of litz-wire windings to electrically insulate the first and second layers of litz-wire windings from one another;

wherein the first layer of litz-wire windings and its corresponding first cooling tube winding comprise an identical number of winding turns;

wherein the second layer of litz-wire windings and its corresponding second cooling tube winding comprise an identical number of winding turns.

16. The transformer according to claim 15, further comprising a layer of thermally conductive material configured to be filled in a space between the first layer of litz-wire windings and the layer of one or more first cooling tube windings.

17. The transformer according to claim 15, further comprising:

a magnetic core;

wherein the second layer of litz-wire windings is spaced apart from the layer of one or more second cooling tube windings to provide another indirectly-cooled transformer spindle assembly; and

wherein the second layer litz-wire windings are disposed outside of the layer of one or more second cooling tube windings relative to the another common bobbin.