Method and apparatus for controlling a coolant circuit thermally coupled to a power electronics device

• US 9,247,678 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2013
• Issued: 01/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Ballnik, Christopher D S, Liller, David J., Luo, Xiaowen
• Primary Examiner(s): THOMPSON, GREGORY D
• Application Number:
  US13/945,018
• Publication Number:
  US 20150022973A1
• Time in Patent Office: 922 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/2089 for power electronics, e.g. for inverters for controlling motor
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/209 Heat transfer by conduction from internal heat source to heat radiating structure H05K7/20909 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20918 the components being isolated from air flow, e.g. hollow heat sinks, wind tunnels or funnels
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20945 Thermal management, e.g. inverter temperature control

Abstract

A vehicle system includes a power electronics device and a coolant circuit thermally coupled to the power electronics device. The coolant circuit includes a fluidic pump and a fluid/air heat exchanger, an air pump configured to transfer air across the fluid/air heat exchanger, and a shutter device configured to control airflow across the fluid/air heat exchanger. A controller controls the fluidic pump to control coolant flow through the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the power electronics device to the coolant and correspondingly controls the air pump and the shutter device to control airflow across the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the coolant to achieve a preferred heat rejection from the power electronics device.

Claims

1. Vehicle system, comprising:

a cooling circuit thermally coupled via a fluidic heat exchanger to a power electronics device, said cooling circuit comprising a fluidic pump fluidly connected to a fluid/air heat exchanger, an air pump configured to transfer air across the fluid/air heat exchanger, and a shutter device configured to control airflow across the fluid/air heat exchanger; and

a controller controlling the fluidic pump to control coolant flow through the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the power electronics device to the coolant and correspondingly controlling the air pump and the shutter device to control airflow across the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the coolant to achieve a preferred heat rejection from the power electronics device.

2. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the controller controlling the air pump and the shutter device to control airflow across the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the coolant to achieve the preferred heat rejection from the power electronics device comprises determining an airflow request associated with only a temperature of the cooling circuit when a cooling circuit temperature is valid and an outside air temperature is invalid, said airflow request based upon a direct relation between airflow across the fluid/air heat exchanger and the cooling circuit temperature.

3. The vehicle system of claim 2, wherein determining the airflow request comprises selecting zero airflow when the cooling circuit temperature is less than a minimum temperature and selecting a maximum airflow when the cooling circuit temperature is greater than a maximum temperature.

4. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the controller controlling the air pump and the shutter device to control airflow across the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the coolant to achieve the preferred heat rejection from the power electronics device comprises determining an airflow request associated with a cooling circuit temperature and an outside air temperature when the cooling circuit temperature and the outside air temperature are valid, said airflow request based upon a direct relation between the airflow across the fluid/air heat exchanger, the cooling circuit temperature, and the outside air temperature.

5. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the controller controlling the fluidic pump to control coolant flow through the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the power electronics device to the coolant comprises selecting a default pump request when a cooling request is invalid.

6. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the controller controlling the fluidic pump to control coolant flow through the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the power electronics device to the coolant comprises selecting a controlled coolant flowrate to achieve a preferred magnitude of heat rejection when a cooling request is valid.

7. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the controller controlling the fluidic pump to control coolant flow through the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the power electronics device to the coolant comprises selecting a pump request based on a device temperature for the power electronics device when the device temperature is valid and an inlet temperature is invalid.

8. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the controller controlling the fluidic pump to control coolant flow through the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the power electronics device to the coolant comprises selecting a pump request based on an inlet temperature of the coolant to the power electronics device and a temperature of the power electronics device of when the device temperature is valid and the inlet temperature is valid.

9. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the controller controlling the fluidic pump to control coolant flow through the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the power electronics device to the coolant comprises selecting a pump request based on an inlet temperature of the coolant to the power electronics device when a temperature of the power electronics device is invalid and the inlet temperature is valid.

10. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the controller controlling the fluidic pump to control coolant flow through the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the power electronics device to the coolant comprises selecting a default pump request when a temperature of the power electronics device is invalid and an inlet temperature of the coolant to the power electronics device is invalid.

11. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the controller controlling the fluidic pump to control coolant flow through the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the power electronics device to the coolant and operative to correspondingly control the air pump and the shutter device to control airflow across the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the coolant to achieve a preferred heat rejection from the power electronics device comprises controlling the fluidic pump to control coolant flow through the fluid/air heat exchanger and correspondingly controlling the air pump and the shutter device to control airflow across the fluid/air heat exchanger to achieve a preferred operating temperature of the power electronics device.

12. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the controller controlling the fluidic pump to control coolant flow through the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the power electronics device to the coolant and operative to correspondingly control the air pump and the shutter device to control airflow across the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the coolant to achieve a preferred heat rejection from the power electronics device comprises the controller balancing heat transfer across the power electronics device with heat transfer across the fluid/air heat exchanger.

13. Controller-implemented method for controlling a cooling circuit thermally coupled via a fluidic heat exchanger to an on-vehicle power electronics device, said cooling circuit comprising a fluidic pump fluidly connected to a fluid/air heat exchanger, an air pump configured to transfer air across the fluid/air heat exchanger, and a shutter device configured to control airflow across the fluid/air heat exchanger, the method comprising:

controlling the fluidic pump to control coolant flow through the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the power electronics device to the coolant and correspondingly controlling the air pump and the shutter device to control airflow across the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the coolant to achieve a preferred heat rejection from the power electronics device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein controlling the fluidic pump to control coolant flow through the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the power electronics device to the coolant and correspondingly controlling the air pump and the shutter device to control airflow across the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the coolant to achieve a preferred heat rejection from the power electronics device comprises controlling the fluidic pump to control coolant flow through the fluid/air heat exchanger and correspondingly controlling the air pump and the shutter device to control airflow across the fluid/air heat exchanger to achieve a preferred operating temperature of the power electronics device.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein controlling the fluidic pump to control coolant flow through the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the power electronics device to the coolant and correspondingly controlling the air pump and the shutter device to control airflow across the fluid/air heat exchanger to reject heat from the coolant to achieve a preferred heat rejection from the power electronics device comprises balancing heat transfer across the power electronics device with heat transfer across the fluid/air heat exchanger.