STACK OF LAMINATIONS FOR A STATOR HAVING COOLING CHANNELS

Abstract

A stack of laminations for a stator of an electric machine, wherein each lamination comprises a plurality of teeth, and a plurality of holes, wherein the laminations are aligned relatively to one other such that the teeth form winding spaces for receiving stator windings, and the holes form at least one axially extending cooling channel inside the stack, wherein adjacent holes of at least two adjacent laminations are geometrically different.

Claims

1. A stack of laminations for a stator of an electric machine, wherein each lamination comprises a plurality of teeth, and a plurality of holes, wherein the laminations are aligned relatively to one other such that the teeth form winding spaces for receiving stator windings, and the holes form at least one axially extending cooling channel inside the stack, wherein adjacent holes of at least two adjacent laminations are geometrically different.

2. The stack according to claim 1, wherein a cross-section of the cooling channel varies along the axial direction.

3. The stack according to claim 1, wherein the adjacent holes of adjacent laminations differ in size and/or shape and/or orientation.

4. The stack according to claim 1, wherein all laminations are equally shaped and sized with respect to their teeth and holes, wherein at least two adjacent laminations are rotated relatively to one other such that the holes having different geometries of the adjacent laminations at least partially overlap to form the cooling channel.

5. The stack according to claim 1, wherein each lamination comprises n teeth, and each lamination is rotated with respect to its adjacent lamination by an angle () of 360/n.

6. The stack according to claim 1, wherein at least one cooling channel includes at least one impingement element or impingement structure for laterally deflecting a cooling fluid in said cooling channel.

7. The stack according to claim 6, wherein the impingement element or impingement structure is formed by at least one fin or plate extending inside at least one of the holes.

8. The stack according to claim 1, wherein each lamination and/or a subset of laminations include a first set of holes and a second set of holes, wherein the holes of the first set differ geometrically from the holes of the second set.

9. The stack according to claim 1, wherein the holes are located at an outer perimeter of the laminations and/or the teeth project radially inwardly.

10. The stack according to claim 1, wherein the laminations encompass a central aperture for receiving a rotor.

11. The stack according to claim 1, wherein the number of cooling channels exceeds the number of teeth.

12. An electric machine, comprising a stator having the stack of laminations in accordance with claim 1.

13. A method of manufacturing a stack of laminations for a stator of an electric machine, comprising the steps of providing a plurality of laminations, wherein each lamination has a plurality of teeth and a plurality of holes, aligning the laminations relatively to one other such that the teeth form winding spaces for receiving stator windings, and the holes form axially extending cooling channels inside the stack, wherein at least two adjacent holes of adjacent laminations are geometrically different.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein, in the step of providing a plurality of laminations , substantially equally shaped laminations are provided, wherein each lamination includes at least two holes that are geometrically different, the method further comprising the step of rotating adjacent laminations such that geometrically different holes of the adjacent laminations at least partially overlap to form the cooling channel.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the laminations are manufactured by the same stamping tool or punching tool.

16. The electric machine of claim 12, wherein a cross-section of the cooling channel varies along the axial direction.

17. The electric machine of claim 12, wherein the adjacent hold of adjacent laminations differ in size and/or shape and/or orientation.

18. The electric machine of claim 12, wherein at least one cooling channel includes at least one impingement element or impingement structure for laterally deflecting a cooling fluid in said cooling channel.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein at least one cooling channel includes at least one impingement element or impingement structure for laterally deflecting a cooling fluid in said cooling channel.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the holes are located at an outer perimeter of the laminations and/or the teeth project radially inwardly.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0028] Further features, properties and advantages of the present disclosure will become clear from the following description of embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are incorporated herein as part of the specification. The drawings described herein illustrate embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter, and are illustrative of selected principles and teachings of the present disclosure. However, the drawings do not illustrate all possible implementations of the presently disclosed subject matter, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

[0029] FIG. 1 schematically shows a longitudinal cross section of an electric machine according to the prior art.

[0030] FIG. 2 schematically shows a part of a first lamination in a frontal view.

[0031] FIG. 3 schematically shows a part of a second lamination in a frontal view.

[0032] FIG. 4 schematically shows a top view of a section of a cooling channel.

[0033] FIG. 5 schematically shows a top view of a section of a further cooling channel.

[0034] In the following, for ease of description similar or equal features are indicated by the same reference numerals. FIGS. 2-3 and 4-5 may comprise components in proportional size with one another, according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] FIG. 1 schematically shows an electric machine 1 according to the prior art, for instance of the electric generator described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,519,577 B2. The electric machine 1 comprises a stator 4 and a rotor 2. The stator 4 comprises a plurality laminations 7 embodied as laminated plates 7 and stator windings that form inductor coils (not shown). The laminations 7 can be located inside a stator housing (not shown). The stator inductor coils are coiled up around teeth 6 formed by the laminations 7, see FIGS. 2, 3.

[0036] In case the electric machine 1 is a motor, the motor converts electrical energy fed to the stator windings to rotational energy of the rotor 2. The stator windings can be connected to an AC current source to receive alternating current. In alternative embodiments, the electric machine 1 may be a generator that converts mechanical energy of the rotating rotor 2 to electrical energy by means of electromagnetic induction. In this case, the stator windings are connected to an electrical grid for providing alternating current.

[0037] The stator 4 defines a central aperture 5. The rotor 2 is located inside the central aperture 5 and is able to rotate about a rotation axis 31. The stator 4 further comprises two end plates 11. The laminations 7 are arranged between the two end plates 11. The end plates 11 are used to compress the laminations 7 to form the laminated stator core and at the same time provide support for the end loops of the stator coils.

[0038] FIG. 1 further illustrates a cooling circuit 10 for cooling the stator 4 of the electrical machine 1. In a preferred embodiment, the cooling circuit 10 comprises a reservoir 12 filled with a cooling liquid 13, a pump 14 for pumping the cooling liquid, cooling channels 15 and/or a heat exchanger 20 for regulating a temperature of the cooling liquid.

[0039] Each stator lamination 7 and each end plate 11 comprises a number of holes 21 which are located such that the holes 21 of the laminations 7 and the holes 21 of the end plates 11 are aligned with each other when the stator 4 is assembled to form a number of cooling channels 15. The cooling channels 15 can be formed by the stator material itself, i.e. they are not covered by a resin or the like.

[0040] Each cooling channel 15 may comprise an inlet port 17 which is located in one of the end plates 11 and an outlet port 18 which is located in the opposite end plate 11. The inlet port 17 can be connected to reservoir 12 by means of a tubing 16. The reservoir 12 can be filled with oil as cooling liquid 13. Between the reservoir 12 and the inlet port 17 pump 14 and heat exchanger 20 are located. The heat exchanger 20 can also be placed at another position. The cooling liquid 13 can be pumped by means of the pump 14 through the tubing 16 into the cooling channels 15. In FIG. 1, the direction of the fluid flow is indicated by arrows 19. The cooling liquid 13 which has passed the cooling channels 15 of the stator 4 returns to the reservoir 12 under the influence of gravity alone. Alternatively, the cooling liquid 13 which has passed the cooling channels 15 can be returned back to the reservoir 12 by means of additional tubings.

[0041] The inlet ports 17 may be fitted with nipples which facilitate piping. Rubber or plastic tubing 16 can be attached to the nipples. Moreover, the outlet ports 18 can be fitted with orifices that act as simple throttles for the liquid flow. The orifices at the duct outlets 18 ensure even flow through all cooling ducts by ensuring that the pressure loss is generally concentrated at the end of the cooling ducts 15. When the cooling fluid 13 emerges from the cooling channels 15 at the outlet port 18 it may either run through pipes back to the pump 14 or may simply be allowed to fall into the reservoir 12 at the bottom of the generator housing.

[0042] Generally, the cooling fluid can be oil as or a similar liquid that is stable at high temperatures, e.g. higher than 100, or 200, and preferably has good electrically insulating properties.

[0043] Thus, the cooling liquid (or sometimes gas) forced through the cooling channels 15 picks up heat energy from the laminations 7 and carries the heat to outside the machine 1 thus extending the power capability of the machine 1.

[0044] In accordance with the present disclosure, a stack 3 of laminations 7, 8, 9 or a stack of laminations 8, 9 is provided. Thus, laminations 8 and 9 are used in addition to the above described lamination 7 or instead of lamination 7. The stack 3 of laminations 7, 8, 9 can form the stator 4 of the machine 1 and/or can be used in combination with the machine 1 and/or the cooling circuit 10 as described above.

[0045] The stack 3 comprises laminations 7, 8, 9, wherein parts of the laminations 8 and 9 are shown in FIGS. 2-5 in more detail. In the stack 3, the laminations 7, 8, 9 are in direct abutment with adjacent laminations. The laminations 7, 8, 9 may be pressed against one other such that the resulting cooling channels 25, 35 are fluid tight. This may render additional seals unnecessary.

[0046] Each lamination 7, 8, 9 may comprise a metallic plate that is laminated with an electrically insulative coating for electrically insulating the laminations from each other. Generally, the laminations 7, 8, 9 may have a disk shape. The stack 3 may comprise at least 10, at least 100 or at least 1000 laminations or even more, depending on the practical application. Each lamination 7, 8, 9 may have a thickness of at least 0.1 mm and/or at most 1 mm. More specifically, said thickness may be at least 0.25 mm and/or at most 0.5 mm.

[0047] FIG. 2 shows a part of a first lamination 8 in a frontal view. FIG. 3 shows a part of a second lamination 9 in a frontal view.

[0048] In the embodiments shown, each of the laminations 8, 9 has an inner periphery being defined by an array of inwardly projecting teeth 6. Usually, the teeth 6 are formed in the laminations 8, 9 by stamping out winding slots in the laminations. In the stack 3, the laminations 7, 8, 9 are aligned relatively to one other such that the teeth 6 provide the winding spaces for receiving stator windings of the stator 4. For instance, the number n of teeth 6 of each lamination 7, 8, 9 can be 24, 36 or 48. However, the number n of teeth is not restricted thereto. In alternative embodiments, the number n of teeth 6 may be smaller or greater than 24, 36 or 48.

[0049] The stack may comprise a first plurality of laminations 8 and a second plurality of laminations 9. The first and second laminations 8, 9 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are adjacent laminations in the stack 3. The first and second laminations 8, 9 may have the same structural design (i.e. shape and size). The only difference between the first and second laminations 8, 9 may be that the second lamination 9 is rotated with respect to the first lamination 8. More specifically, the second lamination 9 of the stack 3 is rotated over one tooth 3 with respect to the first lamination 8. Stated otherwise, each lamination 8, 9 comprise n teeth, wherein the second lamination 9 is rotated with respect to the first lamination 8 by angle of 360/n.

[0050] The first and second laminations comprise a first plurality of holes 22 and a second plurality of holes 23. The holes 22, 23 form at least one axially extending cooling channel 25, 35 inside the stack 3. As shown, the total number of holes 22, 23 is greater than the total number of teeth 6.

[0051] The holes 22, 23 are for instance located on a circle which shares its centre point with the rotor 5 of the electrical machine 1. The number of holes 22, 23 on this circle is typically higher than the number of teeth 6/stator slots that carry the stator windings. The holes 22, 23 however, are not all identical. The holes 22 geometrically differ from the holes 23. For instance, the holes 22, 23 may have a different size, shape and/or orientation. Their geometry is chosen such that, when the stator 4 is stacked according to the process outlined below, cooling channels 25, 35 with complex 3D geometries can be created.

[0052] Each of the holes 23 includes an impingement member 24 extending inside the hole 23 such that the hole 23 is divided into two subholes 28, 29. In some instances, the impingement member 24 may be a fin. As the laminations 8, 9 are rotated relatively to one other, the holes 23 having the fins 24 are aligned with the holes 22 without fins.

[0053] Thus, differently shaped holes 22, 23 overlap resulting in axially extending cooling channels 25, 35 between holes on successive laminations.

[0054] FIG. 4 schematically shows a top view of a section of a cooling channel 25 formed by aligning the holes 22, 23 of the laminations 8, 9. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the impingement member 24 is located in the cooling channel 25 for laterally deflecting a cooling fluid in said cooling channel 25. The streams of cooling fluid are made turbulent by impacts against the downstream surfaces of each impingement member 24.

[0055] FIG. 5 schematically shows a top view of a section of a further cooling channel 35. The cooling channel 35 may be formed by aligning differently sized, shaped and/or oriented holes of adjacent laminations 8, 9.

[0056] As can be seen from FIGS. 4 and 5, each cooling channel 25, 35 has a cross section that varies along the axial direction (i.e. rotation axis 31).

[0057] A difference between the cooling channel 35 of FIG. 5 and the cooling channel 24 is that the cooling channel 35 has a varying cross section even in sections of the cooling channel that do not include impingement plates 24. Furthermore, the cooling channel 35 shown in FIG. 5 includes two differently shaped impingement fins or plates 26, 27, while the cooling channel 25 includes solely one kind of impingement fin or plate 24.

[0058] By providing some of the punched holes 23 with a bridge 24, complex cooling channel geometries can be created. In some of the cooling channels, impingement member 24 is punched. When this lamination is used for stacking, the impingement members 24 will be present in all cooling channels 25, 35 since each lamination 9 is rotated by one tooth 6 with respect to the previous lamination 8. For instance, the second lamination 9 of FIG. 3 will be placed adjacent to the first lamination 8 of FIG. 2.

[0059] By changing the geometry (size, shape or orientation) of the adjacent holes 22, 23 in the laminations 8, 9, also more complex geometries can be created, with a more pronounced 3D shape of the impingement members 24 or a wall of the cooling channel 25, 35. An example is shown in FIG. 5, where it can be seen that an impingement structure 32 is formed by two adjacent impingement elements 26, 27 of adjacent laminations, the impingement structure 32 approximately having a triangular cross section. Moreover, in FIG. 5 a wall 33 of the channel 35 has an undulated shape. Many other geometries of the cooling channels 25, 35, the wall 33 and impingement elements or structures are possible, and can be the result of an optimization.

[0060] The laminations 7, 8, 9 may also include apertures (not shown) for passage therethrough of fasteners, such as an elongated bolt which may be used in the assembly of the stator 4 and may assist in compressing the laminations against each other. Slots along the perimeter of the laminations 7, 8, 9 may be used to align the stacked laminations 7, 8, 9 of the stator 4.

[0061] Positioning the cooling channels 25, 35 adjacent the perimeter or circumference of the laminations 7, 8, 9 may prevent interfering with the electromagnetic flux in the lamination 7, 8, 9 generated by energizing the windings.

[0062] The present disclosure also relates to a method of manufacturing a stack 3 of laminations for a stator 4 of an electric machine 1. First, a plurality of laminations 8, 9 is provided by punching or stamping laminated metallic plates such that each lamination has a plurality of teeth 6 and a plurality of holes 22, 23. For instance, the teeth 6 and the holes 22, 23 are formed by using a punching tool. The teeth 6 may be formed by punching stator slots into the laminations. The holes 22, 23 are formed by punching apertures into the laminations. The laminations 8, 9 can have the same geometry (e.g. the same shape and size) and are preferably manufactured by the same, or similar, stamping tool or punching tool. Each lamination 8, 9 includes at least two holes 22, 23 that are geometrically different, i.e. have a different shape, size and/or orientation.

[0063] In a subsequent step, the laminations 8, 9 are aligned relatively to one other such that the teeth 6 form winding spaces 30 for receiving stator windings, and the holes 22, 23 form axially extending cooling channels 25, 35 inside the stack 3. At least two adjacent holes (22, 23) of adjacent laminations 8, 9 are geometrically different.

[0064] During alignment of the laminations, adjacent laminations 8, 9 are rotated by an angle relatively to one other such that geometrically different holes 22, 23 of the adjacent laminations 8, 9 at least partially overlap to form the cooling channel 25, 35. In particular, the angle can be m*360/n, where n is the number of teeth 6 of each lamination, and m is an integer smaller than n and greater than 0.

[0065] It should be mentioned that the method is particularly suitable for manufacturing the stack 3 of laminations as described above with reference to FIGS. 2-5. Any features described with reference to the stack 3, the machine 1 and/or the cooling circuit 10 can be combined with the features of the method and vice versa as long as they do not contradict each other.

[0066] FIGS. 2-3 show example configurations with relative positioning of the various components. If shown directly contacting each other, or directly coupled, then such elements may be referred to as directly contacting or directly coupled, respectively, at least in one example. Similarly, elements shown contiguous or adjacent to one another may be contiguous or adjacent to each other, respectively, at least in one example. As an example, components laying in face-sharing contact with each other may be referred to as in face-sharing contact. As another example, elements positioned apart from each other with only a space there-between and no other components may be referred to as such, in at least one example. As yet another example, elements shown above/below one another, at opposite sides to one another, or to the left/right of one another may be referred to as such, relative to one another. Further, as shown in the figures, a topmost element or point of element may be referred to as a top of the component and a bottommost element or point of the element may be referred to as a bottom of the component, in at least one example. As used herein, top/bottom, upper/lower, above/below, may be relative to a vertical axis of the figures and used to describe positioning of elements of the figures relative to one another. As such, elements shown above other elements are positioned vertically above the other elements, in one example. As yet another example, shapes of the elements depicted within the figures may be referred to as having those shapes (e.g., such as being circular, straight, planar, curved, rounded, chamfered, angled, or the like). Further, elements shown intersecting one another may be referred to as intersecting elements or intersecting one another, in at least one example. Further still, an element shown within another element or shown outside of another element may be referred as such, in one example.

[0067] Throughout this specification relative language such as the words about and approximately may be used. Unless otherwise specified or described, this language seeks to incorporate at least 10% variability to the specified number or range. That variability may be plus 10% or negative 10% of the particular number specified.

[0068] The foregoing description is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the described embodiments. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the described embodiments to the exact construction and processes shown and described herein. Accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be considered as falling within the scope of the described embodiments as defined by the claims which follow.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0069] 1 electric machine [0070] 2 rotor [0071] 3 stack of laminations [0072] 4 stator [0073] 5 rotor [0074] 6 teeth [0075] 7 lamination [0076] 8 first lamination [0077] 9 second lamination [0078] 10 cooling circuit [0079] 11 end plate [0080] 12 reservoir [0081] 13 cooling liquid [0082] 14 pump [0083] 15 cooling channel [0084] 16 tubing [0085] 17 inlet port [0086] 18 outlet port [0087] 19 direction of fluid flow [0088] 20 heat exchanger [0089] 21 hole [0090] 22 hole [0091] 23 hole [0092] 24 impingement element [0093] 25 cooling channel [0094] 26 impingement element [0095] 27 impingement element [0096] 28 subhole [0097] 29 subhole [0098] 30 winding space [0099] 31 rotation axis [0100] 32 impingement structure [0101] 33 wall of cooling channel [0102] 35 cooling channel [0103] angle formed by adjacent teeth