WO2023210710A1

WO2023210710A1 - Cooling structure, and structure

Info

Publication number: WO2023210710A1
Application number: PCT/JP2023/016524
Authority: WO
Inventors: 広明庄田; 孝宏山下; 誠一伊藤; 裕二福川
Original assignee: 株式会社レゾナック
Priority date: 2022-04-28
Filing date: 2023-04-26
Publication date: 2023-11-02

Abstract

A cooling structure comprising a first outer packaging material, a second outer packaging material, and a joint component, the joint component being secured to the first outer packaging material and not being secured to the second outer packaging material.

Description

Cooling structures and structures

The present disclosure relates to a cooling structure and a structure.

In the field of battery modules installed in electronic devices such as smartphones and personal computers, electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, etc., technologies that incorporate water-cooled coolers, heat pipes, etc. as heat countermeasures are known. Furthermore, in power semiconductor modules made of silicon carbide or the like, measures using cooling plates, heat sinks, etc. have been proposed to prevent heat generation.

For example, a vehicle equipped with a motor, such as a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle, is equipped with a drive means for driving the motor. The driving means includes a power module including a plurality of power semiconductors such as IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors), electronic components such as capacitors, bus bars that electrically connect these electronic components, and the like. When driving a motor, a large current may flow through a bus bar that connects electronic components such as power semiconductors and capacitors. In this case, since the driving means generates heat due to switching loss, resistance loss, etc., it is desirable to cool the driving means efficiently. Furthermore, it is desirable to efficiently cool heat generated from battery modules mounted on vehicles.

As a material for a structure (hereinafter also referred to as a cooling structure) for cooling an object that generates heat (hereinafter also referred to as a cooled object), a metal with high thermal conductivity such as aluminum is generally used. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of ease of attachment to the surface of the object to be cooled, restrictions on installation space, etc., it is desired to reduce the thickness of the cooling structure. However, it is generally difficult to reduce the thickness of metal cooling structures.

As a cooling structure that can achieve a thinner profile, the inner core has an uneven structure to form a flow path inside the bag-shaped outer packaging material, which is made of a laminate material in which both sides of a metal heat transfer layer are laminated with resin layers. A cooling structure in which materials are arranged has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2020-3132 Publication

The cooling structure described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a refrigerant inlet and an outlet on the side surface of the cooling structure, but depending on the shape of the object to be cooled, the condition of the installation space, etc. It is desirable that a refrigerant inlet and an outlet be provided on one of the main surfaces of the refrigerant.
However, it has been found that when the refrigerant inlet and outlet are provided on one of the main surfaces of the cooling structure described in Patent Document 1, wrinkles may occur in the outer packaging material.
When the thickness of the cooling structure is thin, wrinkles generated in the outer packaging material may compress the internal space and impede the flow of the refrigerant. For this reason, it is desirable to suppress the occurrence of wrinkles in the outer packaging material.
In view of this situation, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a cooling structure in which the occurrence of wrinkles in an outer packaging material is suppressed, a structure including the cooling structure, and a method for manufacturing the cooling structure.

Means for solving the above problems include the following aspects.
<1> Comprising a first outer packaging material, a second outer packaging material, and a joint component,
The cooling structure, wherein the joint part is fixed to a first outer wrapper and not fixed to a second outer wrapper.
<2> The cooling structure according to <1>, wherein the joint component includes a joint portion and a base, and the base is fixed to the first outer wrapping material.
<3> The cooling structure according to <1> or <2>, further comprising an inner core material disposed between the first outer wrapping material and the second outer wrapping material.
<4> A structure comprising the cooling structure according to any one of <1> to <3> and a cooled object provided at a position facing the first outer wrapping material of the cooling structure.
<5> Fixing the joint component to the first outer packaging material;
A method for manufacturing a cooling structure, the method comprising: fixing a first outer wrapping material to which the joint component is fixed, and a second outer wrapping material.
<6> The method for manufacturing a cooling structure according to <5>, wherein the fixing is performed by welding.

According to the present disclosure, a cooling structure in which the occurrence of wrinkles in an outer packaging material is suppressed, a structure including this cooling structure, and a method for manufacturing the cooling structure are provided.

1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the appearance of a cooling structure of the present disclosure. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the cooling structure shown in FIG. 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the manufacturing process of a cooling structure different from this disclosure. It is a figure showing an example of the manufacturing process of the cooling structure of this indication. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the cooling structure shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail. However, the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the following embodiments. In the following embodiments, the constituent elements (including elemental steps and the like) are not essential unless otherwise specified. The same applies to numerical values and their ranges, and they do not limit the embodiments of the present disclosure.

When embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to the drawings, the configuration of the embodiments is not limited to the configuration shown in the drawings. Furthermore, the sizes of the members in each figure are conceptual, and the relative size relationships between the members are not limited thereto. Further, in each drawing, members having substantially the same function are given the same reference numerals in all drawings, and redundant explanations will be omitted.
In this disclosure, the term "layer" includes not only the case where the layer is formed in the entire area when observing the area where the layer exists, but also the case where the layer is formed only in a part of the area. included.
In this disclosure, the term "laminate" refers to stacking layers, and two or more layers may be bonded, or two or more layers may be removable.

<Cooling structure>
The cooling structure of the present disclosure includes:
Comprising a first outer packaging material, a second outer packaging material, and a joint component,
The joint component is a cooling structure fixed to the first outer wrapper and not fixed to the second outer wrapper.

In the present disclosure, the term "cooling structure" refers to an object that cools an object to be cooled by circulating a refrigerant therein.
In the present disclosure, the term "joint component" refers to a component that allows refrigerant to flow into or flow out of the cooling structure.

Hereinafter, the cooling structure of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the appearance of a cooling structure according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
The cooling structure 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a first outer packaging material 10A, a first joint component 20A disposed at a refrigerant inlet, and a second joint component 20B disposed at a refrigerant outlet. There is. A second outer wrapping material 10B (not shown) is arranged on the opposite side of the first outer wrapping material 10A of the cooling structure 100.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of the internal structure of the cooling structure 100 shown in FIG. 1. Specifically, it is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of the cooling structure 100 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first outer packaging material 10A and the second outer packaging material 10B are arranged facing each other and fixed at their ends.
A first joint component 20A and a second joint component 20B are each fixed to the first outer packaging material 10A.
The first joint part 20A and the second joint part 20B each include a joint part a for attaching refrigerant piping and a base part b to be fixed to the first outer packaging material, and each base part b is attached to the first outer packaging material. It is fixed to the material 10A.

For example, the cooling structure 100 configured as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is arranged such that the surface on the first outer packaging material 10A side faces an object to be cooled such as a battery module, and the joint portion of the first joint component 20A Refrigerant piping is attached to the joint part a of the joint part a and the second joint part 20B, respectively. The refrigerant flows into the joint part a of the first joint part 20A and flows out from the joint part a of the second joint part 20B.

In the cooling structure 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first joint component 20A and the second joint component 20B are provided near both ends of the cooling structure 100, but the invention is not limited to this case.
For example, both the first joint component 20A and the second joint component 20B are provided near one end of the cooling structure 100, and the refrigerant flowing from the first joint component 20A reciprocates inside the cooling structure. It may flow out from the second joint component 20B.

In the cooling structure 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first joint component 20A and the second joint component 20B are fixed only to the first outer packaging material 10A. Therefore, wrinkles are less likely to occur in the second outer packaging material 10B compared to the case where the first joint component 20A and the second joint component 20B are fixed to both the first outer packaging material 10A and the second outer packaging material 10B. The reason will be explained based on FIGS. 3 and 4.
The joint component 20 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 may be either the first joint component 10A or the second joint component 10B.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a manufacturing process of a cooling structure in which a joint component is fixed to both a first outer wrapping material and a second outer wrapping material.
The joint component 20 used in the method shown in FIG. 3 includes a joint part a, a base part b, and a leg part c, in which the base part b is fixed to the first outer packaging material 10A, and the leg part c is fixed to the second outer packaging material 10B. Ru.
First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the joint component 20 is placed between the first outer packaging material 10A and the second outer packaging material 10B.
Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the ends of the first outer packaging material 10A and the second outer packaging material 10B are fixed by welding, and the base b of the joint component 20 is fixed to the first outer packaging material 10A, The leg part c is fixed to the second outer wrapping material 10B.
Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, each fixed portion is cooled.

In the method shown in FIG. 3, the joint component 20 expands due to heat applied by a hot plate or the like used for welding, and the diameter d1 of the base b expands to become d2, and is fixed to the second outer packaging material 10B. . At this time, the second outer wrapping material 10B also expands due to the heat, but its expansion coefficient is different from that of the joint component 20. Therefore, when the joint component 20 contracts due to cooling and the diameter d2 of the base b returns to the original dimension d1, the dimensions of the second outer packaging material 10B do not return to the original dimensions, and the second outer packaging material 10B Wrinkles occur in the part where the joint part 20 is not welded (that is, the part corresponding to the part between the legs c of the joint part 20).

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a manufacturing process of a cooling structure in which a joint component is fixed only to a first outer packaging material.
First, as shown in FIG. 4A, the base b of the joint component 20 is fixed to the first outer packaging material 10A.
Next, as shown in FIG. 4(B), the end of the first outer packaging material 10A is fixed to the end of the second outer packaging material 10B.
Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, each fixed portion is cooled.

In the method shown in FIG. 4, the joint component 20 is not fixed to the second outer packaging material 10B. Therefore, even if the diameter of the base b of the joint component 20 expands from d1 to d2 or contracts from d2 to d1 due to the heat applied to the joint component 20 when fixing is performed by welding or the like, the second outer packaging material 10B No wrinkles will occur.

Hereinafter, each member constituting the cooling structure will be explained. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these descriptions.

(outer packaging material)
The material of the outer packaging material is not particularly limited, but preferably contains metal from the viewpoint of thermal conductivity. Examples of the metal material include aluminum, aluminum alloy, copper, copper alloy, stainless steel, and nickel. The outer packaging material may contain only one kind of metal or two or more kinds of metals. From the viewpoint of thermal conductivity, cost, etc., aluminum is preferable.
The metal contained in the outer packaging material may be in the form of plated metal foil, clad metal made by bonding different metals, or the like.

It is preferable that the outer packaging material has a resin layer on at least one surface. By having a resin layer on at least one surface of the outer wrapping material, the outer wrapping materials or the outer wrapping material and the joint component can be fixed by welding, for example.

The material of the resin layer is not particularly limited. Examples include polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene or modified resins thereof, fluororesins, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate, and thermoplastic resins such as polyvinyl chloride. Since these resins have excellent weldability, they are also useful in that the outer wrapping materials or the outer wrapping material and the inner core material can be easily fixed to each other by heating.

From the viewpoint of achieving both thermal conductivity and weldability, the outer packaging material is preferably a laminate having a metal layer and a resin layer. It is more preferable that the laminate has the following.
When the outer packaging material is a laminate having a metal layer and a resin layer placed on both sides of the metal layer, the resins contained in the resin layers placed on both sides of the metal layer may be of the same type or different types. Good too. For example, a resin layer corresponding to the outer surface of the cooling structure of the outer packaging material is arranged with consideration to heat resistance, etc., and a resin layer on the opposite side is arranged to prevent welding between the outer packaging materials or between the outer packaging material and the joint parts. The resin layer may be arranged taking this into consideration.

The thickness of the metal layer is not particularly limited. From the viewpoint of strength and thermal conductivity, the thickness of the metal layer is preferably 4 μm or more, more preferably 6 μm or more, and even more preferably 8 μm or more. From the viewpoint of thinning, the thickness of the metal layer is preferably 300 μm or less, more preferably 200 μm or less, and even more preferably 100 μm or less. From this viewpoint, the thickness of the metal layer is preferably 4 μm to 300 μm, more preferably 6 μm to 200 μm, and even more preferably 8 μm to 100 μm.

The thickness of the resin layer is not particularly limited. From the viewpoints of insulation, sufficient protection of the metal layer, adhesion to the object to be heat exchanged, etc., the thickness of the resin layer is preferably 10 μm or more, more preferably 15 μm or more, and 20 μm or more. It is even more preferable that there be. From the viewpoint of thinning, the thickness of the resin layer is preferably 5000 μm or less, more preferably 3000 μm or less, and even more preferably 1000 μm or less. From this viewpoint, the thickness of the resin layer is preferably 10 μm to 5000 μm, more preferably 15 μm to 3000 μm, and even more preferably 20 μm to 1000 μm.
When resin layers are arranged on both sides of the metal layer, the thickness of the resin layer represents the thickness of each resin layer.
In one embodiment, when the resin layer is provided on both sides of the metal layer, from the viewpoint of sufficient protection of the metal layer, the thickness of the resin layer on the inside of the cooling structure must be equal to or greater than the thickness of the resin layer on the outside. Good too.

When the outer packaging material is a laminate having a metal layer and a resin layer, the method of laminating the metal layer and the resin layer is not particularly limited. For example, they may be laminated using an adhesive or by a known lamination method.

The overall thickness of the outer packaging material can be designed depending on the material of the outer packaging material, desired function, etc. For example, the total thickness of the outer packaging material may be 4 μm to 15,000 μm, 10 μm to 10,000 μm, or 30 μm to 5,000 μm.

(Joint parts)
The joint component is not particularly limited as long as it has a shape that can be fixed to the first outer packaging material. The joint component may be an object including, for example, a joint portion for attaching refrigerant piping and a base portion for fixing to the first outer packaging material.

The material of the joint parts is not particularly limited. When the joint component is fixed to the first outer packaging material by welding, the joint component preferably contains a thermoplastic resin. Joint components containing thermoplastic resin can be manufactured by known methods such as injection molding.

The joint parts arranged in the cooling structure may be a combination of a joint part that allows the refrigerant to flow into the cooling structure and a joint part that allows the refrigerant to flow out from the inside of the cooling structure. Alternatively, the joint component may be in a state in which a joint part through which the refrigerant flows in and a joint part through which the refrigerant flows out are integrated.

The position of the joint parts placed in the cooling structure is not particularly limited. For example, a joint part that allows the refrigerant to flow in and a joint part that allows the refrigerant to flow out may be arranged at both ends of the cooling structure, and a joint part that allows the refrigerant to flow into one end of the cooling structure and a joint part that allows the refrigerant to flow out of the cooling structure may be arranged at both ends of the cooling structure. Joint parts may also be arranged.

(Inner core wood)
The cooling structure may include an inner core disposed between the first outer wrapper and the second outer wrapper.
The inner core material disposed between the first outer wrapping material and the second outer wrapping material serves, for example, to form a flow path for the refrigerant to flow inside the cooling structure, and to serve as a support supporting the internal space of the cooling structure. fulfill the roles of

From the viewpoint of forming a flow path for the refrigerant to flow inside the cooling structure, the inner core material may be a sheet-like material having an uneven shape.
Examples of the sheet-like object having an uneven shape include a sheet-like object that is folded into a corrugated shape by corrugating or pleating, a sheet-like object that has unevenness such as projections formed by embossing, and the like.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the cooling structure when the inner core material folded into a corrugated shape is arranged between the first outer wrapping material and the second outer wrapping material. Specifically, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the cooling structure 100 shown in FIG. 1 taken along line BB.
As shown in FIG. 5, by arranging the inner core material 30 bent into a wave shape between the first outer packaging material 10A and the second outer packaging material 10B, The space can be divided into a plurality of regions, and the plurality of divided spaces can be used as flow paths. Further, the inner core member 30 serves as a support supporting the internal space of the cooling structure.
The cross-sectional shape of the inner core material shown in FIG. 5 is an example, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the number of folds of the inner core may be different from the number shown in FIG.

The material of the inner core material is not particularly limited, but preferably contains metal from the viewpoint of thermal conductivity. Examples of the metal material include aluminum, aluminum alloy, copper, copper alloy, stainless steel, and nickel. The inner core material may contain only one kind of metal or two or more kinds of metals. From the viewpoint of thermal conductivity, cost, etc., aluminum is preferable.
The metal contained in the inner core material may be in the form of plated metal foil, clad metal made by bonding different metals, or the like.

It is preferable that at least the surface of the inner core material is made of resin. Since the surface of the inner core material is made of resin, the inner core material and the outer wrapping material can be fixed by welding, for example.

The material of the resin is not particularly limited. Examples include polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene or modified resins thereof, fluororesins, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate, and thermoplastic resins such as polyvinyl chloride. Since these resins have excellent weldability, they are also useful in that the outer wrapping materials or the outer wrapping material and the inner core material can be easily fixed to each other by heating.

From the viewpoint of achieving both thermal conductivity and weldability, the inner core material is preferably a laminate having a metal layer and a resin layer. More preferably, it is a laminate having:
When the inner core material is a laminate having a metal layer and resin layers placed on both sides of the metal layer, the resins contained in the resin layers placed on both sides of the metal layer may be of the same type or different types. Good too.

The thickness of the resin layer is not particularly limited. From the viewpoints of insulation, sufficient protection of the metal layer, adhesion to the object to be heat exchanged, etc., the thickness of the resin layer is preferably 10 μm or more, more preferably 15 μm or more, and 20 μm or more. It is even more preferable that there be. From the viewpoint of thinning, the thickness of the resin layer is preferably 5000 μm or less, more preferably 3000 μm or less, and even more preferably 1000 μm or less. From this viewpoint, the thickness of the resin layer is preferably 10 μm to 5000 μm, more preferably 15 μm to 3000 μm, and even more preferably 20 μm to 1000 μm.
When resin layers are arranged on both sides of the metal layer, the thickness of the resin layer represents the thickness of each resin layer.

When the inner core material is a laminate having a metal layer and a resin layer, the method of laminating the metal layer and the resin layer is not particularly limited. For example, they may be laminated using an adhesive or by a known lamination method.

The overall thickness of the inner core material can be designed depending on the material of the inner core material, desired function, etc. For example, the total thickness of the inner core may be between 4 μm and 15,000 μm, between 10 μm and 10,000 μm, and between 30 μm and 5,000 μm.

The number of inner core materials arranged in the cooling structure is not particularly limited. For example, one inner core member may be placed inside the cooling structure, or a plurality of inner core members having predetermined dimensions may be arranged side by side inside the cooling structure. When arranging multiple inner core members side by side inside a cooling structure, instead of fabricating inner core members according to the dimensions of the cooling structure, it is possible to adjust the number of inner core members to be placed inside the cooling structure as desired. It is possible to form a flow path, which is excellent from the viewpoint of mass production.

The thickness of the cooling structure is not particularly limited and can be selected depending on the usage of the cooling structure.
The thickness of the cooling structure may be, for example, in the range of 0.5 mm to 50 mm.
The above thickness is the thickness of the portion of the cooling structure where the flow path exists, and if the thickness is not constant, it is the arithmetic mean value of the values measured at five arbitrary locations.

In an embodiment of the cooling structure, the first outer wrapping material and the second outer wrapping material are each a laminate having a polypropylene (PP) layer, a metal layer, and a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) layer in this order, and the inner core material includes a PP layer, It is a laminate having a metal layer and a PP layer in this order, and has a structure in which the PP layers of the first outer wrapping material and the second outer wrapping material are each fixed to the PP layer of the inner core material.
In the cooling structure of the above embodiment, the outer surface is covered with a PET layer, the PP layers of the first outer wrapping material and the second outer wrapping material are welded at the ends, and the PP layers of the first outer wrapping material and the second outer wrapping material are welded inside. It has a structure in which the layers and the PP layer of the inner core material are welded together.

The cooling structure of the present disclosure can be widely used for cooling heating elements, for example, for cooling battery modules, power semiconductor modules, etc. installed in electronic devices such as smartphones and personal computers, electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, etc. It is valid.

<Structure>
The structure of the present disclosure includes the above-described cooling structure of the present disclosure and a cooled object provided at a position facing the first outer wrapping material of the cooling structure.
In the structure of the present disclosure, for example, a joint component fixed to the first outer wrapping material of the cooling structure is connected to a refrigerant pipe to supply the refrigerant into the inside of the cooling structure, and the joint component is connected to the first outer wrapping material to face the first outer wrapping material. Cools an object to be cooled provided at a position.
Examples of the object to be cooled include electronic devices such as smartphones and personal computers, battery modules installed in electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and power semiconductor modules.

<Method for manufacturing cooling structure>
The method for manufacturing a cooling structure of the present disclosure includes:
fixing the joint component to the first outer packaging material;
The method includes fixing a first outer wrapping material to which a joint component is fixed, and a second outer wrapping material.

In the cooling structure manufactured by the above method, the joint components are not fixed to the second outer packaging material. Therefore, in the cooling structure manufactured by the above method, the occurrence of wrinkles in the second outer wrapping material is suppressed.

In the above method, the method of fixing the joint component to the first outer packaging material and the method of fixing the first outer packaging material and the second outer packaging material to which the joint component is fixed are not particularly limited.
From the viewpoint of productivity, it is preferable that the above-mentioned fixing is performed by welding. The method of fixing by welding is not particularly limited, and can be carried out using a hot plate or the like.

In the above method, when fixing the first outer wrapping material and the second outer wrapping material, the inner core material disposed between the first outer wrapping material and the second outer wrapping material, the first outer wrapping material and the second outer wrapping material are may be fixed.
By arranging the inner core material between the first outer wrapping material and the second outer wrapping material and fixing the inner core material to the first outer wrapping material and the second outer wrapping material, the inside of the cooling structure is divided into a plurality of spaces. A flow path can be formed.

The details and preferred embodiments of the cooling structure manufactured by the above method are the same as the details and preferred embodiments of the cooling structure of the present disclosure described above.
The details and preferred aspects of the outer wrapping material, joint parts, and inner core material used in manufacturing the cooling structure are the same as the details and preferred aspects of the outer wrapping material, joint parts, and inner core material that constitute the cooling structure of the present disclosure described above. It is.

The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-075455 is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. All documents, patent applications, and technical standards mentioned herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual document, patent application, and technical standard was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

Comprising a first outer packaging material, a second outer packaging material, and a joint component,
The cooling structure, wherein the joint part is fixed to a first outer wrapper and not fixed to a second outer wrapper.
The cooling structure according to claim 1, wherein the joint component includes a joint portion and a base, and the base is fixed to the first outer wrapping material.
The cooling structure according to claim 1, further comprising an inner core material disposed between the first outer wrapping material and the second outer wrapping material.
A structure comprising the cooling structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and a cooled object provided at a position facing the first outer packaging material of the cooling structure.
fixing the joint component to the first outer packaging material;
A method for manufacturing a cooling structure, the method comprising: fixing a first outer wrapping material to which the joint component is fixed, and a second outer wrapping material.
The method for manufacturing a cooling structure according to claim 5, wherein the fixing is performed by welding.