Additively manufactured cooling assemblies for thermal and/or mechanical systems, and methods for manufacturing the assemblies

Abstract

A multi-domain cooling assembly configured to be coupled with one or more heat sources includes a body having an outer surface and at least one cooling chamber disposed inside the body. The at least one cooling chamber extends in at least two orthogonal dimensions and includes a working fluid to extract thermal energy from the one or more heat sources. The assembly includes a cooling channel disposed within the body and fluidly coupled with a passageway that carries cooling fluid into and out of the cooling channel. At least a portion of the cooling fluid is a liquid phase, a gas phase, or a liquid-gas mix phase. The cooling channel is fluidly separate from the at least one cooling chamber. The cooling channel is thermally coupled with the at least one cooling chamber. The at least one cooling chamber transfers thermal energy from the working fluid to the cooling fluid.

1 . A multi-domain cooling assembly configured to be coupled with one or more heat sources, the multi-domain cooling assembly comprising:
 a body comprising an outer surface and at least one cooling chamber disposed inside the body, the at least one cooling chamber extending in at least two orthogonal dimensions and including a working fluid configured to extract thermal energy from the one or more heat sources; and   a cooling channel disposed within the body and fluidly coupled with a passageway that is configured to carry cooling fluid into and out of the cooling channel, wherein at least a portion of the cooling fluid is configured to be a liquid phase, a gas phase, or a liquid-gas mix phase,   wherein the cooling channel is fluidly separate from the at least one cooling chamber, and   wherein the cooling channel is thermally coupled with the at least one cooling chamber, wherein the at least one cooling chamber is configured to transfer thermal energy from the working fluid to the cooling fluid.   
     
     
         2 . The multi-domain cooling assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one cooling chamber is a thermal energy storage reservoir enclosed within the body of the cooling assembly, wherein the thermal energy storage reservoir is thermally coupled with the cooling channel. 
     
     
         3 . The multi-domain cooling assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the working fluid disposed within the thermal energy storage reservoir is a phase change material, wherein the phase change material is configured to change between a solid phase and a liquid phase. 
     
     
         4 . The multi-domain cooling assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the thermal energy storage reservoir includes containment walls extending around and defining the enclosed thermal energy storage reservoir. 
     
     
         5 . The multi-domain cooling assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the cooling channel is configured to direct the cooling fluid in one or more different directions within the body of the cooling assembly. 
     
     
         6 . The multi-domain cooling assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one cooling chamber is a conformal vapor chamber enclosed within the body, wherein the working fluid disposed within the conformal vapor chamber is a liquid phase and a gas phase of the working fluid. 
     
     
         7 . The multi-domain cooling assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the working fluid is configured to change between the liquid phase and the gas phase of the working fluid as the conformal vapor chamber extracts thermal energy from the one or more heat sources. 
     
     
         8 . The multi-domain cooling assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the conformal vapor chamber includes hermetic walls extending around and defining the enclosed conformal vapor chamber. 
     
     
         9 . The multi-domain cooling assembly of  claim 8 , wherein one or more of the hermetic walls of the conformal vapor chamber is a non-planar wall. 
     
     
         10 . The multi-domain cooling assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the cooling fluid is configured to change between a liquid phase and a gas phase as the cooling fluid extracts thermal energy from the working fluid disposed within the at least one cooling chamber. 
     
     
         11 . The multi-domain cooling assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the outer surface of the body comprises one or more surfaces, wherein one or more of the surfaces is a non-planar surface. 
     
     
         12 . The multi-domain cooling assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the cooling channel comprises channel walls defining the cooling channel, wherein one or more of the channel walls is a non-planar wall. 
     
     
         13 . The multi-domain cooling assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the cooling channel is a first cooling channel, the cooling assembly further comprising a second cooling channel fluidly coupled with the first cooling channel, wherein the first cooling channel is configured to direct the cooling fluid from the first cooling channel to the second cooling channel through one or more impingement holes. 
     
     
         14 . The multi-domain cooling assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the first cooling channel is configured to extend in a first direction, and the second cooling channel is configured to extend in a different, second direction. 
     
     
         15 . The multi-domain cooling assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the body includes at least two cooling chambers, wherein a first cooling chamber is a thermal energy storage reservoir enclosed within the body of the cooling assembly, and a second cooling chamber is a conformal vapor chamber 
     
     
         16 . The multi-domain cooling assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one cooling chamber and the cooling channel are configured to be additively manufactured within the body of the cooling assembly. 
     
     
         17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . An additively manufactured body comprising:
 one or more cooling chambers enclosed inside the body, the one or more cooling chambers including one or more of a liquid phase, a gas phase, or a liquid-gas phase mixture of a working fluid inside the one or more cooling chambers, the one or more cooling chambers extending in at least two orthogonal dimensions; and   a cooling channel fluidly coupled with a passageway that is configured to carry cooling fluid into and out of the cooling channel, wherein at least a portion of the cooling fluid is configured to be a liquid phase, a gas phase, or a liquid-gas mix phase, the cooling channel extending in at least two orthogonal dimensions, wherein the cooling channel is thermally coupled with the one or more cooling chambers,   wherein one or more of the cooling channel or the one or more cooling chambers are configured to extract thermal energy from a heat source coupled with the additively manufactured body,   wherein the cooling channel and each of the one or more cooling chambers are fluidly separate from each other, and   wherein the one or more cooling chambers and the cooling channel are configured to be additively manufactured within the body of the cooling assembly.