Air Guiding Apparatus for Fan Hot Air Recirculation Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In electronic device systems, a faulty fan can cause hot air to recirculate back into the rack, disrupting heat dissipation and increasing the temperature of the heat source, which existing technologies fail to effectively address.
Innovation Solution
The electronic device system incorporates a plurality of fans and air guiding apparatuses, where the air guiding direction of an air guiding apparatus corresponding to a faulty fan deviates from that of a neighboring fan, allowing hot air to be cooled and redirected away from the faulty fan, thereby improving heat dissipation by ensuring that hot air is not immediately reintroduced into the heat source.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fan is faulty and continues to operate, then the fan structure remains simple and easy to manufacture, but hot air recirculates back into the rack causing heat dissipation failure
Solution Approach 1:
An air guiding apparatus is introduced as an intermediary component between the fan and the rack environment. This apparatus includes a guiding structure that redirects the airflow direction, preventing hot air from recirculating back into the rack while allowing the faulty fan to continue operating. The intermediary structure resolves the contradiction by adding a relatively simple guiding mechanism rather than replacing the entire fan system.
Solution Approach 2:
The air guiding apparatus is designed as a separate, independent component that can be installed on individual fans. This segmentation allows the solution to be applied selectively to faulty fans without modifying the entire rack cooling system, maintaining simplicity while improving reliability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the air guiding direction is fixed for all fans, then the device structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but it cannot adapt when a fan becomes faulty causing hot air recirculation
Solution Approach 1:
The air guiding apparatus employs asymmetric guiding structures where adjacent fans have different air guiding directions. Specifically, fans on one side of the rack are guided to expel air at different angles than fans on the opposite side. This asymmetric design ensures that even when a fan fails, the hot air from that fan does not recirculate back into the rack because the guiding direction is already optimized to prevent such recirculation in asymmetric configurations.
3Reliability
If hot air is immediately expelled from a faulty fan, then the heat dissipation process is simple and fast, but the hot air flows back into the rack exacerbating the high temperature
Solution Approach 1:
The air guiding apparatus introduces directional control in multiple dimensions by tilting the air guiding directions at specific angles (e.g., positive and negative 45 degrees) relative to the rack axis. This dimensional change in airflow direction ensures that hot air from faulty fans is expelled laterally or at angles that prevent recirculation, rather than directly backward into the rack. The multi-dimensional airflow control adds complexity only in the airflow path configuration, not in the overall device structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration effectively prevents the exacerbation of high temperatures within the electronic device system, enhancing heat dissipation from the heat source even when a fan is faulty, by ensuring that hot air is cooled and properly expelled, thus optimizing the heat dissipation process.
Implementation Method 1
hot air expelled from a neighboring fan is guided by an air guiding apparatus corresponding to the neighboring fan to be cooled when flowing in a low temperature environment
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device system, a manufacturing method, and a method for controlling the electronic device system, in field of heat dissipation technologies. The electronic device system includes a heat source, a plurality of fans, and a plurality of air guiding apparatuses. The heat source is located on air inlet sides of the plurality of fans, and the plurality of air guiding apparatuses are located on air outlet sides of the plurality of fans. The plurality of air guiding apparatuses are configured such that, when there is a faulty fan, an air guiding direction of an air guiding apparatus corresponding to the faulty fan and an air guiding direction of an air guiding apparatus corresponding to a neighboring fan deviate from each other.