Angled Contact Shock Freezer Plates for Faster Plasma Bag Freezing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical contact shock freezers are inefficient in freezing blood plasma bags due to air pockets forming between the plasma and the bag walls when the plates are horizontal, which slows down the freezing process.
Innovation Solution
Angling the upper freezing plate and the bags at a small angle (e.g., 2° to 10°) helps displace air bubbles away from the center, improving heat transfer and freezing reliability, while maintaining a compact design to accommodate multiple bags simultaneously.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the freezing plates are arranged horizontally, then the device structure is simple and easy to operate, but air pockets form between the plasma and bag walls which slows down the freezing process
Solution Approach 1:
The freezing plates are arranged at an angle (e.g., 5 degrees) to the horizontal rather than being completely horizontal. This asymmetric arrangement causes air bubbles to migrate to higher regions of the bag during freezing, preventing them from forming insulating pockets between the plasma and the cooling plate, thereby maintaining efficient heat transfer and freezing speed while still allowing easy bag loading.
2Reliability
If the freezing plates are angled to displace air bubbles, then the freezing reliability and speed improve, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The angle of the freezing plates is optimized to a small value (e.g., 5 degrees) rather than a large angle. This parameter optimization achieves the desired effect of displacing air bubbles to improve freezing reliability while minimizing the increase in device complexity. The small angle requires only minor structural adjustments to the plate mounting while still providing effective air bubble displacement.
3Productivity
If the freezing time is reduced, then the productivity increases, but the freezing temperature must be lowered which increases energy consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The air bubbles, which were previously harmful by forming insulating pockets and slowing freezing, are converted into a beneficial indicator. By angling the plates, air bubbles naturally migrate to higher regions during the freezing process, serving as a visual indicator that the freezing is proceeding correctly. This eliminates the need for excessive cooling power to compensate for poor thermal contact, maintaining high productivity without excessive energy consumption.
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 approach significantly reduces the freezing time of blood plasma bags to -30°C, ensuring consistent quality and reliability, even with occasional air bubbles present, and allows for rapid freezing of multiple bags within a short timeframe.
Implementation Method 1
any air bubbles present are displaced away from the centre of the plasma bag
Implementation Method 2
angling the bags and/or the upper and/or lower freezing plate, any air bubbles present are displaced
Implementation Method 3
heat transfer from the plasma to the cooling plates
Implementation Method 4
freezing a plurality of individual bags in a medical shock freezer can be improved by arranging the contact surface of the upper freezing plate at an angle to the horizontal
Data Source
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AI summary
A medical contact shock freezer (10) adapted for fast freezing a plurality of individual bags (41-43, 51-53) containing a medical liquid, the individual bags being arranged side by side, adjacent to each other, in which the contact shock freezer comprises a pair of freezing plates comprising an upper freezing plate (21) and a lower freezing plate (22), at least one of the upper and lower freezing plates of the pair being moveable to define i) a loading position in which sufficient separation is provided between the freezing plates to load or unload the individual bags between the freezing plates and ii) a freezing position in which each individual bag is in contact with and is clamped between a contact surface of the upper freezing plate and a contact surface of the lower freezing plate; and in which, in its freezing position, the contact surface of the upper freezing plate is arranged at an angle of at least 2° to the horizontal.