Cooling Unit Tank Positioning to Prevent Air Entry Into Pump Chamber
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooling units experience a decrease in refrigerant amount and air entry into the pump chamber, leading to reduced cooling efficiency as the unit is used.
Innovation Solution
The cooling unit design features a tank with a recessed chamber positioned above the pump chamber, where the upper end of the tank chamber is higher than the pump chamber, allowing air to be retained and preventing its entry into the pump chamber, thereby maintaining refrigerant circulation and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If the cooling unit is used continuously, then cooling function is provided, but refrigerant amount decreases and air enters the pump chamber leading to deteriorated cooling efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The tank chamber is pre-filled with refrigerant to a level higher than the pump chamber upper end before operation begins. This preliminary action ensures that even after refrigerant consumption over time, the tank chamber maintains a refrigerant reservoir that prevents air from entering the pump chamber, thus preserving cooling efficiency during continuous operation
Solution Approach 2:
The tank chamber acts as an intermediary reservoir between the refrigerant source and the pump chamber. It buffers refrigerant supply, ensuring that the pump chamber remains filled with refrigerant and air cannot enter, thereby maintaining reliable cooling operation over extended periods
2Device complexity
If air enters the pump chamber, then refrigerant circulation amount decreases, but the pump structure remains simple
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful element (air) is excluded from the pump chamber by designing the tank chamber to extend higher than the pump chamber. This structural extraction of air from the system prevents air from entering the pump, maintaining refrigerant circulation without adding complex mechanical components like check valves or seals
Solution Approach 2:
The solution moves from a horizontal arrangement to a vertical arrangement where the tank chamber extends in the vertical direction above the pump chamber. This dimensional change uses gravity and pressure differential to prevent air entry, achieving the same protective function without additional mechanical complexity
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 design effectively inhibits air entry into the pump chamber, ensuring consistent refrigerant circulation and preventing deterioration in cooling efficiency even when the refrigerant amount decreases.
Implementation Method 1
an upper end of the tank chamber in a first direction is positioned at an upper side than an upper end of the pump chamber in the first direction
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling unit has a cold plate extending in a horizontal direction, and a tank and a pump disposed above the cold plate in a first direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction. The tank has a tank chamber which stores a refrigerant. The pump has a pump chamber in which a rotating body that transfers the refrigerant is accommodated, and an upper end of the tank chamber in the first direction is positioned at an upper side than an upper end of the pump chamber in the first direction.