CT Scanner Cooling Duct Design for Pressure Drop Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Computed tomography devices with central cooling fans experience significant pressure drops and noise due to incorrect air guidance in their cooling systems, leading to inefficient cooling.
Innovation Solution
A cooling system for computed tomography devices that includes a fan, a fan housing with a widening first flow duct, an annular frame for rotational bearing accommodation, and an annular second flow duct, where the fan is attached immovably outside the annular frame, guiding the air stream from the fan's pressure side to the annular second flow duct, allowing for improved air cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a central cooling fan is used to generate high flow velocity for cooling the computed tomography device, then cooling efficiency is improved, but pressure drops increase and noise is generated
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is divided into multiple independent flow ducts (first flow duct, second flow duct, third flow duct) that guide air from different locations of the rotating frame to different locations of the stationary frame. This segmentation allows the high flow velocity generated by the central fan to be distributed and utilized effectively without concentrating all the flow in a single path, thereby reducing pressure drops and noise while maintaining cooling efficiency.
2Device complexity
If incorrect air guidance is designed in the cooling system, then device complexity is reduced, but pressure drops increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The air guidance system is designed with local optimization at critical locations. The first flow duct guides air from the front region of the rotating frame to the front region of the stationary frame, the second flow duct guides air from the rear region to the rear region, and the third flow duct guides air from the lateral region to the lateral region. This local quality approach ensures that air flow is optimized at each specific location, reducing pressure drops without requiring overly complex overall design.
3Volume of moving object
If the fan is arranged inside the annular frame, then device compactness is improved, but maintenance accessibility and heat dissipation are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The fan is extracted from the interior of the rotating frame and positioned in the stationary frame instead. This allows the fan to be more easily accessible for maintenance while still effectively cooling the rotating components through the designed flow ducts. The extraction principle resolves the conflict between compactness and maintainability by relocating the fan to a more accessible position without sacrificing cooling performance.
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 reduces pressure drops and noise, enabling more efficient air cooling with fewer components, thereby reducing costs and space requirements while maintaining effective cooling performance.
Implementation Method 1
a fan for generating an air stream... guiding the air stream via the first flow duct from the fan to the annular second flow duct
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling system for a computed tomography device includes a fan for generating an air stream and a fan housing; first flow duct for guiding the air stream is formed in the fan housing and relatively widens out in a direction of flow of the air stream; and an annular frame for accommodating a rotational bearing. A rotating frame of the computed tomography device is connectable to the annular frame and is mounted rotatably relative to the annular frame about an axis of rotation. An annular second flow duct for guiding the air stream is formed in the annular frame and the fan is attached to the annular frame via the fan housing such that the fan is arranged outside the annular frame and the air stream is guided via the first flow duct from the fan to the annular second flow duct.