Enclosure Fluid Inducement Chamber for Vapor Lock Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional suction pumps are susceptible to cavitation and vapor lock when draining liquid and vapor mixtures, leading to inefficiencies in cooling and heating processes, especially in dynamic environments like vehicles where orientation and acceleration can affect fluid drainage.
Innovation Solution
An enclosure with a fluid inducement chamber that uses a motive fluid to differentially pressure the operative fluid, allowing for efficient drainage of liquid while preventing vapor lock, and can be oriented in various positions due to multiple exits and inducement chambers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional suction pump is used to drain fluid from the container space, then the pump can remove fluid, but the pump becomes susceptible to cavitation and vapor lock when liquid and vapor are present
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using suction to pull fluid out (which causes vapor lock), the invention uses pressure differential created by motive fluid to push the operative fluid out through the exit. This reverses the conventional approach from suction-based to pressure-based drainage, eliminating cavitation and vapor lock issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a motive fluid as an intermediary substance that creates the pressure differential needed for drainage. The motive fluid acts as a mediator between the pressure source and the operative fluid, transferring energy without the operative fluid directly contacting moving mechanical parts that would cause cavitation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the enclosure is used in dynamic environments like vehicles with varying orientation and acceleration, then the enclosure must adapt to different positions, but conventional drainage systems become ineffective
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure is designed with multiple exits and inducement chambers that can function in any orientation. The system is not dependent on gravity alone but uses pressure differential from motive fluid, making it universally effective across all orientations and acceleration conditions, unlike conventional gravity-dependent drainage systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adapts to changing orientations and acceleration conditions by maintaining pressure differential-driven flow rather than relying on static gravity-dependent drainage. The motive fluid continuously creates the necessary pressure gradient regardless of the enclosure's position or motion state.
3Productivity
If liquid is not completely drained from the container space, then the cooling or heating process effectiveness is reduced, but using conventional pumps causes vapor lock that prevents complete drainage
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting from suction to pressure-based drainage, the system can completely evacuate liquid from the container space without the vapor lock that plagues suction systems. The pressure differential continuously pushes remaining liquid out, ensuring complete drainage and maintaining optimal cooling or heating effectiveness.
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
Ensures reliable and efficient drainage of liquid from a container space containing both liquid and vapor, maintaining cooling or heating effectiveness regardless of orientation or acceleration, and can be used in diverse applications including electronic device cooling and fluid supply in vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
Circuit(s) and/or chamber(s) in the wall structure cause a motive fluid to produce a differential pressure that induces the operative fluid in the container space through the exit to the enclosure's outlet
Data Source
AI summary
An enclosure (100) comprising a wall structure (110) defining a container space (112) and electronic devices (114) contained within this space (112). The wall structure (110) includes an entrance for providing an operative fluid (e.g., a heat-transfer fluid) into the container space (112) and an exit for draining the operative fluid therefrom. The wall structure (110) includes an inducement chamber that, when a motive fluid is introduced through an inlet (120), produces a differential pressure that induces the operative fluid in the container space (112) to flow through the exit to an outlet (122). The wall structure (110) can be at least partially constructed from a stack (400) of plates having openings and grooves forming the inlet, the outlet, the entrance, the exit, the fluid circuits, and the chambers.