Flexible Cooling Mat for MRI Gradient Coil Heat Dissipation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gradient coil cooling systems are complex and costly to produce, with narrow radii limitations and inefficient heat dissipation due to the manual winding of cooling tubes, which restricts their ability to effectively manage high heat losses from surface coils in magnetic resonance devices.
Innovation Solution
A flexible, mat-type cooling apparatus with a large coolant-holding space and thin plastic films that can be easily integrated between surface coils, allowing for efficient heat exchange and production without the need for manual winding, featuring a network of coolant channels optimized for parallel and series circuits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If cooling tubes are manually wound onto a supporting plate and fixed with waxed silk cords, then the cooling apparatus can be assembled, but the production process becomes very complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces rigid cooling tubes with flexible cooling mats made of thin plastic films (≤0.5 mm thickness). These mats can be easily bent and conform to the supporting plate geometry without requiring manual winding or complex fixation, thus simplifying the manufacturing process while reducing assembly complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical state and form of the cooling apparatus from rigid tubular structures to flexible thin-film mats. This parameter change allows the cooling apparatus to be produced more simply and integrated more easily into the gradient coil structure without manual winding operations
2Adaptability or versatility
If cooling tubes with external diameter of 8 mm and wall thickness of 1 mm are used, then the cooling apparatus can be constructed, but narrow radii cannot be wound without risking excessive cross-sectional narrowing or kink formation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses thin plastic films (≤0.5 mm thickness, particularly ≤0.2 mm) instead of rigid cooling tubes. This flexibility allows the cooling mat to conform to narrow radii and complex geometries without kinking or cross-sectional narrowing, ensuring reliable cooling coverage in all regions including tight spaces
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from one-dimensional tubular cooling structures to two-dimensional mat-type surface structures. This dimensional change allows the cooling apparatus to cover large areas and adapt to complex geometries including narrow radii, eliminating the limitations of tubular structures while maintaining cooling effectiveness
3Loss of energy
If several 100 m of cooling tube per surface coil are provided with several parallel cooling circuits, then heat dissipation efficiency is maximized, but the insertion and winding process becomes very complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex tubular cooling circuits with simple thin-film mats that inherently provide large surface area contact. The mats maintain excellent heat exchange efficiency through their large contact area with the supporting plate while eliminating the complexity of winding and assembling hundreds of meters of tubing with multiple parallel circuits
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the functions of multiple parallel cooling circuits into a single integrated thin-film mat structure. The mat provides comprehensive cooling coverage across the entire surface coil area through its large contact area, eliminating the need for separate parallel circuit assemblies while maintaining heat dissipation efficiency
4Ease of manufacture
If the cooling apparatus is designed as a mat-type surface structure with thin plastic films, then production is simpler and cost-effective, but the structure must maintain sufficient mechanical stability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies using plastic films with thickness ≤0.5 mm (particularly ≤0.2 mm) that provide the necessary flexibility for simple production and geometric adaptation while maintaining sufficient mechanical stability through the film material properties and structural design
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses plastic film materials that combine flexibility with sufficient mechanical strength. The composite structure of the thin-film mat provides both the ease of manufacture required and the structural stability needed to maintain the cooling apparatus integrity during operation
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 solution enables simple, cost-effective production and efficient heat dissipation over a large area, reducing thermal resistance and pressure loss, and allowing for closer coil arrangements while maintaining effective cooling with minimal space requirements.
Implementation Method 1
the coolant can circulate through the entire inner space, from inflow to outflow, a very large contact or heat-absorbing surface inevitably results in the direction of the heat sources, in other words the surface coils, so that there is an excellent heat exchange
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling apparatus for arrangement between two surface coils of a gradient coil to dissipate the heat produced when current is supplied to the surface coils by a coolant flowing into the cooling apparatus, is formed as a flexible, mat-type surface structure, and has a coolant-holding space with at least one coolant inflow and at least one coolant outflow.