Hermetic Containment for Liquid-Cooled Quick Disconnects
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current liquid-cooled test systems face issues with leaks due to the susceptibility of O-ring seals in quick disconnects to damage, contamination, and wear, leading to potential electrical instrumentation damage and system downtime.
Innovation Solution
A test system design featuring hermetically sealed containment chambers around quick disconnects, with a manifold and compression plates to form a containment zone, and a vacuum system to extract leaked coolant, along with sensors to detect leaks and alert operators, thereby minimizing the risk of coolant leaks and system damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If O-ring seals are used in quick disconnects for liquid cooling connections, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to susceptibility to leaking from damage, contamination, and wear
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the cooling fluid pathway into multiple sealed containment chambers, each isolated around individual quick disconnects. This segmentation ensures that a leak in one chamber does not compromise other connections, maintaining system reliability while preserving the ease of quick disconnect operation.
Solution Approach 2:
Hermetic seals and containment chambers act as intermediary barriers between the cooling fluid and the external environment. These intermediaries protect against leaks by creating isolated zones that contain any potential fluid escape, thus resolving the contradiction between easy operation and leak resistance.
2Temperature
If water or other liquids are used as coolant, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but object-generated harmful factors worsen due to biological growth, corrosion, and electrical conductivity
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the harmful property of water's electrical conductivity and corrosiveness by containing it within isolated hermetic chambers. This conversion of harm into benefit allows water to be used as an effective coolant while its potentially harmful effects are confined and controlled, preventing damage to surrounding components.
Solution Approach 2:
The hermetic containment chambers create an inert, isolated environment for the coolant, protecting it from external contaminants that would promote biological growth and corrosion. This inert environment allows water to be used as coolant without the harmful side effects, resolving the contradiction between cooling effectiveness and harm prevention.
3Reliability
If robust fluid connections are used to address leaks, then reliability is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation worsen due to elimination of quick disconnects
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the connection system into multiple isolated containment chambers, each with its own hermetic seal. This segmentation allows the use of simple quick disconnect mechanisms within each isolated zone, maintaining ease of operation while the overall segmented structure provides robust leak prevention, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and 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
The solution effectively contains and removes leaked coolant, reducing the risk of electrical damage and system downtime by creating a sealed environment and using a vacuum system to extract leaks, while allowing for quick and secure connections and disconnections.
Implementation Method 1
A vacuum generator may be configured to reduce air pressure in the containment zone through suction
Data Source
AI summary
An example test system includes: a manifold including fluid channels, where the fluid channels are for holding coolant; a quick disconnect mechanically coupled to the manifold, where the quick disconnect includes a channel for passing coolant between a fluid channel and a test board; a containment plate mechanically coupled to the manifold, and a cover over at least part of the quick disconnect, where the cover is hermetically sealed to the quick disconnect and to the containment plate to thereby form a containment chamber.