Cooling device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling devices for machines and technical equipment have limitations in achieving efficient heat transfer and modular design for easy maintenance and performance adjustment.
Innovation Solution
The cooling device features a spiral-shaped evaporator tube with tube loops that taper from the outside to the inside or vice versa, providing a large contact area for heat transfer and a modular design allowing the cooling unit to be easily removed and replaced, with multiple modules that can be combined for varying cooling capacities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional evaporator tube design is used, then the device structure is simple, but the heat transfer efficiency is insufficient due to limited contact area
Solution Approach 1:
The evaporator tube is designed with a spiral configuration instead of a straight or simple coiled shape. This curvature allows the tube to conform to the container's geometry, maximizing the contact surface area between the evaporator tube and the heat transfer medium while maintaining structural integrity and refrigerant flow pathways.
Solution Approach 2:
The evaporator tube transitions from a two-dimensional planar arrangement to a three-dimensional spiral configuration that extends vertically and radially within the container. This dimensional transformation enables the tube to utilize the entire volume of the container, achieving comprehensive heat transfer coverage without increasing the container's footprint.
2Ease of repair
If the cooling unit is designed as a fixed integrated structure, then structural stability is high, but maintenance and performance adjustment are difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling device is divided into distinct modular components: the container housing, the evaporator tube assembly, and the refrigerant circulation system. The evaporator tube is designed as a separate insert that can be removed from the container without disassembling the entire cooling unit, enabling independent maintenance, cleaning, or replacement of the evaporator component while preserving the structural integrity of the main housing.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a single fixed cooling capacity is designed, then the system is simple, but adaptability to varying cooling requirements is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system transitions from a static fixed-capacity design to a dynamic adjustable-capacity system. Multiple evaporator tube modules can be selectively installed or removed from the container, and the spiral configuration allows for variable immersion depths. This enables the cooling capacity to be dynamically adjusted to match varying thermal loads and operational requirements without redesigning the entire system.
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 enhances heat transfer efficiency and allows for convenient maintenance and performance adjustments by providing a high contact area within a small volume, enabling flexible cooling capacity adjustments through modular units.
Implementation Method 1
the refrigerant is evaporated in the evaporator tube. This process extracts heat from the heat transfer medium
Implementation Method 2
efficient and effective heat transfer between the heat transfer medium contained in the vessel and the refrigerant flowing through the evaporator tube
Implementation Method 3
subsequently compressed, transitions into a gaseous state and is then liquefied again while releasing heat
Implementation Method 4
subsequently compressed, transitions into a gaseous state
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
The invention relates to a cooling device (1) for cooling units (2), such as machines or technical equipment, with a container (3) through which a heat transfer medium (7) flows and a cooling unit (12) attached to the container (3), which has a refrigerant (17) circulated in a circuit (20), which, by absorbing heat from the heat transfer medium (7), transitions into a gaseous state when flowing through an evaporator tube (18) projecting into the heat transfer medium (7) and is subsequently compressed, and is then liquefied again while releasing heat.For an improved design, it is proposed that the evaporator tube (18) has tube loops (27) extending from the outside to the inside and/or from the inside to the outside in an evaporator tube section (28, 29), which taper spirally from an outermost tube loop (30) to an innermost tube loop (31) and/or from an innermost tube loop (31) to an outermost tube loop (30), wherein the cooling unit (12) with the evaporator tube (18) sits on the container (3) as a removable module (M).