Optical Feedthrough Sealing Block for Immersion Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data center interconnection systems face challenges in managing high data throughput and heat dissipation, particularly in immersion cooling environments, where fluid-tight seals are needed to prevent leaks while facilitating optical and copper cable communication.
Innovation Solution
The development of a feedthrough device with a housing assembly, including a front housing frame, rear housing unit, and optical signal module, featuring a sealing block and cable boot to create a hermetic seal for fiber optic cables, allowing data communication through immersion cooling systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a hermetic seal is implemented to prevent fluid leaks in immersion cooling systems, then sealing reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to the need for specialized sealing structures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible gasket made of elastomeric material that forms a hermetic seal between the feedthrough device and the immersion cooling system housing. The gasket's flexibility allows it to conform to surface irregularities and maintain sealing under thermal expansion and contraction, achieving reliable sealing without complex rigid sealing mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a gasket as an intermediary sealing element between the feedthrough device and the housing. This gasket acts as a mediator that creates the hermetic seal, simplifying the overall sealing structure by concentrating the sealing function in a single dedicated component rather than requiring complex integrated sealing features throughout the device.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple cable bundles are routed through the housing, then data communication capability is improved, but maintaining fluid-tight sealing becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cable routing by providing individual cable boots for each fiber optic cable bundle and dedicated sealing structures for each cable penetration point. This segmentation allows each cable to be sealed independently, maintaining fluid-tight integrity even with multiple cables passing through the housing.
Solution Approach 2:
The gasket structure is designed with universal sealing capability that can accommodate multiple cable bundles of varying sizes and configurations. The gasket's continuous sealing surface and flexible material properties allow it to seal around multiple penetrations simultaneously, maintaining fluid-tight sealing while supporting high data communication capability through multiple optical and copper cables.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If cable boots are positioned in grooves of the sealing block, then cable protection is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs elastomeric material for the gasket that can deform elastically to accommodate manufacturing tolerances and assembly variations. This material property change allows the sealing structure to achieve reliable sealing and cable protection without requiring extremely tight manufacturing precision on the groove dimensions and cable boot fitment.
Data Source
AI summary
Feedthrough devices are described. An example optical feedthrough device includes a housing assembly with a front housing frame, a rear housing unit, and an optical signal module. The optical signal module includes a fiber optic cable bundle, a sealing block, and a cable boot positioned along a length of the cable bundle. The cable is seated into the sealing block, such as within an open slot or groove formed in the sealing block. The front housing frame includes an open flange end and a sealing wall end. The sealing wall end includes a through hole, and the sealing block of the optical signal module is positioned within the through hole to form a seal. The seal can be a fluid-tight seal, such as a hermetic seal from gases, liquids, and related fluids. The feedthrough device can be installed as part of an immersion cooling system as an example application.