System and method for modular building deep freezer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing deep freezer arrangements in modular structures face challenges in maintaining ultra-low temperatures efficiently and effectively, particularly in preventing thermal stress and ensuring the freshness of stored materials by allowing for thermal expansion and contraction without structural damage.
Innovation Solution
A modular deep freezer design featuring self-supporting planar wall structures with a thermally isolated ultra-low temperature refrigeration system, where the freezer is structurally and thermally independent from the modular cube structure, allowing for expansion and contraction without stressing other components, and utilizing a high R-value insulation to minimize thermal pathways.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the freezer is integrated into the modular cube structure, then structural support is provided, but thermal stress and structural damage occur due to expansion and contraction
Solution Approach 1:
The freezer is segmented from the modular cube structure into a separate, independent unit. The freezer includes its own floor structure separate from the modular cube floor structure, and its wall structures are free-standing rather than attached to the cube walls. This segmentation allows the freezer to expand and contract independently without transmitting thermal stress to the modular cube structure, resolving the contradiction between needing structural support and avoiding thermal stress damage.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary approach is used where the freezer is positioned within the modular cube structure but connected only through the floor structure, not the wall structures. The wall structures are free-standing and unimpeded from expanding and contracting. This creates an intermediary relationship that provides structural support through the floor while allowing thermal expansion freedom through the independent wall structures, preventing thermal stress accumulation.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the freezer wall structures are connected to the modular cube structure, then structural stability is provided, but thermal pathways increase reducing energy efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The freezer wall structures are segmented from the modular cube wall structures, creating a thermal break. The freezer walls are free-standing and not attached to the cube walls, which eliminates direct thermal pathways between the freezer interior and the external environment through the cube structure. This segmentation maintains structural stability through the floor connection while minimizing thermal energy loss by breaking the thermal bridge.
3Reliability
If the freezer is made as a separate modular unit, then thermal expansion freedom is achieved, but integration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The freezer is designed as a segmented, modular unit with separate floor and wall structures that can be independently assembled. The wall structures are free-standing and connect only to the separate floor structure, not to the modular cube structure. This segmentation provides thermal expansion freedom while keeping integration complexity manageable through standardized modular components that can be easily assembled and disassembled.
Solution Approach 2:
The freezer wall structures are designed to be dynamic rather than fixed, allowing them to expand and contract freely in response to temperature changes. The free-standing wall structures are unimpeded from expanding and contracting, providing the necessary thermal movement freedom while maintaining a relatively simple modular design that can be integrated into the cube structure through the floor connection.
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 provides a cost-effective and reliable means for maintaining ultra-low temperatures, ensuring the freshness of stored materials by reducing thermal and structural stress, and allowing for efficient energy use in modular facilities.
Implementation Method 1
utilizing a high R-value insulation to minimize thermal pathways
Implementation Method 2
a refrigeration unit thermally coupled to the interior volume and configured to maintain a temperature of the interior volume less than −40.0° C.
Implementation Method 3
The plurality of planar wall structures are free-standing with respect to the modular cube structure... allowing for expansion and contraction without stressing other components
Data Source
AI summary
A freezer including a plurality of self-supporting planar wall structures surrounding an interior volume, a floor member comprising a portion of a modular cube structure, and a refrigeration unit thermally coupled to the interior volume and configured to maintain a temperature of the interior volume less than −40.0° C.