X-ray Tube Cooling Device Using Helical Gas Channel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional x-ray tube cooling systems, especially in the food industry, face maintenance challenges with oil-based systems and limitations with air-cooled systems due to safety and compactness issues, while gaseous cooling media like SF6 are not desirable due to safety and environmental concerns.
Innovation Solution
A compact cooling device using a gaseous coolant that guides the cooling medium through a spiral path around the high-voltage x-ray tube housing, allowing for effective heat dissipation without direct contact, enabling the use of any desired gaseous medium, including ambient air, to maintain electrical insulation and prevent sparking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If liquid coolant (dielectric oil) is used for cooling the x-ray tube, then effective cooling and electrical insulation are achieved, but maintenance complexity increases due to regular oil changes and contamination risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful liquid coolant (dielectric oil) from the system and replaces it with a gaseous coolant. The gas-conducting channel guides the gaseous cooling medium past the high-voltage housing to absorb heat, while the housing itself provides electrical insulation. This eliminates the need for regular oil changes and contamination risks associated with liquid coolant systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a gaseous cooling medium (pneumatic approach) instead of liquid coolant. The gas-conducting channel directs the gaseous coolant to flow past the high-voltage housing, where it absorbs heat through thermal conduction from the housing walls to the gas, achieving effective cooling without the maintenance issues of liquid systems.
2Ease of repair
If air-cooled system is used for the x-ray tube, then maintenance is simplified, but electrical insulation distance increases reducing compactness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces the high-voltage housing as an intermediary element with high dielectric strength that acts as both a thermal conductor (from anode to housing) and an electrical insulator (from housing to ground). This intermediary structure allows the use of gaseous coolant with lower dielectric strength than air would require, maintaining compact dimensions while simplifying maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the dielectric parameter of the insulation system by using materials with high dielectric strength for the housing (polycarbonate, polysulfone, PVC, polyolefins, or polyoxymethylene with thickness of 1-3 mm). This parameter change allows the system to use gaseous coolant effectively while maintaining compact dimensions and simple maintenance.
3Productivity
If gaseous coolant is guided directly past the x-ray tube, then cooling efficiency increases, but sparking risk increases due to reduced insulation distance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cooling path into two distinct zones: a first region where the gaseous coolant is guided past the high-voltage housing for efficient heat absorption, and a second region where the housing provides electrical insulation to ground potential. This segmentation allows the coolant to be close to the heat source while maintaining safe electrical distances through the housing barrier.
Solution Approach 2:
The high-voltage housing serves as an intermediary structure that the gaseous coolant flows past. The housing material (polycarbonate, polysulfone, PVC, polyolefins, or polyoxymethylene) with thickness of 1-3 mm provides sufficient electrical insulation, allowing the gas-conducting channel to be positioned close to the housing for efficient cooling while preventing sparking to ground potential components.
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 provides a low-maintenance, compact, and cost-effective cooling system that can use any gaseous coolant, reducing the risk of contamination and environmental impact, while ensuring safe operation at high voltages by preventing sparking and allowing for flexible design.
Implementation Method 1
The cooling medium absorbs the heat produced by the x-ray tube and dissipates it towards the outside
Implementation Method 2
the gaseous cooling medium does come into contact with high-voltage housing parts of the x-ray tube. In order to avoid sparking along the gas-conducting channel
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling device for x-ray tubes in x-ray generators, comprising a housing with a central receiving device for receiving an x-ray tube with an inlet opening for supplying a gaseous coolant, an outlet opening for discharging the gaseous coolant, and a gas-conducting channel which extends between the inlet opening and the outlet opening. The gas-conducting channel is designed to conduct the gaseous coolant directly by the high-voltage x-ray tube housing during operation. The gas-conducting channel additionally extends in a helical manner about the x-ray tubes such that the electric potential applied to the x-ray tubes drops to zero potential along the gas-conducting channel.