Hydra~Cool™ Water Cooling Method Features
Hydra~Cool is a technically superior and cost effective method of water cooling vacuum chambers.
This revolutionary new method of water-cooling is made by welding a trace to a chamber and then using water pressure to hydro-form the water channel. By utilizing radius bends instead of square corners, it improves water flow and eliminates low flow and stagnant areas. When coupled to a full penetration weld, this reduces the chances of crevice crack corrosion and extends the working life of the chamber.
Hydra~Cool gives you the ability to approximately double the surface area being cooled over conventional 'C' channel style water cooling. This high surface area coverage possible with this method also makes it an affordable alternative to double walled cooling.
A thermal analysis using Ansys® finite element analysis software is available on request to show you this can give you a cost effective, but superior water cooling product.
Hydra~Cool™ Benefits
The pro's to this technology compared to traditional welded channel water trace:
- Highly configurable
- Superior surface area coverage
- Improved corrosion resistance
- Improved flow
- Reduced volume of cooling water
- Minimal protrusion to the atmosphere side
- Cleaner aesthetic appearance
- Competitive price
- Compatible with H2O, water glycol mix and PFPE fluids
Hydra~Cool™ Applications
- Light Emitting Diode (LED)
- Crystal Growth/Pulling
- Space Simulation
- Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) & MOCVD
- PVD
- Thermal Annealing
- Vacuum Furnaces
Effectiveness of Hydra~Cool™ Versus Alternative Water Cooling
| Surface Area Coverage | Operating Temperature | Ratio of Cooling Area to Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydra~Cool | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| Machined in Trace | Excellent | Excellent | Poor |
| Dimple Plate | Excellent | Excellent | Good |
| Double Walled | Excellent | Excellent | Poor |
| Welded C Channel | Good | Good | Good |
| Wrapped Tube | Poor | Poor | Poor |
Thermal Imaging Camera Examples (Internal Temperature at 200°C)
Figure 1: The experimental setup used 2x 500 watt ceramic bakeout heaters on the underside of the test panel. The panel was set on an 18" gauge (1.2mm) sheet metal side walls to create a pseudo-oven. Thermocouples are set up on the inside of the oven and on the surface of the panel. The inside was kept at atmospheric pressure - not vacuum, so thermal transfer was increased by conduction and convection as well as radiative heat.
Figure 2: No Water Flow, External temperature 150°C.
Figure 3: Water flow is 1 GPM @ 18°C, External temperature ~20°C.
Figure 4: Demonstrates the cooling ability of Hydra~Cool to maintain temperature at the surface, without increasing flow rate.
Figure 5: Demonstrates that for a 12" (305mm) diameter chamber, height 12" (305mm), a water pressure of 2.5 PSI gave 1 GPM of water flow.
