Controlled Temperature Cycling in a Research Lab

Direct contact cooling 65°C below ambient:

controlled temperature cyclingA large state university in the U.S. has been using a collection of several TECA Model AHP-1200CAS Cascaded Cold/Hot Plates for years, to perform various research on the characteristics of cement paste samples.

In a cascaded system, the thermoelectric element acts as a heat sink for the element above it. Therefore, the more “stages” there are, the colder the top-most stage becomes. The research team which provided this photo successfully ran temperature profiles such as: from -20° to +24°C, and +23° down to -40°. This consistent accuracy and reliability of TECA Cold/Hot Plate products are a smart addition to any lab needing plug-and-play benchtop cooling or heating.

All Laboratory-Style TECA Cold/Hot Plates include an integral temperature controller and tecaLOG communications software. Versatile accessories are available such as cutting surfaces for grossing, barriers for lab animals, and more. The possibilities are endless. Please reach out to us for help selecting the right TECA solution for your lab. Ph 773.342.4900.

PERFORMANCE TESTING

Performance Testing:

performance testing performance testing

 

Customer needed to test low-temperature performance of inertial measuring devices.  In this application of low temperature thermoelectric cooling; the user is testing inertial measurement devices over a temperature range.

The devices as well as the TECA cascaded cooling assembly are subjected to various rotational and acceleration stimuli while device temperature is controlled.  The custom thermoelectric cold plate cascaded (Peltier cascade) was built up from a standard Model AHP-301CP cold plate.

The finished test fixture was able to function with a maximum rotation rate of 1700° per second and 50 g acceleration.  The rotation is evident in the photo. By using a standard product as the basis for the cooling system, higher costs associated with a custom solution were avoided.

VACUUM CHAMBER

Vacuum Chamber:

vacuum chamber

 

Some engineers at Lucent wanted to cool devices inside a vacuum chamber and they didn’t want to reinvent the wheel. TECA’s been making devices like that for decades. They had a load of 10 to 20 watts generated and wanted -40 °C with about 15 °C to 20 °C water available.

A Custom LHP-800CP / LHP-300CP cascade, controller and power supply were supplied for a reasonable cost in a reasonable time frame.

COOLING SAMPLES TO -40 °C Research Study

Cooling Samples to -40 °C

Cooling Samples to -40 °C Cooling Samples to -40 °C

 

A university research team utilized TECA’s AHP-1200C31 Cascaded Cold Plate to build a calorimeter for a research paper that was recently published. The researchers aimed to determine the thermal properties of their specimen as part of a study on cement and concrete durability.

Originally the customer used only the AHP-1200CAS base cold plate and was able to reach -15 °C. When he determined that colder temperatures were needed, he added the CCP-31 cascade attachment to reach -40 °C. With a cascade system each cascade stage acts as a heat sink for the stage above it. This allows the top stage to reach colder temperatures.

TECA offers two and three stage cascade systems for reaching temperatures as low as -60 °C (LHP-1200C31).

COOLING 64 DEGREES BELOW THE AMBIENT

Cooling 64 Degrees Below The Ambient:

cooling 64 degrees below the ambient cooling 64 degrees below the ambient

 

A medical device manufacturer uses a TECA Low-Temperature Cascade System in his design process. The Cascade System consists of a TECA Cold Plate and Cascade attachment. The system offers direct contact cooling to the customer’s load.

In this example, the customer was able to cool his load of Isopropyl Alcohol solution from +25 °C to -25 °C in about 35 minutes. Cooling to such low temperatures allowed the customer to package his very small , invasive medical device.

We received the following feedback from the customer: “I was eventually able to get it down to -38 °C at an ambient temperature of 26 °C. It beats the heck out of the system that is currently being used…This thing is working beautifully. Everyone is most impressed. Thanks!!!”

TEMPERATURE CYCLE

Temperature Cycle

temperature cycle

A university research laboratory uses TECA’s AHP-1200CPV Cascade system to perform nucleation studies. The AHP-1200CPV Thermoelectric Cold/Hot Plate paired with a CCP-31 Cascade attachment creates a low-temperature cooling system. The customer is able to control the temperature of an aluminum dish, rapidly cycling between +20 °C to -45 °C.

The Plexiglas box on top is to contain a dry nitrogen flow, which prevents condensation and frost from forming on the experiment stage.

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Consumer electronics:

consumer electronics

They manufacture navigation devices for land, road, trail and water and they needed to evaluate circuit boards @ various temperatures (-30 °C to -40 °C, no or minimal heat load, room temperature ambient) and on recommendation of a person who joined them from a controls company and had been using the solid state cold plate AHP-1200CAS. The system required the cold plate, cascade, cascade control and tapped plate. The tapped plate is built into the cold plate in place of a smooth plate surface to attach to the cascade plate.

The cascade control facilitates power and temperature control to the cascade. The system also included an acrylic cover and insulation block. They received the system and liked how it is built.

CASCADE COLD PLATE

Cascade Cold Plate:

cascade cold plate cascade cold plate

 

Here’s a step by step of an AHP-1200CAS/CCP-22 Cascade system our engineers were playing with. They took a purple EasySep magnetic nano particle vessel, set it on the cascade, insulated it and then cycled it up and down for kicks. The curve shows the results. Faster times can be achieved by thinning out the plates and building the cascade into the AHP-1200CAS rather than having it as an option.

Talk to TECA engineers if your interested.

LOW TEMPERATURE CASCADE

Low Temperature Cascade

low temperature cascade

 

A cascade sandwich is what we called this that day, built using two AHP-300CP cold plates. The customer needed a fairly large mass cycle between two extremes. The mass and size of the load were limiting factors. The pictures and assembly look crude, and it was, but they were also effective.

It was determined that a final design based on standard components would be successful and it was.

The AHP-300CP series is now replaced by a newer and more efficient model the AHP-470CP series.

FLOW CHEMISTRY / OEM PRODUCT

Flow chemistry/OEM products application:

flow chemistry, cascaded thermoelectric cold plate

A European company specializing in equipment for the continuous flow chemistry market required extreme temperatures for a new product. Integrating a customized version of TECA’s Liquid Cooled Cascaded Cold Plate made the customer’s product possible: they are able to reach temperatures from minus 70 °C to plus 80 °C.

The customer reports that their new continuous flow reactor allows for the use of flow chemistry in many applications, achieving quicker results safely and with better control.

Quarterly eNewsletter