cascaded cold plate

Low Temperature, Low Price

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Introducing TECA’s newest cold plate product, the AHP-301CAS:

What is a cascaded cold plate? It is a system of multiple layers- each cascade layer acts as a heat sink for the layer above it. This creates colder temperatures at the top layer, colder than what could be accomplished with a single cold plate. TECA has introduced a new product to its stable of cascaded cold plate systems. The AHP-301CAS is a two-stage cascade system and in a 25degC Ambient environment, the AHP-301CAS can reach as low as -35degC.

For even lower temperatures, TECA has long offered larger 2-stage and 3-stage cascaded systems. However, we recognized a need for a simpler, less expensive cascade solution. Some industrial and laboratory applications do not require as low as -76degC below delta-T for example (see model AHP-1200C31). Our standard single cold plates can reach a range of -10 to -15degC. The new AHP-301CAS is a ‘goldilocks’ cascade system; colder than usual but not more than is needed. The AHP-301CAS is priced 20% less than the next larger cascade and is half the price of our most powerful cascaded system.

Controlled Temperature Cycling in a Research Lab

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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.

VACUUM CHAMBER

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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.

LOW TEMPERATURE CASCADE

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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.

TISSUE DISSECTION

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Tissue Dissection Application:

AHP-1200CAS used in tissue dissection

We used TECA’s AHP-1200CAS three stage cascaded thermoelectric cold plate system to facilitate dissection of frozen human postmortem brain slices for extraction of protein for Proteomics research. Because we were trying to select specific regions without damaging the rest of each small specimen, it was important for us to maintain the integrity of the specimen during dissection.

Working in a lab at normal room temperature, we found that a constant temperature of -18 °C was ideal for this work (-20 °C was too cold, and warmer than -18  °C made the tissue start to melt). It would have been impossible to maintain such a precise temperature outside of a Cryostat without the cold table. It was immensely easier to perform the dissection on the cold table, and of course also much easier to wipe down the cold table than to clean a Cryostat.

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