Apparatus and methods for impingement cooling
A jet impingement cooling apparatus is provided including a housing having a surface to be directed at a treatment area, an optically transparent region on the surface of the housing through which electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from a source can be directed from the housing to the treatment area, and at least one opening on the surface of the housing through which a fluid flow can be directed to the treatment area to maintain the treatment area at a therapeutically acceptable temperature range while avoiding interference with the EMR being directed at the treatment area.
1. An impingement cooling apparatus comprising:
a housing having a window to be directed at a treatment area and further having a plenum fluidly coupled to the window;
an optically transparent region on the window of the housing through which electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from a source can exit through the optically transparent region of the window and be directed at the treatment area; and
at least one opening on the window of the housing through which a fluid flow exit the housing to be directed to the treatment area to maintain the treatment area at a therapeutically acceptable temperature range while avoiding interference with the EMR being directed at the treatment area, each of the EMR and the fluid flow traveling along at least a portion of the plenum before exiting through the window.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the openings is formed in the optically transparent region of the surface.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the fluid flow directed through the openings forms a plurality of fluid jets for impinging the treatment area.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of fluid jects has an exit velocity sufficient to form a stagnation region on the treatment area.
5. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the openings are positioned to permit the fluid jets to impinge on a portion of the treatment area irradiated by the EMR.
6. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein an exit velocity of the fluid jets is sufficient to minimize a thermal boundary layer formed on the treatment area.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the exit velocity is between 20 meters per second and 200 meters per second.
8. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the minimized thermal boundary layer formed on the treatment area has a relatively higher surface heat transfer rate in comparison to that of a non-minimized boundary layer area.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the housing is spatially positioned from the treatment area.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the opening includes an inlet and an outlet, the inlet and the outlet having a constant diameter.
11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the opening includes an inlet and an outlet, the inlet having a larger diameter than the outlet to reduce a pressure drop across the opening.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the fluid flow includes at least one of air, water, or combinations thereof.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the fluid flow is airflow.
14. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the EMR is directed from the housing over an expanded area of the treatment area with a modified beam shape.
15. An impingement cooling apparatus comprising:
a housing having a window provided with an optically transparent region to be directed at a treatment area, the housing further having a plenum fluidly coupled to the window,
an electromagnetic radiation (EMR) source coupled to the housing directed at the treatment area; and
at least one opening through the window of the housing through which a gas flow can be directed to the treatment area to produce a plurality of impingement jets at an exit velocity sufficient to minimize or remove a thermal boundary layer (BL) across the treatment area to maintain the treatment area at a therapeutically acceptable temperature range while avoiding interference with the EMR being directed across the optically transparent region at the treatment area, each of the EMR and the gas flow traveling along at least a portion of the plenum before being directed through the window.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the gas flow directed through the at least one opening forms the plurality of impingement jets for impinging the treatment area.
17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the at least one opening are positioned to permit the plurality of impingement jets to impinge on a portion of the treatment area irradiated by the EMR.
18. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the at least one opening is positioned to permit the plurality of impingement jets to impinge on a portion of the treatment adjacent to the area irradiated by the EMR.
19. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the gas flow can be directed to the treatment area at the exit velocity to sufficiently minimize the thermal BL across the treatment area and form a stagnation region on a surface of the treatment area.
20. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the gas flow includes at least one of air, water, or combinations thereof.
21. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the gas flow is an airflow.
22. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the airflow is at a temperature of 0° C. to 5° C.
23. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the exit velocity is between 20 meters per second and 200 meters per second to establish a stagnation region.
24. An impingement cooling apparatus comprising:
a housing having a window situated adjacent to and directed at a treatment area, the housing further having a plenum fluidly coupled to the window;
an electromagnetic radiation (EMR) source coupled to the housing;
an optically transparent region on the window of the housing through which EMR from the source can be directed through to the treatment area; and
an opening in the window through which a fluid flow is directed at the treatment area to impinge on the treatment area irradiated by the EMR while avoiding interference with the EMR, each of the EMR and the fluid flow traveling along at least a portion of the plenum before being directed through the window.
25. The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the housing is spatially positioned from the treatment area.
26. An impingement cooling apparaus comprising:
a housing having a window to be directed at a treatment area, the window being spatially situated away from the treatment area so as to avoid contact by the housing with the treatment area as the housing is being moved from one treatment area to another, the housing further having a plenum fluidly coupled to the window;
an optically transparent region on the window of the housing through which electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from a source can exit through the optically transparent region of the window and be directed at the treatment area; and
at least one opening on the window of the housing through which a fluid flow can exit the housing to be directed to the treatment area to maintain the treatment area at a therapeutically acceptable temperature range while avoiding interference with the EMR being directed at the treatment area, each of the EMR and the fluid flow traveling along at least a portion of the plenum before exiting through the window.
27. The apparatus of claim 26 , further comprising a plurality of openings, wherein the fluid flow directed through the plurality of openings forms a plurality of fluid jets for impinging the treatment area.
28. The apparatus of claim 27 , wherein the openings are positioned to permit the fluid jets to impinge on a portion of the treatment area irradiated by the EMR.
29. The apparatus of claim 27 , wherein an exit velocity of the fluid jets is sufficient to minimize a thermal boundary layer formed on the treatment area.
30. The apparatus of claim 29 , wherein the exit velocity is between 20 meters per second and 200 meters persecond.