International. Rittal, Eplan and Phoenix Contact presented Thermal Design Integration, a comprehensive concept consisting of digital product information, software-based project planning and newly developed climate control solutions.
The concept promises users in control cabinet engineering, enduring improvements in the areas of design, cooling and operation of control cabinets error-free. Designers can check their assembly plans against climate control considerations and interactively make provisions for the best possible climate control solution.
Looking ahead, the design of 3D virtual plans in the Eplan Pro Panel will be enhanced with special features. The key is to communicate to control panel designers the functionality, performance limits and possibilities of integrating the variations of the individual climate control system in such a way that they can develop the most efficient and intuitive climate control solution and as simple as possible.
Designers require a panorama where components that especially require cooling within the cabinet to optimally locate climate control components. It is important to avoid so-called hot spots from the start. The Eplan Pro Panel will have new functions for the beginning of 2016 where the colors of the installed components will be differentiated according to the heat load densities, which will be calculated based on the maximum heat loss, in relation to the size of the installed component.
For ideal, trouble-free air circulation within control cabinets, designers require visual assistance to compare the mounting positions of components – the exact location – with the determinants of climate control systems. Spaces that must remain free for air circulation purposes and areas with ideal weather conditions are graphically located by using Rittal solutions for climate control.
Spaces blocked for air circulation cannot be used for component assembly because climate control components will otherwise be significantly impeded from delivering the necessary volume of cold air. This in turn can lead to problems with installed switch devices or electronic components. For example, devices located too close to the cold air stream are under extreme thermal stress. This significantly reduces the service life of electro/electrical components and can also lead to downtime during operation.
The optimal climate control area describes the area where a climate control device can reliably cool thanks to flow rate capability. The Eplan Pro Panel displays correspondingly the relevant parameters of the device – for example the maximum thrust distance of the cooling air as well as the angle of air flow inside the device and/or outside it. This also takes into account the fact that the flow rate decreases with the distance from the device and therefore the push distance of the device is limited.
