Rittal has announced a range of air management systems to enhance the cooling performance in AdvancedTCA and MicroTCA shelves. The company has developed a filler panel which acts as a barricade to prevent any unused cooling air from escaping. The system within the filler provides a resistance barrier to the airflow in any empty slots.
For AdvancedTCA, the company has full specification filler panels for empty slots, which includes a plate to simulate the missing blade or PCB and baffles at both the bottom and top to prevent unwanted airflow. The rear filler panel kits are identically configured to those at the front, but an additional plate is used to prevent air passing from the front board space over the top of the backplane and into the RTM area. For applications where the cooling performance is not critical, the filler panels are available without air management accessories.
In the company's MicroTCA air baffle systems, the filler front panel of the face plate dummy AMC board and adjustable baffles kit is available either in compact, mid size or full size or as separate components. The air baffles are adjusted by breaking out segments to allow partial airflow.
