Backplane design is key to rugged ATR chassis for VITA 48.4 LFT cooling
For intense, power-drive systems, Elma Electronic has introduced a rugged air transport rack (ATR) chassis which complies with VITA 48.4 for liquid flow-through (LFT) cooling. The new backplane in the chassis is designed for data rates up to 10Gbits per second and can handle 300W per slot. This enables the system to accommodate the intense thermal management needed in high density embedded computing systems, says Elma.
Design benefits include configurable front I/O connectors on a removable panel and a filtered power input connector. The ATR chassis is rugged with a bolted construction and individual card coolant flow rates are adjustable with selectable orifices.
The backplane features eight 6U slots on a 1.2 inch (30.48mm) pitch, including two VITA 62-compliant power supply slots, four 6U slots (three payload slots with VITA 67.3c apertures in J3 and J6, and one switch slot with VITA 67.3d aperture in J6b). There are also two 6U Payload slots populated with all J1 to J6 connectors. “Clockable” guide pins at each slot allow for easier keying (angle rotation), without having to deal with the removal of the backplane from chassis.
Ram Rajan, senior vice president of engineering for Elma Electronic, explained, “Power-hungry OpenVPX modules require a thermal management solution guaranteed to keep the mission on course. This rugged ATR chassis accommodates boards that mandate VITA 48.4 LFT cooling, so our customers know their intense power requirements can be handled effectively.”
The VITA 48.4 standard establishes the mechanical design, interface control, outline and mounting requirements to ensure the mechanical intermateability of 6U VPX LFT cooled plug-in modules within associated sub-racks. The standard enables more efficient cooling of circuit boards and electronic components via an integral heat sink with liquid flowing through it. The connector layout remains common with VITA 46 and quick disconnect coupling assemblies allow fluidic coupling to the chassis manifold.
