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The SAO/ASIAA Submillimeter Array (SMA)

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Antenna Hoffman Enclosure Cooling Cover, SMA Project

Image Credit: Derek Kubo

Photo of modified Hoffman enclosure cover with inlet fan at top and exhaust fan at bottom. The four smaller internal fans were oriented to circulate air within the enclosure in a circular direction. The silver upper air shield was installed to avoid direct cool air convection over the upper internal assemblies.

The Antenna Hoffman enclosure consists of five sub-assemblies to support the Local Oscillator (LO) and Intermediate Frequency (IF) signal processing. Substantial bandwidth upgrades were made to the IF sub-assemblies which caused excess heating of the overall enclosure. This cover was designed to ameliorate the thermal issues caused by the electronics upgrades while maintaining homogeneous heat distribution throughout the enclosure. A total of nine units were constructed to support the eight operational antennas. Derek Kubo, Brian Koga, Paul Yamaguchi.