Product manual

Barracuda 18LP FC Product Manual, Rev. B 33
8.4.1 Air flow
The rack, cabinet, or drawer environment for the drive must provide heat removal from the electronics and
head and disc assembly (HDA). You should confirm that adequate heat removal is provided using the tempera-
ture measurement guidelines described in Section 6.4.1.
Forced air flow may be required to keep temperatures at or below the specified case temperatures of Table 2,
in which case the drive should be oriented, or air flow directed, so that the least amount of air flow resistance is
created while providing air flow to the electronics and HDA. Also, the shortest possible path between the air
inlet and exit should be chosen to minimize the travel length of air heated by the drive and other heat sources
within the rack, cabinet, or drawer environment.
If forced air is determined to be necessary, possible air-flow patterns are shown in Figure 12. The air-flow pat-
terns are created by one or more fans, either forcing or drawing air as shown in the illustrations. Conduction,
convection, or other forced air-flow patterns are acceptable as long as the temperature measurement guide-
lines of Section 6.4.1 are met.
Figure 12. Air flow
Note. Air flows in the direction shown (front to back)
or in reverse direction (back to front)
Note. Air flows in the direction shown or
in reverse direction (side to side)
Above unit
Under unit
Above unit
Under unit