During gradient switching, heat is dissipated inside the gradient coil. This heat is transferred into the water cooling system of the gradient coil. The gradient duty cycle is a measure about the quantity of thermal energy tolerated by the gradient and shim set.

The cooling system of the gradient coil is connected either to the heat exchanger or a stand-alone chiller, that is located in the technical room.

Cooling water needs to be checked from times to time and refilled by ordinary tab water if the filling level is too low. The gradient coil inner temperature as well as the filling level of the cooling system are supervised using appropriate sensors and interlock mechanism.

In order to avoid long-lasting gradient duty cycle violations, the current duty cycle is continuously monitored. The experiment is stopped as soon as the sensors detect a limit excess of the duty cycle.

ParaVision offers the possibility to calculate the duty cycle of an intended experiment before measurement begins.