Multi-chamber spray cooling system

Abstract

The present invention uses multiple global cooling chambers for providing liquid cooling to a plurality of electronic components. The global cooling chambers utilize a non-electrically conductive fluid which is in direct contact with the components to be cooled. The system provides very effective heat transfer rates, environmental isolation of the electronics components and can be deployed in a wide range of applications. Multiple global cooling chambers allows for the hot swapping of cards during operation of the system.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] The present invention is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 648,774 filed Aug. 18, 2003 entitled “Wet-Dry Thermal Management System”. The Ser. No. 10 / 648,744 patent application is incorporated herein by this reference.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED R&D [0002] Not applicable to this application. TECHNICAL FIELD [0003] This invention relates to a liquid cooling system, and more particularly to a direct liquid cooling system that utilizes a chassis that contains a plurality of individually sealed chambers. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] Liquid cooling is becoming widely understood in the field of electronics cooling. Rather than use air to cool heat producing components, liquid is used to absorb and transport the heat. Liquids are typically much more efficient than air as a heat transfer fluid since they have considerably higher thermal conductivities, specific heat capacities and provide the opportun...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015] The present invention uses multiple global cooling chambers for providing liquid cooling to a plurality of electronic components. The global cooling chambers utilize a non-electrically conductive fluid which is in direct contact with the components to be cooled. The system provides very effective heat transfer rates, environmental isolation of the electronics components and can be deployed in a wide range of applications. Multiple global cooling chambers allows for the hot swapping of cards during operation of the system. Multiple global cooling chambers reduce the amount of interaction between the cooling fluid and the outside environment during service and maintenance. Another object of the present invention is to allow standard air cooled cards to be cooled within a global cooling system. Yet another object of the present invention is to allow fluid within individual chambers to drain back to the reservoir when not in use, or prior to opening the chamber for service or maintenance.

Problems solved by technology

Water must be kept separate from the electronics since it would obviously short out the circuits and cause irreparable harm to the electronic systems and components.

A significant challenge in using dielectric fluids within closed loop cooling systems is that they typically have poor heat transfer properties.

The result is that it can be difficult to get heat into dielectric fluids.

Liquid absorbs heat and transforms into vapor which requires substantial amounts of energy.

One problem with prior art global cooling systems is that because the electronics reside within a single chamber, the entire computing system must be shut down in order to provide service and maintenance of a single board within.

Although the maintenance and service requirements may be perfectly acceptable for global cooling systems used in airplanes and standalone systems, the requirements are not optimal for use with systems that must be used in 7×24 applications.

A weakness in the clamshell design is that the backplane assembly is not environmentally isolated.

The result is that the system can not be placed in very harsh working environments.

Another problem with prior art global cooling systems that utilize single and large chambers for cooling, is that a significant amount of the fluid within is open to the environment during service and maintenance.

During maintenance cycles, it is disadvantageous to have the cooling fluid absorb air, or non-condensable gases, as during operation the non-condensable gases cause increased system pressures, saturation temperatures and temperatures of electronics.

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