Radiator, electronic device and method for manufacturing radiator

Abstract

The embodiment of the present application discloses a heat sink, an electronic device, and a method for manufacturing the heat sink, which are applied to an immersion liquid cooling environment. The heat sink includes a substrate and a heat sink fixed to the substrate; wherein the extension direction of the heat sink intersects with the extension direction of the substrate, and the heat sink has a non-smooth surface. The embodiment of the present application converts the original laminar heat exchange into turbulent heat exchange through the non-smooth surface of the heat sink, which can give full play to the heat exchange effect of the heat sink and greatly improve the heat exchange coefficient.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of computer equipment, and in particular to a radiator, an electronic device, and a method for manufacturing a radiator. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of the 5G era, artificial intelligence, and the industrial Internet, immersion liquid cooling has become the mainstream trend in the development of data center server cooling technology. Compared with traditional air cooling and water cooling, immersion liquid cooling servers have made great leaps in stability, power consumption, noise, etc. Immersion liquid cooling servers immerse all electronic devices in non-conductive liquid. When electronic devices generate heat during operation, heat is exchanged between the radiator and the non-conductive liquid to achieve the purpose of cooling the electronic devices.

[0003] The radiator used in current immersion liquid cooling technology is basically based on air-cooled radiators, and the radiator fins are smooth to reduce flow resistance. However, when this type of radiator is used in immersion liquid cooling scenarios, the length of the laminar boundary layer on the fin surface is very large, and a good heat dissipation effect cannot be achieved. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, the present application provides a heat sink, an electronic device and a method for manufacturing the heat sink, so as to improve the heat dissipation effect in an immersion liquid cooling scenario.

[0005] This application provides the following solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, a heat sink is provided for use in an immersion liquid cooling environment, the heat sink comprising a substrate and a heat sink fixed to the substrate;

[0007] Wherein, an extension direction of the heat sink intersects with an extension direction of the substrate, and the heat sink has a non-smooth surface.

[0008] According to an achievable method in the embodiment of the present application, the surface of the heat sink has square ridge-shaped protrusions, and the extension direction of the square ridges is consistent with the extension direction of the heat sink; or,

[0009] The surface of the heat sink has sawtooth-shaped ridges, and the extending direction of the sawtooth-shaped ridges is consistent with the extending direction of the heat sink; or,

[0010] The surface of the heat sink is wavy, and the extension direction of the wave is consistent with the extension direction of the substrate; or,

[0011] The surface of the heat sink is provided with array-shaped dot protrusions.

[0012] According to an achievable method in the embodiment of the present application, the heat sink is welded to the substrate, or the heat sink and the substrate are integrally formed.

[0013] According to an achievable method in the embodiment of the present application, the heat sink is from thick to thin in the direction extending from the substrate to the heat sink.

[0014] In a second aspect, an electronic device comprises the above-mentioned heat sink.

[0015] According to an achievable manner in an embodiment of the present application, the electronic device includes an immersion liquid cooling server, and the radiator is used to dissipate heat from a processor chip of the immersion liquid cooling server.

[0016] In a third aspect, a method for manufacturing a heat sink is provided, wherein the heat sink is applied to an immersion liquid cooling environment, the method comprising:

[0017] The substrate and the heat sink are formed by an integrated molding process, so that the heat sink is fixed to the substrate, and an extension direction of the heat sink intersects with an extension direction of the substrate;

[0018] The heat sink is milled so that the heat sink has a non-smooth surface.

[0019] According to an achievable method in an embodiment of the present application, milling the heat sink so that the heat sink has a non-smooth surface includes:

[0020] The heat sink is milled so that the surface of the heat sink has square ridge-like protrusions, and the extension direction of the square ridges is consistent with the extension direction of the heat sink; or the surface of the heat sink has sawtooth ridge-like protrusions, and the extension direction of the sawtooth ridges is consistent with the extension direction of the heat sink; or the surface of the heat sink is wavy, and the extension direction of the waves is consistent with the extension direction of the substrate; or the surface of the heat sink has array-type point protrusions.

[0021] In a fourth aspect, a method for manufacturing a heat sink is provided, wherein the heat sink is applied to an immersion liquid cooling environment, the method comprising:

[0022] A heat sink with a non-smooth surface is formed by a press forming process;

[0023] The heat sink is welded to the substrate so that an extension direction of the heat sink intersects with an extension direction of the substrate.

[0024] According to an achievable method in an embodiment of the present application, the heat sink having a non-smooth surface formed by a press forming process includes:

[0025] A press forming process is adopted to process a heat sink with square ridge-like protrusions on the surface, wherein the extending direction of the square ridges is consistent with the extending direction of the heat sink; or a heat sink with sawtooth-shaped ridge-like protrusions on the surface, wherein the extending direction of the sawtooth-shaped ridges is consistent with the extending direction of the heat sink; or a heat sink with a wavy surface, wherein the extending direction of the waves is consistent with the extending direction of the substrate; or a heat sink with array-like dot-shaped protrusions on the surface.

[0026] According to the specific embodiments provided in this application, this application can have the following technical effects:

[0027] 1) The embodiment of the present application destroys the laminar state of the coolant flowing through the surface of the heat sink through the non-smooth surface of the heat sink, so that the coolant flowing through the surface of the heat sink quickly enters a turbulent state, that is, the original laminar heat exchange is converted into turbulent heat exchange, which can give full play to the heat exchange effect of the radiator and greatly improve the heat exchange coefficient.

[0028] 2) The heat sink is from thick to thin in the direction extending from the substrate to the heat sink, which can make the coolant enter the turbulent state faster, accelerate heat exchange, and further improve the heat dissipation effect.

[0029] Of course, any product implementing the present application does not necessarily need to achieve all of the advantages described above at the same time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0031] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a radiator provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a heat sink provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 3 The embodiment of the present application provides Figure 1 a top view of the front elevation shown;

[0034] Figure 4 The embodiments of the present application provide Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the second heat sink from the same viewing angle;

[0035] Figure 5 The embodiments of the present application provide Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the third heat sink from the same perspective;

[0036] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a fourth heat sink provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 7 A flow chart of a method for manufacturing a heat sink provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 8 A flow chart of another method for manufacturing a heat sink provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on the embodiments in the present application belong to the scope of protection of this application.

[0040] The terms used in the embodiments of the present invention are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular forms "a", "said" and "the" used in the embodiments of the present invention and the appended claims are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates other meanings.

[0041] It should be understood that the term "and / or" used in this article is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0042] The word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at the time of" or "when" or "in response to determining" or "in response to detecting", depending on the context. Similarly, the phrases "if it is determined" or "if (stated condition or event) is detected" may be interpreted as "when it is determined" or "in response to determining" or "when detecting (stated condition or event)" or "in response to detecting (stated condition or event)", depending on the context.

[0043] The embodiments of the present application are based on the application environment of immersion liquid cooling. In the immersion liquid cooling environment, the flow rate of the coolant (i.e., non-conductive liquid) is very slow, with an average flow rate of about 0.002 m / s. In this low-flow, high-density working fluid environment, the flow boundary layer will be very different from air cooling. If a traditional air-cooled radiator is used, since the surface of the heat sink is smooth, the coolant is in a laminar state for a long distance after entering the gap between the heat sinks. The length of the laminar boundary layer is very large, and the temperature rises slowly, resulting in the radiator failing to achieve a good heat dissipation effect.

[0044] In view of this, the present application provides a heat sink with a new structure, which is applied to an immersion liquid cooling environment. Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 1 , the heat sink mainly includes a substrate 10 and a heat sink 20 .

[0045] The heat sink 20, also called a fin, is fixed to the substrate 10, and the extension direction of the heat sink 20 intersects with the extension direction of the substrate 10. As one of the more typical ways, the extension direction of the heat sink 20 is perpendicular to the extension direction of the substrate 10. In other words, the surface where the heat sink 20 as a whole is located is perpendicular to the surface where the substrate 10 as a whole is located.

[0046] The heat sink 20 can dissipate the heat on the substrate 10 and transfer the dissipated heat to the cooling liquid flowing through. The heat sink 20 actually increases the contact area between the substrate 10 and the cooling liquid, thereby facilitating the improvement of the heat dissipation performance of the substrate 10.

[0047] The substrate 10 and the heat sink 20 are usually made of metal materials with good thermal conductivity, such as copper, aluminum, etc. Since the heat sink is used to cool the object to be cooled, it is usually set near or close to the object to be cooled. Among them, the most common application is electronic equipment, in which the heat sink can be set to dissipate heat from components in the electronic equipment.

[0048] As one of the more typical application scenarios, the radiator is applied to an immersion liquid cooling server, mainly to dissipate heat from the processor chip of the immersion liquid cooling server, so the substrate 10 can be placed against the processor chip. The immersion liquid cooling server is completely immersed in the coolant, and the coolant flows into the gaps between the heat sinks 20 of the radiator, and takes away the heat from the heat sinks 20 and the substrate 10 in contact through heat exchange, thereby reducing the temperature of the radiator and then the temperature of the processor chip. Among them, the coolant is usually a non-conductive liquid, which is usually not corrosive.

[0049] In addition, the surface b of the substrate 10, i.e., the other opposite surface connected to the heat sink 20, can be mounted and fixed to the object to be cooled, such as a processor chip. The fixing method can be a screw connection, a clamp connection, etc. Therefore, in order to facilitate the connection, there can be through holes, clamps, etc. on the substrate 10.

[0050] In the embodiment of the present application, an ingenious design is adopted, that is, the heat sink 20 has a non-smooth surface. By designing the surface of the heat sink 20 to be uneven, the laminar state of the liquid flowing through the heat sink 20 is destroyed, so that the liquid (i.e., coolant) flowing through the surface of the heat sink 20 quickly enters turbulent flow. Smooth means flat and smooth, that is, flat and smooth. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, any non-planar or non-smooth surface can be considered as a non-smooth surface, including a surface with protrusions, a wavy surface, etc.

[0051] Laminar flow and turbulent flow are two flow forms. The form in which liquid particles move in an orderly manner without mixing with each other is called laminar flow. The form in which liquid particles move irregularly and mix with each other is called turbulent flow (also known as turbulent flow). They transfer heat in different ways. Laminar flow is through intermolecular interactions, while turbulent flow is mainly through mixing between particles. Therefore, the heat exchange efficiency of turbulent flow is much greater than that of laminar flow. The embodiment of the present application converts the original laminar heat exchange into turbulent heat exchange through the non-smooth surface of the heat sink, which can give full play to the heat exchange function of the radiator and greatly improve the heat exchange coefficient.

[0052] As one possible implementation, the surface of the heat sink 20 has square ridge-shaped protrusions, and the extension direction of the square ridges is consistent with the extension direction of the heat sink 20 . Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of one of the heat sinks 20, Figure 2 The side a of the heat sink 20 is connected and fixed to the substrate 10, and the side a can be welded to the substrate 10 by welding. Each heat sink 20 and the substrate 10 can also be obtained by integral molding. Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , there are square ridge-shaped protrusions on the surface of the heat sink 20, and the extending direction of the square ridges is as indicated by the arrow. The square ridge-shaped protrusions may be provided on one side of the heat sink 20, or on both sides of the heat sink 20. Figure 1 From the top view of the front view shown in FIG. 1 , the edge of the heat sink 20 is shaped like a city wall. Figure 3 as shown in .

[0053] Figure 3 The direction indicated by the middle arrow is the liquid flow direction, and the coolant flows into the gaps between the heat sinks 20 in this direction and flows through the surface of the heat sink 20. Due to the square ridge-shaped protrusions of the heat sink 20, the coolant enters the turbulent state from the laminar state, and the turbulent heat exchange mode gives full play to the heat exchange function of the radiator and improves the heat dissipation effect.

[0054] In addition to the above-mentioned square ridge-shaped protrusions, the surface of the heat sink 20 may also have sawtooth ridge-shaped protrusions, and the extending direction of the sawtooth ridges is consistent with the extending direction of the heat sink 20. Figure 3 From the same perspective, Figure 4As shown, the edge of the heat sink is serrated and extends in the same direction as Figure 3 The extending directions of the square edges are consistent. The heat sink 20 may have a sawtooth-shaped ridge-like protrusion on one side surface, or may have a sawtooth-shaped ridge-like protrusion on both sides surface.

[0055] As another achievable method, the surface of the heat sink 20 is wavy, and the extension direction of the wave is consistent with the extension direction of the substrate 10. Figure 3 From the same perspective, Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 1 , the edge of the heat sink 20 is wavy.

[0056] As another achievable method, the surface of the heat sink 20 has an array of dot-shaped protrusions, such as Figure 6 As shown in . The heat sink 20 may have array-type dot-shaped protrusions on one side surface, or may have array-type dot-shaped protrusions on both sides surface.

[0057] The spacing between the heat sink fins 20 on the radiator can be 1.0 to 3.0 mm, and can be specifically selected according to the specific coolant type, coolant flow rate, etc.

[0058] In general, due to process limitations, the basic thickness of the heat sink is the same, and the so-called basic thickness refers to the thickness excluding the above-mentioned raised portion. However, as a preferred embodiment, the basic thickness of the heat sink can be from thick to thin in the direction extending from the substrate to the heat sink. This allows the coolant to enter a turbulent state faster, accelerate heat exchange, and improve the heat dissipation effect.

[0059] In order to verify the heat dissipation effect of the radiator provided in the embodiment of the present application, a simulation test was conducted on the heat dissipation effect of the processor chip of the immersion liquid cooling server under the premise of the same specifications of the substrate, heat sink and heat sink spacing, and the same direction and flow rate of the coolant, and the simulation test collected the temperature conditions of the coolant at each position. If a smooth heat sink is used, it can be seen from the results of the simulation test that only a thin layer of coolant on the surface of the heat sink shows a temperature rise, and the temperature of the coolant between the heat sinks rises very slowly within a considerable distance from the liquid inlet position. When the heat sink with a surface with square ridge-like protrusions provided in the embodiment of the present application is used, the thickness of the coolant that rises on the surface of the heat sink is greatly increased, and the coolant between the heat sinks shows a rapid temperature rise at a distance very close to the liquid inlet position, which means that the heat exchange is greatly accelerated and the heat dissipation effect is improved.

[0060] It can be seen from the radiator provided in the embodiment of the present application that the present application breaks the traditional idea of ​​improving the heat dissipation effect of the radiator. The traditional idea of ​​improving the heat dissipation effect of the radiator is basically from the idea of ​​increasing the heat dissipation surface area, while the present application starts from the idea of ​​changing the flow state of the coolant. The laminar state of the coolant flowing through the surface of the heat sink is destroyed by the non-smooth surface of the heat sink, so that the coolant flowing through the surface of the heat sink quickly enters the turbulent state, thereby giving full play to the heat exchange function of the radiator and improving the heat dissipation effect.

[0061] Figure 7 A flow chart of a method for manufacturing a heat sink provided in an embodiment of the present application, such as Figure 7 As shown in , the method may include the following steps:

[0062] Step 702: forming the substrate and the heat sink by an integrated molding process, so that the heat sink is fixed to the substrate, and an extension direction of the heat sink intersects with an extension direction of the substrate.

[0063] The one-piece molding process can be integrally stamped or cast into a heat sink including a substrate and a heat sink. It can also be cut from a whole piece of blank into a heat sink including a substrate and a heat sink. In view of the limitations of the process, the heat sink formed in this step has a smooth surface, but the thickness will be thicker than the target basic thickness of the heat sink, leaving some margin for further milling of the heat sink. Milling is a mechanical processing method that uses a milling cutter as a tool to process the surface of an object. The machine tool used for milling can be an ordinary machine tool or a CNC machine tool. The machine tool is usually a milling machine or a boring machine, which is very suitable for processing various forming surfaces, such as tooth shapes, wave shapes, thread shapes, etc.

[0064] The substrate and heat sink can be made of metal materials with good thermal conductivity, such as copper, aluminum and other materials.

[0065] Step 704: Milling the heat sink to make the heat sink have a non-smooth surface.

[0066] In this step, the heat sink can be milled by a CNC lathe to obtain the required shape. For example, the heat sink can be milled so that the surface of the heat sink has square ridges, and the extension direction of the square ridges is consistent with the extension direction of the heat sink; or the surface of the heat sink has sawtooth ridges, and the extension direction of the sawtooth ridges is consistent with the extension direction of the heat sink; or the surface of the heat sink is wavy, and the extension direction of the waves is consistent with the extension direction of the substrate; or the surface of the heat sink has array-type dot-shaped protrusions.

[0067] Figure 8This is a flow chart of another method for manufacturing a heat sink provided in an embodiment of the present application. The difference between this embodiment and the previous manufacturing method is that the previous manufacturing method first obtains the basic shape of the heat sink by integral molding, and then further refines the heat sink to obtain a non-smooth surface. However, this embodiment first obtains a heat sink with a non-smooth surface and then fixes it to the substrate. Figure 8 As shown in , the method may include the following steps:

[0068] Step 802: Using a press forming process to form a heat sink with a non-smooth surface.

[0069] For example, a press molding process can be used to process a heat sink with square ridge-like protrusions on the surface, and the extension direction of the square ridges is consistent with the extension direction of the heat sink; or a heat sink with sawtooth-shaped ridge-like protrusions on the surface, and the extension direction of the sawtooth-shaped ridges is consistent with the extension direction of the heat sink; or a heat sink with a wavy surface, and the extension direction of the waves is consistent with the extension direction of the substrate; or a heat sink with array-like point protrusions on the surface.

[0070] The pressing process may include but is not limited to forging, stamping or die-casting.

[0071] Step 804: Weld the heat sink to the substrate so that the extension direction of the heat sink intersects with the extension direction of the substrate.

[0072] The substrate is a plate that can be punched at specific locations on it, such as corners, to facilitate fixation. Then one edge of the heat sink is welded to the substrate. Alternatively, the heat sink can be welded to the substrate first, and then additional processing such as punching can be performed.

[0073] The substrate and heat sink can be made of metal materials with good thermal conductivity, such as copper, aluminum and other materials.

[0074] The above is a description of a specific embodiment of the specification. Other embodiments are within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the actions or steps recorded in the claims can be performed in an order different from that in the embodiments and still achieve the desired results. In addition, the processes depicted in the drawings do not necessarily require the specific order or continuous order shown to achieve the desired results. In some embodiments, multitasking and parallel processing are also possible or may be advantageous.

[0075] Each embodiment in this specification is described in a progressive manner, and the same or similar parts between the embodiments can refer to each other, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. In particular, for the system or system embodiment, since it is basically similar to the method embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can refer to the partial description of the method embodiment. The system and system embodiments described above are merely schematic, wherein the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the scheme of this embodiment. Ordinary technicians in this field can understand and implement it without creative work.

[0076] The technical solution provided by the present application is described in detail above. The principle and implementation method of the present application are described in detail using specific examples. The description of the above embodiments is only used to help understand the method and core idea of ​​the present application. At the same time, for those skilled in the art, according to the idea of ​​the present application, there will be changes in the specific implementation method and application scope. In summary, the content of this specification should not be understood as limiting the present application.

Claims

1. A radiator, used in an immersion liquid cooling environment, characterized in that: The radiator comprises a substrate and a heat sink fixed to the substrate; the average flow velocity of the coolant in the immersion liquid cooling environment is 0.002 m / s; The extension direction of the heat sink intersects with the extension direction of the substrate, and the heat sink has a non-smooth surface; the coolant flows from one end of the heat sink away from the substrate into the gap between the heat sinks and flows through the surface of the heat sink; The heat sink is extended from the substrate to the heat sink in a direction from thick to thin, so that the coolant quickly enters a turbulent state.

2. The heat sink according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surface of the heat sink has square ridge-shaped protrusions, and the extension direction of the square ridges is consistent with the extension direction of the heat sink; or, The surface of the heat sink is in the form of sawtooth-shaped ridges, and the extension direction of the sawtooth-shaped ridges is consistent with the extension direction of the heat sink; or, The surface of the heat sink is wavy, and the extension direction of the wave is consistent with the extension direction of the substrate; or, The surface of the heat sink is provided with array-shaped dot protrusions.

3. The heat sink according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heat sink is welded to the substrate, or the heat sink and the substrate are integrally formed.

4. An electronic device, characterized in that: The electronic device comprises the heat sink according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The electronic device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The electronic device comprises an immersion liquid cooling server, and the radiator is used to dissipate heat from a processor chip of the immersion liquid cooling server.

6. A method for manufacturing a radiator, wherein the radiator is applied to an immersion liquid cooling environment, and the radiator is the radiator as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The method includes: The substrate and the heat sink are formed by an integrated molding process, so that the heat sink is fixed to the substrate, and an extension direction of the heat sink intersects with an extension direction of the substrate; The heat sink is milled so that the heat sink has a non-smooth surface.

7. The manufacturing method according to claim 6, characterized in that: Milling the heat sink so that the heat sink has a non-smooth surface includes: The heat sink is milled so that the surface of the heat sink has square ridge-like protrusions, and the extension direction of the square ridges is consistent with the extension direction of the heat sink; or the surface of the heat sink has sawtooth ridge-like protrusions, and the extension direction of the sawtooth ridges is consistent with the extension direction of the heat sink; or the surface of the heat sink is wavy, and the extension direction of the waves is consistent with the extension direction of the substrate; or the surface of the heat sink has array-type point protrusions.

8. A method for manufacturing a radiator, wherein the radiator is applied to an immersion liquid cooling environment, and the radiator is the radiator as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The method includes: A heat sink with a non-smooth surface is formed by a press forming process; The heat sink is welded to the substrate so that an extension direction of the heat sink intersects with an extension direction of the substrate.

9. The manufacturing method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The heat sink having a non-smooth surface formed by a press forming process comprises: A press forming process is adopted to process a heat sink with square ridge-like protrusions on the surface, wherein the extending direction of the square ridges is consistent with the extending direction of the heat sink; or a heat sink with sawtooth-shaped ridge-like protrusions on the surface, wherein the extending direction of the sawtooth-shaped ridges is consistent with the extending direction of the heat sink; or a heat sink with a wavy surface, wherein the extending direction of the waves is consistent with the extending direction of the substrate; or a heat sink with array-like dot-shaped protrusions on the surface.

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