A power supply immersion liquid cooling device and method

Abstract

The application discloses a power supply immersion liquid cooling device and method, which comprises a shell and electronic elements arranged in the shell, the shell has a sealed cavity, the electronic elements are arranged in the sealed cavity, a heat dissipation cavity is formed between the electronic elements and the inner wall of the sealed cavity, the heat dissipation cavity is filled with cooling liquid, a liquid cooling cold plate is arranged outside the shell, a vibrating element is arranged on the shell, and the vibrating element drives the cooling liquid in the heat dissipation cavity to flow. According to the power supply immersion liquid cooling and liquid cooling plate liquid cooling scheme, the shell of the power supply does not need to be additionally provided with a water inlet and a water outlet, the vibrating element is used to realize the flow purpose of the cooling liquid in the shell, the power supply liquid leakage risk is minimized, and the safety performance is high.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of cooling technology for electrical components, and more particularly to a power supply immersion liquid cooling device and method. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, national regulations impose strict requirements on the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of data center server rooms. For electronic products, liquid cooling solutions can effectively reduce PUE values, achieving greater energy savings. For electronic products (this solution uses servers as an example, but is not limited to this), liquid cooling components in servers are currently mainly concentrated on CPUs, DIMMs (memory modules), and HDDs, while power supply cooling still primarily relies on air cooling. Optimization is urgently needed to achieve better PUE. The internal structure of power supplies is complex, with dispersed heat sources and limited internal space, making it impossible to solve all heat source temperature issues using traditional cold plate cooling.

[0003] Liquid cooling solutions for power supplies are currently rarely mass-produced, and most of them use cold plate heat dissipation. This method requires a redesign of the power supply structure so that the heat source components can directly contact the cold plate to transfer heat to the cold plate and achieve the heat dissipation requirement. Traditional power supplies cannot be used, resulting in a waste of resources. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the technical problems existing in the background art, the present invention proposes a power supply immersion liquid cooling device and method.

[0005] The present invention proposes a power supply immersion liquid cooling device, including a housing and electronic components disposed within the housing. The housing has a sealed cavity, and the electronic components are disposed within the sealed cavity. A heat dissipation cavity is formed between the electronic components and the inner wall of the sealed cavity. The heat dissipation cavity is filled with coolant. A liquid cooling plate is provided outside the housing, and a vibrating element is provided on the housing. The vibrating element drives the coolant in the heat dissipation cavity to flow.

[0006] It should be noted that the coolant can be modified silicone oil, fluorinated liquid, etc., as in the prior art. The coolant is filled in the heat dissipation cavity of the power supply casing. There is no need to set up inlet and outlet pipes to connect with the heat dissipation cavity. The coolant is driven to flow in the heat dissipation cavity by a vibrating element, thereby making the coolant flow relative to the liquid cooling plate to achieve heat exchange and cooling of the coolant. Preferably, the vibrating element is a sound wave exciter, so there is no need to drive the vibration of electronic components, and the sound wave exciter drives the coolant to flow at a relatively high speed.

[0007] Preferably, the vibration frequency of the vibrator can be adjusted according to the temperature of the coolant in the heat dissipation cavity, thereby adjusting the heat dissipation efficiency based on the coolant temperature. Specifically, the heat dissipation cavity is equipped with a temperature sensor for detecting the coolant temperature, and also includes a controller. Both the temperature sensor and the vibrator are connected to the controller. The temperature sensor transmits the detected coolant temperature to the controller, and the controller controls the vibrator's operation based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor. When the power supply is in use, it generates heat, causing the internal coolant temperature to rise. When the internal temperature sensor temperature rises and reaches threshold A, the acoustic wave exciter is activated, emitting sound waves of a certain frequency to cause the coolant to flow. If the temperature sensor temperature continues to rise to threshold B, the acoustic wave exciter can automatically increase the sound wave frequency, thereby increasing the heat dissipation efficiency. That is, the acoustic wave exciter frequency can be automatically adjusted according to the temperature sensor temperature. The coolant transfers the temperature to the power supply cover and then to the liquid cooling plate, thus achieving a cooling effect on the coolant.

[0008] To further increase the cooling effect, preferably, the liquid cooling plate is positioned above the outer casing. Generally, the upper and lower surfaces of the battery casing have the largest surface areas. To increase the cooling effect, a heat-conducting layer is provided between the liquid cooling plate and the outer casing.

[0009] Preferably, the thermally conductive layer includes at least one of a thermally conductive silicone grease layer, a thermally conductive gel layer, and a thermally conductive pad.

[0010] Generally, the outer casing controls the lower casing and the upper cover. The lower casing has a mounting groove where the electronic components of the power supply are installed. The upper cover is generally installed on the lower casing to form a sealed cavity. Since the liquid in the heat dissipation cavity cannot be completely filled, the height of the coolant is less than the height of the sealed cavity. Part of the upper surface of the heat dissipation cavity is not in direct contact with the coolant. This improvement prevents the pressure in the heat dissipation cavity from increasing during the flow of coolant driven by the acoustic generator. However, this structural design reduces the heat exchange efficiency of the liquid cooling plate to the coolant to some extent. In order to increase the heat exchange efficiency, in some embodiments, a heat-conducting column can be provided on the upper cover of the outer casing. The heat-conducting column has a portion extending into the coolant. In order to reduce the resistance of the heat-conducting column to the flow of coolant, the heat-conducting column is vertically rotatably mounted on the upper cover.

[0011] To further increase heat exchange efficiency, the heat-conducting column has heat exchange channels, and has liquid inlet and liquid outlet holes. The liquid inlet is located inside the coolant, and the liquid outlet is located above the coolant surface.

[0012] To further increase heat exchange efficiency, preferably, the coolant is provided with a heat-conducting element that can flow with the coolant, thereby facilitating uniform temperature distribution of the coolant.

[0013] To further increase heat exchange efficiency, preferably, the heat-conducting element has capillary adsorption pores on its exterior, which further enhances the uniformity of coolant temperature during coolant flow. In some embodiments, preferably, the heat-conducting element is made of sintered metal powder.

[0014] To increase heat conduction efficiency, in some embodiments, the heat-conducting component preferably includes a heat-conducting block with capillary pores. The heat-conducting block is made of metal and has a floating component outside it. The density of the floating component is less than that of the coolant, thus ensuring that the heat-conducting component can move with the flow of the coolant. The electronic components inside the housing are generally located on the lower inner surface of the housing, resulting in a relatively higher temperature below the coolant. As the liquid flows from the higher temperature part to the lower temperature part, the heat-conducting block moves upward under the action of the floating component. When the heat-conducting block floats on the top of the coolant, one end of the capillary pore is below the liquid surface, and the other end of the capillary pore is above the liquid surface or in contact with the plate (top cover) above the housing. Due to the temperature difference or pressure difference, the higher temperature liquid in the capillary pore flows to the plate above the housing, thereby increasing the heat exchange efficiency.

[0015] Preferably, the capillary includes horizontal capillary and vertical capillary, the vertical capillary is a through hole and multiple sets are provided, the horizontal capillary is opened horizontally on the heat-conducting block, and the horizontal capillary connects any two adjacent vertical capillary.

[0016] Preferably, the heat-conducting block is made of metal, the floating component is a hollow structure made of plastic, and multiple sets of the floating component are provided, with the multiple sets of the floating component circumferentially distributed on the outer periphery of the heat-conducting block.

[0017] A power supply immersion liquid cooling method involves filling a sealed cavity of the power supply casing with coolant, and installing a liquid cooling plate on the outside of the power supply casing. A vibrating element is used to vibrate the coolant in the sealed cavity to make the coolant flow and exchange heat with the liquid cooling plate.

[0018] In this invention, the proposed power supply immersion liquid cooling device and method, through power supply immersion liquid cooling and liquid cooling plate liquid cooling schemes, eliminate the need for additional water inlets and outlets on the power supply casing. The flow of coolant within the casing is achieved through a vibrating component, minimizing the risk of power supply leakage and ensuring high safety performance. Furthermore, since the coolant cannot completely fill the heat dissipation cavity, in order to ensure the heat exchange efficiency between the coolant and the liquid cooling plate, it is preferable to add a heat-conducting component to the coolant to further enhance the power supply cooling effect.

[0019] Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the heat-conducting column structure of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the heat-conducting component structure of the present invention;

[0024] In the diagram: 1. Outer shell; 10. Housing; 11. Top cover; 2. Liquid cooling plate; 3. Vibrating component; 4. Temperature sensor; 5. Thermal conductive layer; 6. Thermal conductive column; 60. Heat exchange channel; 61. Liquid inlet; 62. Liquid outlet; 7. Thermal conductive component; 70. Thermal conductive block; 700. Capillary pore; 71. Floating component; 8. Controller. Detailed Implementation

[0025] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar symbols denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0026] like Figures 1-4 The diagram illustrates a power supply immersion liquid cooling device and method. The power supply immersion liquid cooling device includes a housing 1 and electronic components disposed within the housing 1. The housing 1 has a sealed cavity. Similar to existing technologies, the housing 1 includes a shell 10 and a top cover 11 disposed on the shell 10. Both the shell 10 and the top cover 11 are made of thermally conductive materials. Preferably, the top cover 11 is made of aluminum alloy. The shell 10 has a mounting groove, and the top cover 11 seals the mounting groove to form a sealed cavity. To increase sealing performance, the top cover 11 can be fixed to the shell 10 using specialized sealant or welding techniques, thereby increasing the sealing performance of the housing 1. The electronic components are disposed within the sealed cavity. Specifically, the electronic components are disposed within the mounting groove, and a heat dissipation cavity is formed between the electronic components and the inner wall of the sealed cavity. The heat dissipation cavity is filled with coolant, which is modified silicone oil. A liquid cooling plate 2 is disposed outside the housing 1, and a vibrating element 3 is disposed on the housing 1. The vibrating element 3 drives the flow of coolant in the heat dissipation cavity. It should be noted that, similar to existing liquid cooling plates 2, the liquid cooling plate 2 has an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe.

[0027] Without the need for inlet and outlet pipes to connect with the heat dissipation cavity, the coolant is driven to flow in the heat dissipation cavity by the vibrating element 3, thereby causing the coolant to flow relative to the liquid cooling plate 2 to achieve heat exchange and cooling of the coolant. Preferably, the vibrating element 3 is a sound wave exciter, which eliminates the need to drive the vibration of electronic components, thus increasing the overall effect of the device. Moreover, the sound wave exciter drives the coolant to flow at a relatively high rate.

[0028] Preferably, the vibration frequency of the vibrator can be adjusted according to the temperature of the coolant in the heat dissipation cavity, thereby adjusting the heat dissipation efficiency based on the coolant temperature. Specifically, the heat dissipation cavity is equipped with a temperature sensor 4 for detecting the coolant temperature, and also includes a controller 8. Both the temperature sensor 4 and the vibrator 3 are connected to the controller 8. The temperature sensor 4 transmits the detected coolant temperature to the controller 8, and the controller 8 controls the vibrator's operation based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 4. When the power supply is in use, the power supply generates heat, and the temperature of the coolant inside the power supply rises accordingly. When the temperature of the temperature sensor 4 inside the power supply rises and reaches threshold A, the acoustic wave exciter is activated, emitting sound waves of a certain frequency, causing the coolant to flow inside. If the temperature of the temperature sensor 4 continues to rise to threshold B, the acoustic wave exciter can automatically increase the sound wave frequency, thereby increasing the heat dissipation efficiency. That is, the frequency of the acoustic wave exciter can be automatically adjusted according to the temperature of the temperature sensor 4. The coolant transfers the temperature to the power supply cover 11 and then to the liquid cooling plate 2, thereby achieving the cooling effect on the coolant.

[0029] In some specific embodiments, the controller 8 is a motherboard, and the power supply inside the housing 1 provides power to the motherboard.

[0030] To further increase the cooling effect, preferably, the liquid cooling plate 2 is positioned above the outer casing 1. Generally, the upper and lower surfaces of the battery casing 1 have the largest surface areas. To increase the cooling effect, a heat-conducting layer 5 is provided between the liquid cooling plate 2 and the outer casing 1. The provision of the heat-conducting layer 5 further increases the cooling effect on the coolant.

[0031] In some other embodiments, the thermally conductive layer 5 specifically includes at least one of a thermally conductive silicone grease layer, a thermally conductive gel layer, and a thermally conductive pad.

[0032] Since the liquid in the heat dissipation cavity cannot be completely filled, and in order to avoid the pressure in the heat dissipation cavity from increasing during the flow of coolant driven by the sound wave generator, the height of the coolant is less than the height of the sealed cavity, that is, there is a gap between the upper surface of the coolant and the top surface of the outer shell 1.

[0033] The gap between the upper surface of the coolant and the top surface of the outer shell 1 reduces the heat exchange efficiency of the liquid cooling plate 2 to the coolant to a certain extent. In order to increase the heat exchange efficiency, in some embodiments, a heat-conducting column 6 can be provided on the upper cover 11 of the outer shell 1. The heat-conducting column 6 is made of metal material and has a part extending into the coolant. In order to reduce the resistance of the heat-conducting column 6 to the flow of coolant, the heat-conducting column 6 is vertically rotatably mounted on the upper cover 11.

[0034] To further increase the heat exchange efficiency, the heat-conducting column 6 has a heat exchange channel 60. The heat-conducting column 6 has an inlet hole 61 and an outlet hole 62. The inlet hole 61 is located inside the coolant, and the outlet hole 62 is located above the coolant surface. When the coolant temperature is high, the liquid in the heat exchange channel 60 flows from bottom to top due to the temperature difference, thereby increasing the heat exchange efficiency. To further increase the heat exchange efficiency, the inlet hole 61 includes a side hole on the side of the heat-conducting column 6 and an end hole on the end face of the heat-conducting column 6 away from the top cover 11.

[0035] To further increase heat exchange efficiency, preferably, a heat-conducting element 7 is provided in the coolant, which can flow with the coolant to facilitate uniform temperature of the coolant.

[0036] To further increase heat exchange efficiency, in some embodiments, the heat-conducting element 7 preferably has capillary adsorption pores on its exterior, which further enhances the uniformity of coolant temperature during coolant flow. In some embodiments, the heat-conducting element 7 is preferably made of sintered metal powder.

[0037] To increase heat conduction efficiency, in some embodiments, the heat conduction element 7 preferably includes a heat conduction block 70 with capillary holes 700. The heat conduction block 70 is made of metal and has a floating element 71 on its exterior. The density of the floating element 71 is less than that of the coolant, thus ensuring that the heat conduction element 7 can move with the flow of the coolant. The electronic components inside the housing 1 are generally located on the lower inner surface of the housing 1, which makes the temperature below the coolant relatively high. As the liquid flows from the higher temperature part to the lower temperature part, the heat conduction block 70 moves upward under the action of the floating element 71. When the heat conduction block 70 floats on the top of the coolant, one end of the capillary hole 700 is below the liquid surface, and the other end of the capillary hole 700 is above the liquid surface or in contact with the plate (top cover 11) above the housing 1. Due to the temperature difference or pressure difference, the higher temperature liquid in the capillary hole 700 flows upward, thereby increasing the heat exchange efficiency.

[0038] Preferably, such as Figure 4 As shown, in order to further increase the heat exchange effect, the heat-conducting block 70 of the heat-conducting component 7 is disc-shaped, and the floating component 71 is hemispherical and there are multiple floating components 71. Multiple floating components 71 are distributed on the outer side of the heat-conducting component 7 along the circumference of the heat-conducting block 70. Due to the disc-shaped heat-conducting block 70 and the circumferential arrangement of the floating component 71, the heat-conducting component 7 is subjected to water flow impact. In some embodiments, the floating component 71 is preferably larger than the diameter of the liquid inlet hole 61 to avoid the heat-conducting component 7 getting stuck in the liquid inlet hole 61. Preferably, the floating component 71 is a hollow structure made of plastic.

[0039] Based on the above embodiments, the capillary 700 includes a horizontal capillary 700 and a vertical capillary 700. The vertical capillary 700 is parallel to the axis of the heat-conducting block 70. The vertical capillary 700 is a through hole and is provided in multiple sets. The horizontal capillary 700 is opened horizontally on the heat-conducting block 70, and the horizontal capillary 700 connects any two adjacent vertical capillary 700, further increasing the cooling effect of the liquid cooling plate 2 on the coolant.

[0040] A power supply immersion liquid cooling method involves filling a sealed cavity of the power supply casing 1 with coolant, and installing a liquid cooling plate 2 outside the power supply casing 1. A vibrating element 3 vibrates the coolant in the sealed cavity, causing it to flow and exchange heat with the liquid cooling plate 2. Preferably, when the power supply is in use, it generates heat, and the temperature of the coolant inside the power supply rises accordingly. When the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 4 rises to a threshold A, the controller 8 activates a sound wave exciter and emits sound waves of a certain frequency, causing the coolant to flow inside. If the temperature of the temperature sensor 4 continues to rise to a threshold B, the controller 8 controls the sound wave exciter to increase the sound wave frequency, thereby increasing the heat dissipation efficiency. That is, the frequency of the sound wave exciter can be automatically adjusted according to the temperature of the temperature sensor 4. The coolant transfers the temperature to the power supply cover 11 and then to the liquid cooling plate 2, thus achieving a cooling effect on the coolant.

[0041] It should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," "counterclockwise," "axial," "radial," and "circumferential" indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the present invention.

[0042] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. In the description of this invention, "a plurality of" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0043] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a connection that allows communication between them; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components, unless otherwise explicitly limited. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0044] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can mean that the first feature is in direct contact with the second feature, or that the first feature is in indirect contact with the second feature through an intermediate medium. Furthermore, "above," "over," and "on top" of the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.

[0045] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any equivalent substitutions or modifications made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in the present invention, based on the technical solution and inventive concept of the present invention, should be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A power supply immersion liquid cooling device, comprising a housing (1) and electronic components disposed within the housing (1), characterized in that, The outer shell (1) has a sealed cavity, the electronic components are disposed in the sealed cavity, a heat dissipation cavity is formed between the electronic components and the inner wall of the sealed cavity, the heat dissipation cavity is filled with coolant, a liquid cooling plate (2) is provided on the outside of the outer shell (1), and a vibrating element (3) is provided on the outer shell (1), the vibrating element (3) drives the coolant in the heat dissipation cavity to flow; The coolant is provided with a heat-conducting component (7), which can flow with the coolant; The heat-conducting component (7) has capillary adsorption pores; The heat-conducting component (7) is made of sintered metal powder; The heat-conducting component (7) includes a heat-conducting block (70), the heat-conducting block (70) has capillary pores (700), and a floating component (71) is provided outside the heat-conducting block (70). The density of the floating component (71) is less than the density of the coolant. The heat-conducting block (70) is made of metal, and the floating component (71) is a hollow structure made of plastic. Multiple sets of the floating component (71) are provided, and the multiple sets of the floating component (71) are circumferentially distributed on the outer periphery of the heat-conducting block (70).

2. The power supply immersion liquid cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vibrating element (3) is an acoustic exciter.

3. The power supply immersion liquid cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heat dissipation cavity is equipped with a temperature sensor (4) for detecting the temperature of the coolant, and also includes a controller (8). The temperature sensor (4) and the vibrating element (3) are both connected to the controller (8). The temperature sensor (4) transmits the temperature of the coolant it detects to the controller (8). The controller (8) controls the operation of the vibrating element (3) according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor (4).

4. The power supply immersion liquid cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The liquid cooling plate (2) is disposed above the outer shell (1), and a heat-conducting layer (5) is provided between the liquid cooling plate (2) and the outer shell (1).

5. A power supply immersion liquid cooling method, the method being implemented based on the power supply immersion liquid cooling device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Coolant is filled into the sealed cavity of the power supply housing (1), and a liquid cooling plate (2) is installed outside the power supply housing (1). The coolant in the sealed cavity is vibrated by the vibrating element (3) to make the coolant flow and exchange heat with the liquid cooling plate (2).

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