Leak detection system for immersion cooling rack mounted components

Abstract

The invention discloses a system and method for detecting leaks in a rack-mounted assembly. The system includes a floating unit positioned in contact with a surface of an immersion cooling liquid contained in the rack-mounted assembly, and a lever assembly mounted on the rack-mounted assembly and operably coupled with the floating unit. In response to a change in the level of the immersion cooling liquid above a level threshold, the floating unit actuates the lever assembly to provide a visual indication that a leak is occurring.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present technology relates to a leak detection system for a data center rack mounted processing assembly. In particular, the present technology relates to a leak detection system that detects and indicates the presence of leaking fluid in an immersion cooling rack mounted assembly. Background Art

[0002] Electronic equipment (e.g., processing servers, memory banks, computer disks, etc.) are typically arranged in electronic equipment racks. Large data centers and other large computing facilities may contain thousands of racks, which support thousands or even tens of thousands of processing servers. These electronic equipment racks typically consume a lot of power and generate a lot of heat.

[0003] Therefore, cooling measures are used to control the heat generated by such electronic equipment. One such cooling measure, direct liquid cooling blocks, particularly water cooling, has been used as a supplement or alternative to traditional forced air cooling. A cold plate, such as a water block having internal channels for channelized water circulation, can be mounted on a heat generating component (e.g., a processor) to transfer heat from the processor to a heat exchanger. In addition, immersion cooling (sometimes referred to as immersive cooling) has also been used. That is, the electronic component is inserted into a container that is fully or partially filled with a non-conductive cooling liquid (e.g., an oil-based dielectric cooling liquid). Effective thermal contact is obtained between the electronic component and the dielectric cooling liquid. Immersion cooling systems typically take the form of large water tanks in which the electronic equipment is submerged. Among other cooling measures, hybrid cooling systems involving water cooling and immersion cooling techniques have been used to improve the cooling effectiveness of heat generating electronic components.

[0004] However, such liquid cooling systems may be prone to certain failures, such as water block failure, dielectric cooling liquid leakage, etc. Therefore, leak detection systems are currently being designed for liquid-cooled electronic devices.

[0005] Existing cooling monitoring systems for liquid-cooled electronic equipment typically require a large number of sensors and controllers and corresponding wiring, which limits rack utilization and increases operating costs. Therefore, there is interest in developing alternative low-cost, individually addressable leak detection systems that do not require complex sensors and controllers and are able to provide adequate indication to data center operators when a leak occurs.

[0006] The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be considered prior art simply because it is mentioned in the background section. Likewise, it should not be considered that problems mentioned in the background section or problems related to the subject matter in the background section have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches. Summary of the invention

[0007] In a first aspect of the present technology, a leak detection system for a rack-mounted component is provided. The leak detection system includes a float unit positioned to contact a surface of an immersion cooling liquid contained in the rack-mounted component, and a lever assembly mounted on the rack-mounted component and operably coupled to the float unit. In response to a change in the level of the immersion cooling liquid above a level threshold, the float unit actuates the lever assembly to provide a visual indication that a leak is occurring.

[0008] In some non-limiting implementations, in response to the floating unit actuating the lever assembly, the actuation causes an interruption of the optical rack-mount component positioning beam to indicate a position of the rack-mount component.

[0009] In some non-limiting implementations, the actuation causes the first lever element and the second lever element to dislocate.

[0010] In some non-limiting implementations, the second lever element includes a lever portion having a hole that allows the optical rack-mount assembly positioning beam to travel therethrough during normal operation.

[0011] In some non-limiting implementations, the lever portion blocks the optical rack-mount assembly positioning beam in response to actuation of the lever assembly.

[0012] In some non-limiting implementations, the lever assembly is mounted to a top front face of the rack-mount assembly.

[0013] In some non-limiting implementations, the rack-mounted assembly requires operator intervention to manually reset the lever assembly.

[0014] In some non-limiting implementations, at least a portion of the lever mechanism is located above and against the float under normal operating conditions.

[0015] In some non-limiting implementations, the change in level of the immersion cooling liquid above a level threshold is one of: a surface of the immersion cooling liquid above a first level threshold, or a surface of the immersion cooling liquid below a second level threshold.

[0016] In a second aspect of the present technology, a method for detecting the presence of a leak in a data center rack-mounted assembly containing an immersion cooling liquid is provided. The method includes positioning a float unit in contact with a surface of the immersion cooling liquid contained in the rack-mounted assembly, and mounting a lever assembly on the rack-mounted assembly so as to be operably coupled to the float unit. In response to a change in the level of the immersion cooling liquid above a level threshold, the float unit actuates the lever assembly to provide a visual indication that a leak is occurring.

[0017] In some non-limiting implementations, the method further includes indicating the position of the rack-mounted component to an operator of the data center via translation of a lever element of the lever assembly in response to the floating unit actuating the lever assembly.

[0018] In some non-limiting implementations, the lever element includes a lever portion having a hole that allows the optical rack-mount component positioning beam to travel therethrough during normal operation.

[0019] In some non-limiting implementations, the lever portion blocks the optical rack-mount assembly positioning beam in response to actuation of the lever assembly.

[0020] In the context of this specification, unless otherwise explicitly stated, a computer system may refer to but is not limited to an "electronic device", "operating system", "system", "computer-based system", "controller unit", "monitoring device", "control device" and / or any combination thereof suitable for the current relevant task.

[0021] In the context of this specification, unless expressly provided otherwise, the expressions "computer-readable medium" and "memory" are intended to include media of any nature and kind, non-limiting examples of which include RAM, ROM, disks (CD-ROM, DVD, floppy disks, hard disk drives, etc.), USB keys, flash memory cards, solid-state drives, and tape drives. Still in the context of this specification, "a" computer-readable medium and "the" computer-readable medium should not be interpreted as the same computer-readable medium. On the contrary, where appropriate, "a" computer-readable medium and "the" computer-readable medium may also be interpreted as a first computer-readable medium and a second computer-readable medium.

[0022] In the context of this specification, unless expressly specified otherwise, the words "first", "second", "third" etc. are used as adjectives merely to distinguish the nouns they modify rather than to describe any specific relationship between these nouns.

[0023] The embodiments of the present technology each have at least one of the above-mentioned purposes and / or aspects, but not necessarily all of them. It should be understood that some aspects of the present technology generated to achieve the above-mentioned purpose may not meet the purpose and / or may meet other purposes not specifically listed herein.

[0024] Additional and / or alternative features, aspects, and advantages of implementations of the present technology will become apparent from the following description, drawings, and appended claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present technology will become more readily understood with reference to the following description, appended claims and accompanying drawings, in which:

[0026] Figure 1 depicts a perspective view of a data center rack system housing a plurality of rack-mounted components having a leak detection system in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure;

[0027] Figure 2 depicts a perspective view of a rack-mounted assembly having a leak detection system according to an implementation of the present disclosure;

[0028] Figure 3A depicts a schematic side view of an exemplary leak detection system of a rack-mounted assembly in a first configuration according to implementations of the present disclosure;

[0029] Figure 3B Depicted is a first configuration according to an implementation of the present disclosure. Figure 3A A schematic side view of an exemplary leak detection system of ;

[0030] Figure 3C shows a leak detection system in abnormal operation (ie, a "faulty" configuration) according to an implementation of the present disclosure; and

[0031] Figure 4 Describes the implementation method according to the present disclosure Figure 3A A perspective view of an exemplary leak detection system.

[0032] It should also be noted that unless otherwise explicitly noted herein, the accompanying drawings are not drawn to scale. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The examples and conditional language described herein are primarily intended to help readers understand the principles of the present technology, rather than limiting its scope to these specifically described examples and conditions. It will be understood that those skilled in the art can design various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, still embody the principles of the present technology.

[0034] In addition, to facilitate understanding, the following description may describe relatively simplified implementations of the present technology. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various implementations of the present technology may have greater complexity.

[0035] In some cases, examples that are considered helpful for modifications of the present technology may also be set forth. This is done solely to aid understanding, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present technology or set forth its boundaries. These modifications are not an exhaustive list, and other modifications may be made by those skilled in the art while remaining within the scope of the present technology. In addition, if no examples of modifications are set forth, it should not be interpreted that modifications are impossible and / or that what is described is the only way to implement that element of the present technology.

[0036] In addition, all statements herein describing the principles, aspects, and implementations of the present technology and specific examples thereof are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof, whether currently known or developed in the future. Thus, for example, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that any block diagram herein represents a conceptual view of an illustrative circuit embodying the principles of the present technology.

[0037] With this basic knowledge in mind, we will now consider some non-limiting examples to illustrate various implementations of aspects of the present disclosure.

[0038] Figure 1 A perspective view of a rack system 100 for housing a plurality of rack-mounted components 104 having corresponding leak detection systems 200 according to an implementation of the present disclosure is shown. As shown, the rack system 100 may include a rack frame 102, rack-mounted components 104, liquid cooling inlet ducts 106, and liquid cooling outlet ducts 108. The rack-mounted components 104 may be oriented vertically relative to the rack frame 102, similar to books on a library shelf. This arrangement may provide for mounting a large number of such rack-mounted components 104 in the rack frame 102, relative to conventional arrangements, particularly relative to conventional arrangements of immersion-cooled rack-mounted components.

[0039] In addition, as shown in the figure, the rack system 100 may also include a power distribution unit (PDU) 110 and a liquid coolant inlet / outlet connector 112. It should be noted that the rack system 100 may include other components, such as a heat exchanger, cables, pumps, etc. However, for ease of understanding, Figure 1 These components are omitted. Figure 1 As shown, the rack frame 102 may include a rack shelf 103 to accommodate one or more rack-mounted components 104. As described above, the one or more rack-mounted components 104 may be arranged vertically relative to the rack shelf 103. In some implementations, guide members (not shown) may be used on the rack shelf 103 to guide the rack-mounted components 104 into place during racking and unracking, and to provide appropriate spacing between the rack-mounted components 104 for racking and unracking.

[0040] like Figure 1 As further shown, the rack frame 102 may also include a rack column 105 to support the rack shelf 103. Optical transmitters 202 and optical receivers 204 are mounted on the rack column 105, of which only two are shown for clarity. As described in more detail below, the optical transmitters 202 and optical receivers 204 are arranged to cooperate with the leak detection system 200 to indicate the location of an overheated rack-mounted component 104.

[0041] Figure 2 A perspective view of a rack-mounted assembly 104 with a leak detection system 200 is shown in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. As shown, the rack-mounted assembly 104 includes a removable frame or "board" 118 of an electronic device 120, and an immersion housing 116 with the leak detection system 200 mounted thereon. The board 118 houses heat-generating electronic components 122 of the electronic device 120 and can be submerged in an immersion cooling liquid within the immersion housing 116. Examples of heat-generating components include, but are not limited to, central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), neural processing units (NPUs), tensor processing units (TPUs), power circuitry, and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), including, for example, ASICs configured for high-speed cryptocurrency mining.

[0042] Although the immersion housing 116, the board 118, and the electronic components 122 are shown as separate components, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in some implementations, two or more of these components may be combined. For example, the electronic components 122 may be directly fixed to the board 118 and / or the immersion housing 116.

[0043] Considering that the electronic device 120 may generate a large amount of heat, the rack system 100 may use a cooling system to cool the electronic device 120 to prevent the electronic device 120 from being damaged. In this implementation, the cooling system of the rack-mounted component 104 is a hybrid cooling system including an immersion cooling system and a channelized cooling system.

[0044] As used herein, an immersion cooling system is a cooling system in which the electronic equipment is in direct contact with a non-conductive (dielectric) cooling liquid, and the cooling liquid either flows through at least a portion of the electronic equipment or at least a portion of the electronic equipment is submerged in the cooling liquid. For example, in the rack-mounted assembly 104, the immersion housing 116 can contain the immersion cooling liquid 260 (see Figure 3A). In addition, the board 118 including the electronic components 122 can be at least partially submerged in the immersion cooling housing 116. In some implementations, the dielectric immersion cooling liquid and the board 118 can be inserted into the immersion housing 116 via an opening 122 at the top of the immersion housing 116. In some implementations, the opening 122 can remain at least partially open during operation of the electronic device 120, thereby providing a non-sealed configuration for the immersion housing 116. Such a non-sealed configuration may be easier to manufacture and maintain than a sealed configuration, but may not be suitable for, for example, a two-phase system, where the immersion cooling liquid may boil during operation of the electronic device 120.

[0045] As used herein, a channelized cooling system is a cooling system in which a liquid cooling unit, a convection inducing structure, or any other suitable device is used to cool a heat-generating component (i.e., electronic component 122) or a dielectric cooling liquid of an electronic device 120, wherein the liquid cooling unit may also be referred to as a "cold plate" or "water block" (although the liquid circulating through the "water block" may be any of a variety of known heat transfer liquids other than water), the convection inducing structure is, for example, a serpentine convection coil 124, and a flow of cooling liquid (e.g., water) maintained in the convection inducing structure may be used to cool the dielectric cooling liquid by natural convection.

[0046] In this implementation, the immersion housing 116 may also include a structure or device for cooling the dielectric cooling liquid. For example, a convection-inducing structure (e.g., a serpentine convection coil 124 in which a channelized cooling liquid (e.g., water) flow is maintained) may be used to cool the immersion cooling liquid by natural convection. Alternatively or in addition, a pump (not shown) may be used to circulate the immersion cooling liquid within the immersion housing 116 or through an external cooling system (not shown). In some implementations, a two-phase system may be used in which the immersion cooling liquid in the gas phase is cooled by condensation. In general, any technique or combination for cooling the immersion cooling liquid may be used without departing from the principles disclosed herein. In some implementations, the serpentine convection coil 124 may be omitted or replaced with other convection-inducing structures or devices for circulating the immersion cooling liquid.

[0047] As described in more detail below, if a malfunction occurs in the hybrid cooling system of the rack-mounted components 104, for example, when a leak occurs in the channelized cooling fluid (e.g., water flowing in the serpentine coil 124 leaks into the immersed housing 116), the leak detection system 200 is able to provide a visual indication to an operator that a leak has occurred so that action can be taken to protect the electronic equipment 120 from malfunctioning due to overheating or short circuiting due to the leaking fluid.

[0048] Figure 3AAn exemplary leak detection system 200 for a rack-mounted assembly 104 in normal operation (ie, a "running" configuration) is shown in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Figure 3A and Figure 4 As shown, the leakage detection system 200 includes a floating unit 210 and a first lever element 250, a second lever element 211, and a third lever element 212 that are mechanically coupled together for each electronic device 120. The first lever element 250, the second lever element 211, and the third lever element 212 form a lever assembly 270. As will be described in more detail below, when there is a leaking fluid in the immersion housing 116, the floating unit 210 rises and mechanically interacts with the lever assembly 270 to switch the leakage detection system 200 from a "running" configuration to a "fault" configuration indicating an abnormal operating condition (i.e., a leak is occurring or has occurred), such as Figure 3B shown.

[0049] Reference again Figure 3A , the floating unit 210 of the leak detection system 200 is placed in the dielectric immersion cooling liquid in the immersion housing 116 of the corresponding rack-mounted component 104. The first lever element 250 is attached to the protective housing 213 of the leak detection system 200, for example, at the pivot point 252. The portion 254 of the first lever element 250 is located above the protruding portion 215 of the floating unit 210. In this implementation, the protruding portion 215 contacts the portion 254 of the first lever element 250 under normal operating conditions. More specifically, the floating unit 210 abuts against the portion 254 and applies an upward force to the first lever element 250, and thus applies a force to the spring 218. The stiffness of the spring 218 is selected to counteract the force applied by the floating unit 210 to the first lever element 250. If the channelized cooling liquid leaks into water or leaks into oil, the floating unit 210 rises with the surface of the immersion cooling liquid 216, pressing the spring 218 through the lever assembly 270, which will be described in more detail below. If the immersion cooling liquid 216 leaks, the float unit 210 drops with the surface of the immersion cooling liquid 216, thereby compressing the spring 218. In both cases, the leak detection system 200 provides a visual indication that a leak exists.

[0050] The second lever element 211 is attached to the protective housing 213 of the leak detection system 200, for example, at a pivot point 216. In this implementation, the second lever 211 is held in place by a spring 218. In the "running" configuration, the first lever element 250 can be away from the second lever element 211. The second lever element 211 is also configured to contact and hold the third lever element 212. The third lever element 212 is configured with a lever portion 212a including a hole 214. As described in more detail below, under normal operation, the hole 214 allows the optical rack-mounted component locating beam 206 to travel therethrough. The optical rack-mounted component locating beam 206 originates from the optical transmitter 202 and travels to the optical receiver 204, where it is detected. Therefore, under normal operation, the first lever element 211 and the second lever element 212 and the lever portion 212a of the second lever element 212 with the hole 214 are oriented so as to allow the optical rack-mounted component locating beam 206 to pass through the hole 214.

[0051] Figure 3B 2 shows a leak detection system 200 in abnormal operation (i.e., a "faulty" configuration) according to an implementation of the present disclosure. More specifically, Figure 3B The leak detection system 200 is shown when the channelized cooling liquid leaks into the immersion cooling liquid. When the leak occurs in the immersion housing 116, the floating unit 210 at the surface of the immersion cooling liquid rises and abuts against the first lever element 215. In this non-limiting example, the protruding portion 215 abuts against the underside of the portion 254. As the floating unit 210 continues to rise, the first lever element 250 rotates about the pivot point 252 (in Figure 3B 216), and the portion 254 of the first lever element abuts against the second lever element 211, which in turn rotates about the pivot point 216. By doing so, the second lever element 211 also compresses the spring 218 attached to the protective housing 213 of the leak detection system 200 and translates the third lever element 212 downward toward the final position. For example, but not limited to, the second lever element 211 and the third lever element 212 can define hook portions that are connected to each other in the operating configuration. Once the second lever element 212 rotates about the pivot point 216, the hook portions can separate or dislocate from each other, causing the second lever element to release the third lever element 212.

[0052] In this implementation, when the second lever element 212 is released, the lever portion 212a of the second lever element 212 blocks the light beam 206. When the optical rack-mount component locating light beam 206 strikes the lever portion 212a, the interrupted light beam 206 alerts the operator that there is a problem with the associated rack system 100 and indicates the exact location of the rack-mount component 104 where the leak has occurred.

[0053] In some non-limiting implementations, the optical receiver 204 is connected to a controller (not shown). When the optical receiver 204 detects the optical rack-mounted component locating beam 206, the rack system 100 operates normally. However, when the optical rack-mounted component locating beam 206 is cut off, the optical receiver 204 does not detect any beam. In response to the absence of the beam, the controller can transmit an alarm signal to an operator device communicatively connected thereto to indicate the occurrence of an abnormality to an operator of the data center.

[0054] Figure 3C 2 shows a leak detection system 200 in abnormal operation (i.e., a "faulty" configuration) according to an implementation of the present disclosure. More specifically, Figure 3C The leak detection system 200 is shown when the immersion cooling liquid leaks from the immersion housing 216. When such a leak occurs, the floating unit 210 at the surface of the immersion cooling liquid drops, and since the force of the spring 218 is equal to the force exerted by the floating unit 210 on the first lever element 250 under normal permissible conditions, the first lever element 250 rotates about the pivot point 252 (at Figure 3C The first lever element 210 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction in the illustrative example of the present invention, and the portion 254 of the first lever element abuts against the second lever element 211, which in turn rotates about the pivot point 216. By doing so, the second lever element 211 also compresses the spring 218 attached to the protective housing 213 of the leak detection system 200 and translates the third lever element 212 downward toward the final position.

[0055] Thus, it can be said that in response to the level of the immersion cooling liquid changing above the level threshold (i.e., the level rises above the first level threshold or drops below the second level threshold), the float unit 210 actuates the lever assembly 270, which in turn provides a visual indication of the occurrence of a leak. In some implementations, the operator needs to manually reset the lever assembly 270. For example, the operator can push the third lever element 212 upward. By doing so, the third lever element 212 will push the second lever element 211, which in turn compresses the spring 218. Therefore, the second lever element 211 and the third lever element 212 will be as shown. Figure 3A Interlock shown.

[0056] It should be understood that the operations and functions of the data center leak detection system 200, its components and related processes can be implemented by any one or more of hardware-based, software-based and firmware-based elements. Such operational alternatives do not limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

[0057] It should also be understood that although the implementations presented herein are described with reference to specific features and structures, various modifications and combinations may be made without departing from the present disclosure. For example, it is contemplated that in some implementations, two or more of the leak detection systems described above may be used in any combination. Therefore, the specification and drawings should be regarded only as illustrations of the implementations or implementations discussed and their principles as defined by the appended claims, and it is contemplated to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents falling within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A leak detection system (200) for a rack-mounted assembly (104), the leak detection system (200) comprising: a floating unit (210) positioned to contact a surface of an immersion cooling liquid contained in the rack-mounted assembly (104); as well as a lever assembly (270) mounted on the frame-mounted assembly (104) and operably coupled to the floating unit (210), In response to a change in the liquid level of the immersion cooling liquid exceeding a liquid level threshold, the float unit (210) actuates the lever assembly to provide a visual indication of a leak.

2. The leak detection system (200) according to claim 1, wherein: In response to the floating unit (210) actuating the lever assembly, the actuation causes an optical rack-mount component locating beam (206) to be interrupted to indicate the position of the rack-mount component (104).

3. The leak detection system (200) according to claim 2, wherein: The actuation causes the first lever element (211) and the second lever element (212) to disengage.

4. The leak detection system (200) according to claim 2, wherein: The second lever element (212) includes a lever portion (212a) having an aperture (214) that allows the optical rack-mount assembly positioning beam (206) to travel therethrough during normal operation.

5. The leak detection system (200) according to claim 4, wherein: The lever portion (212a) blocks the optical rack-mount assembly positioning beam (206) in response to actuation of the lever assembly.

6. The leak detection system (200) according to claim 1, wherein: The lever assembly is mounted to the top front face of the rack mount assembly (104).

7. The leak detection system (200) according to claim 1, wherein: The rack-mount assembly (104) requires operator intervention to manually reset the lever assembly (270).

8. The leak detection system (200) according to claim 1, wherein: Under normal operating conditions, at least a portion of the lever mechanism is located above and against the floating unit.

9. The leak detection system (200) according to claim 1, wherein: The change in the level of the immersion cooling liquid above the level threshold is one of the following: The surface of the immersion cooling liquid is above a first liquid level threshold, or The surface of the immersion cooling liquid is below a second liquid level threshold.

10. A method for detecting the presence of a leak in a data center rack-mounted component (104) containing an immersion cooling liquid (260), the method comprising: positioning a floating unit (210) in contact with a surface of an immersion cooling liquid contained in the rack-mounted assembly; as well as mounting a lever assembly on the frame-mount assembly (104) so ​​as to be operably coupled to the float assembly (210), In response to a change in the liquid level of the immersion cooling liquid exceeding a liquid level threshold, the float unit (210) actuates the lever assembly to provide a visual indication of a leak.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: In response to the floating unit (210) actuating the lever assembly, the position of the rack-mounted assembly (104) is indicated to an operator of a data center by translation of a lever element (212) of the lever assembly.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The lever element (212) includes a lever portion (212a) having an aperture (214) that allows an optical rack-mount component positioning beam (206) to travel therethrough during normal operation.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The lever portion (212a) blocks the optical rack-mount assembly positioning beam (206) in response to actuation of the lever assembly.

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