Modular phase-change material box with air duct and application of modular phase-change material box

Abstract

The invention discloses a modular phase-change material box with an air duct and application of the modular phase-change material box. The modular phase-change material box with the air duct comprises a phase-change material box body (1) and the air duct (2). The number of the air ducts (2) is multiple, and each air duct (2) penetrates from the bottom of the phase-change material box main body (1) to the top of the phase-change material box main body (1); the air channel (2) at least comprises a first-stage spray-pipe-shaped air flow channel (21), and the spray-pipe-shaped air flow channel (21) is in the shape that the spray-pipe-shaped air flow channel (21) is shrunk and then enlarged from the bottom of the spray-pipe-shaped air flow channel (21) to the top of the spray-pipe-shaped air flow channel (21). According to the invention, the venturi effect is utilized, and the tapered spray-pipe-shaped air flow channel is designed, so that not only is the heat exchange area between the phase-change material and the environment increased, but also the flow speed of fluid is increased and the pressure is reduced when the fluid passes through a narrow area, thereby realizing gas throttling cooling and obviously improving the cooling efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of data center cooling, and in particular to a modular phase change material box with an air duct and application thereof. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the rapid development of electronic technology, electronic equipment is moving towards a more miniaturized and highly integrated direction. This process has led to a significant increase in heat flux density per unit area. Especially in high-density computing environments such as data centers, where multiple high-performance servers are closely arranged and the heat generated is concentrated, traditional air cooling solutions face challenges such as performance bottlenecks and space limitations.

[0003] In order to meet the above challenges, phase change materials (PCM) have emerged as an efficient thermal management solution. Phase change materials can absorb a large amount of latent heat in the process of changing from solid to liquid, and release latent heat in the opposite direction, which makes them ideal temperature regulation materials. By encapsulating phase change materials in special modular containers and deploying them in server cabinets in data centers, the instantaneous high temperature peaks generated by server operation can be effectively smoothed, thereby optimizing the thermal management performance of the entire system.

[0004] However, most existing modular phase change material boxes adopt a simple rectangular design and are placed directly inside the cabinet. Although this method has a certain effect on reducing the instantaneous heat load, due to its design limitations, the heat exchange efficiency between the phase change material and the surrounding environment still needs to be improved. In order to further enhance the heat dissipation efficiency of the phase change material box, it is necessary to innovate and improve the existing design to ensure that the data center can maintain a stable and safe operating temperature range.

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is proposed. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present invention provides a modular phase change material box with air duct for data center, aiming to improve the heat exchange efficiency of phase change material. By designing a phase change material box with a specific thickness and setting a nozzle-shaped air flow channel with Venturi effect inside it, not only the heat exchange area between the phase change material and the environment is increased, but also the flow path designed by the principle of fluid dynamics is used to make the fluid more efficient in heat exchange when passing through the material box.

[0007] A first aspect of the present invention provides a modular phase change material box with an air duct, which comprises a phase change material box body 1 and an air duct 2;

[0008] There are multiple air ducts 2, and each of the air ducts 2 runs from the bottom of the phase change material box body 1 to the top of the phase change material box body 1;

[0009] The air duct 2 at least includes a primary nozzle-shaped air flow channel 21 , and the nozzle-shaped air flow channel 21 is in a shape of first shrinking and then expanding from the bottom of the nozzle-shaped air flow channel 21 to the top of the nozzle-shaped air flow channel 21 .

[0010] There are multiple air ducts 2, and the specific number is designed according to the specific size of the phase change material box.

[0011] The air duct 2 includes at least one level of Venturi effect nozzle-shaped air flow channel, which is tapered, that is, the entrance is wide, gradually narrows in the middle, and then expands again. The narrow part of the flow channel uses the Venturi effect. When the air flows through this area, the flow velocity is accelerated and the local pressure is reduced, thereby producing a cooling effect. Optimized flow curve: Through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation, the internal flow channel layout is optimized to ensure that the fluid can achieve maximum heat transfer when passing through the material box. The flow curve design makes the fluid evenly distributed in the flow channel to avoid the occurrence of local overheating.

[0012] Preferably, the inner diameter of the bottom of the air duct 2 is greater than the inner diameter of the top of the air duct 2 .

[0013] Preferably, the air duct 2 includes a multi-stage nozzle-shaped air flow channel 21 .

[0014] Preferably, the multiple stages of the nozzle-shaped air flow channels 21 are arranged in sequence from the bottom of the phase change material box body 1 to the top of the phase change material box body 1, and the inner diameter of the narrowest part of the nozzle-shaped air flow channel 21 gradually decreases from the bottom of the phase change material box body 1 to the top of the phase change material box body 1. In other words, a vertical air duct 2 includes multiple sections of nozzle-shaped air flow channels 21 from bottom to top, and the inner diameter of the narrowest part of the nozzle-shaped air flow channel 21 gradually decreases from bottom to top. By designing multiple stages of nozzle flow channels inside the phase change material box, the fluid undergoes multiple throttling processes, gradually reduces the temperature, and further improves the cooling effect.

[0015] Preferably, the air duct 2 is located at the center and / or edge of the phase change material box body 1 .

[0016] Preferably, the air duct 2 located at the center of the phase change material box body 1 is complete, while the air duct 2 located at the edge of the phase change material box body 1 is a partial structure. When a plurality of modular phase change material boxes with air ducts are used in combination, adjacent modular phase change material boxes with air ducts are spliced ​​at the edges, and the partial structures at the splicing points together form the complete air duct 2.

[0017] The phase change material box adopts a modular design, which is easy to install and maintain, and can be flexibly combined and used according to actual needs.

[0018] Preferably, the phase change material box body 1 has an opening 11. The opening 11 is used to load the phase change material into the modular phase change material box with air duct.

[0019] Preferably, the thickness of the modular phase change material box with air duct does not exceed 15 mm.

[0020] Preferably, the volume of the air duct 2 in the modular phase change material box with air duct accounts for 30% to 50% of the volume of the modular phase change material box with air duct;

[0021] Preferably, the air duct 2 is evenly or unevenly distributed in the modular phase change material box with air ducts. In actual process, the arrangement position of the air duct 2 in the modular phase change material box with air ducts is calculated by optimization algorithm according to the specific temperature field.

[0022] Preferably, the phase change material box body 1 is made of aluminum alloy having good thermal conductivity to promote rapid heat conduction.

[0023] The second aspect of the present invention provides an application of the modular phase change material box with air duct described in the first aspect of the present invention in a high-density computing environment of a data center.

[0024] The present invention is implemented in the following ways:

[0025] (1) Select appropriate phase change materials to ensure that they have good phase change performance within the operating temperature range of the data center.

[0026] (2) Aluminum alloy is used to make the shell of the phase change material box to ensure good thermal conductivity.

[0027] (3) According to the size of the phase change material box, multiple tapered nozzle-shaped air flow channels are designed.

[0028] (4) Optimize the flow channel layout to ensure that the fluid flows evenly and efficiently in the flow channel.

[0029] (5) The cooling effect can be further improved by adjusting the length, diameter and shape of the flow channel.

[0030] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0031] 1. Traditional phase change material boxes usually adopt simple straight-through or curved flow channel designs, which mainly rely on natural convection and conduction of the fluid for cooling. The present invention uses the Venturi effect to design a tapered nozzle-shaped air flow channel, which not only increases the heat exchange area between the phase change material and the environment, but also speeds up the flow rate and reduces the pressure of the fluid when passing through a narrow area, thereby achieving gas throttling cooling and significantly improving the cooling efficiency.

[0032] 2. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention designs a multi-stage nozzle flow channel, and the multi-stage nozzle-shaped air flow channel 21 is arranged in sequence from the bottom of the phase change material box body 1 to the top of the phase change material box body 1, and the inner diameter of the narrowest part of the nozzle-shaped air flow channel 21 gradually decreases from the bottom of the phase change material box body 1 to the top of the phase change material box body 1, so that the fluid undergoes multiple throttling processes, gradually reduces the temperature, and further improves the cooling effect.

[0033] 3. The air duct 2 of the present invention is located at the center and / or edge of the phase change material box body 1. The air duct 2 located at the center of the phase change material box body 1 is complete, while the air duct 2 located at the edge of the phase change material box body 1 is a partial structure. When multiple modular phase change material boxes with air ducts are used in combination, adjacent modular phase change material boxes with air ducts are spliced ​​at the edge, and the partial structure at the splicing together forms the complete air duct 2. With modular design, each modular unit contains one or more phase change material boxes, which can be flexibly combined and used according to the actual needs of the data center, convenient installation and maintenance, and strong adaptability.

[0034] The present invention effectively optimizes the phase change material box structure, can effectively enhance the heat exchange efficiency between the phase change material and the surrounding environment, and ensure that the data center can be maintained within a stable and safe operating temperature range. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the modular phase change material box of Example 1.

[0036] Figure 2 The modular phase change material box assembly structure of Example 1

[0037] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the nozzle-shaped air flow channel of Example 1.

[0038] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a modular phase change material box with a multi-stage nozzle flow channel in Example 2.

[0039] The names of the reference numerals in the description of the drawings are: 1-phase change material box body, 2-air duct, 11-opening, 21-nozzle-shaped air flow channel. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with embodiments.

[0041] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the following examples are only used to illustrate the present invention and should not be considered to limit the scope of the present invention. If no specific techniques or conditions are specified in the examples, the techniques or conditions described in the literature in the art or the product specifications are used. If the manufacturer of the materials or equipment used is not specified, they are all conventional products that can be purchased.

[0042] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, unless expressly stated otherwise, the singular forms "a", "an", "said" and "the" used herein may also include plural forms. It should be further understood that the term "comprising" used in the specification of the present invention refers to the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups thereof. It should be understood that when we refer to an element as being "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected to the other element, or there may be intermediate elements. In addition, the "connection" used herein may include wireless connections.

[0043] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more than two. The terms "inside", "upper", "lower", etc., indicating positions or state relationships, are based on the positions or state relationships shown in the drawings, and are 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 position, be constructed and operate in a specific position, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0044] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "provided with" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention will be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0045] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that, unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical and scientific terms, have the same meaning as those generally understood by those skilled in the art in the art to which the present invention belongs. It should also be understood that terms such as those defined in common dictionaries should be understood to have meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the prior art, and will not be interpreted with idealized or overly formal meanings unless defined as herein.

[0046] Example 1

[0047] like Figure 1-3As shown, this embodiment provides a modular phase change material box with air duct for a high-density computing environment in a data center, which includes a phase change material box body 1 and an air duct 2;

[0048] There are multiple air ducts 2, and each of the air ducts 2 runs from the bottom of the phase change material box body 1 to the top of the phase change material box body 1;

[0049] The air duct 2 includes a primary nozzle-shaped air flow channel 21 , and the nozzle-shaped air flow channel 21 is in a shape of first shrinking and then expanding from the bottom of the nozzle-shaped air flow channel 21 to the top of the nozzle-shaped air flow channel 21 .

[0050] The air duct 2 includes a first-level Venturi effect nozzle-shaped air flow channel, which is tapered, that is, the entrance is wide, gradually narrows in the middle, and then expands again. The narrow part of the flow channel uses the Venturi effect. When the air flows through this area, the flow rate is accelerated and the local pressure is reduced, thereby producing a cooling effect. Optimized flow curve: Through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation, the internal flow channel layout is optimized to ensure that the fluid can achieve maximum heat transfer when passing through the material box. The flow curve design makes the fluid evenly distributed in the flow channel to avoid the occurrence of local overheating.

[0051] The inner diameter of the bottom of the air duct 2 is greater than the inner diameter of the top of the air duct 2 .

[0052] The air duct 2 is located at the center and / or edge of the phase change material box body 1. The air duct 2 located at the center of the phase change material box body 1 is complete, while the air duct 2 located at the edge of the phase change material box body 1 is a partial structure. When a plurality of modular phase change material boxes with air ducts are used in combination, adjacent modular phase change material boxes with air ducts are spliced ​​at the edges, and the partial structures at the splicing together form the complete air duct 2.

[0053] from Figure 1-Figure 3 As can be seen from the figure, each modular phase change material box has five central air ducts 2, five 1 / 2-shaped air ducts 2 on each of its two long sides, one 1 / 2-shaped air duct 2 on each of its two short sides, and one 1 / 4-shaped air duct 2 on each of its four corners. Figure 2 When six modular phase change material boxes with air ducts are used in combination, adjacent modular phase change material boxes with air ducts are spliced ​​at the edges, and the partial structures at the splicing together form the complete air duct 2. The phase change material box adopts a modular design, which is easy to install and maintain, and can be flexibly combined and used according to actual needs.

[0054] The phase change material box body 1 has an opening 11. The opening 11 is used to fill the phase change material into the modular phase change material box with air duct.

[0055] The thickness of the modular phase change material box with air duct is 12 mm.

[0056] The volume of the air duct 2 in the modular phase change material box with air duct accounts for 30% of the volume of the modular phase change material box with air duct;

[0057] The air ducts 2 are evenly distributed in the modular phase change material box with air ducts.

[0058] The phase change material box body 1 is made of aluminum alloy with good thermal conductivity to promote rapid heat conduction.

[0060] (1) Select appropriate phase change materials to ensure that they have good phase change performance within the operating temperature range of the data center.

[0061] (2) Aluminum alloy is used to make the shell of the phase change material box to ensure good thermal conductivity.

[0062] (3) According to the size of the phase change material box, multiple tapered nozzle-shaped air flow channels are designed.

[0063] (4) Optimize the flow channel layout to ensure that the fluid flows evenly and efficiently in the flow channel.

[0064] (5) The cooling effect can be further improved by adjusting the length, diameter and shape of the flow channel.

[0065] Example 2

[0066] like Figure 4 As shown, this embodiment provides a modular phase change material box with air ducts for high-density computing environments in data centers. The difference between this embodiment and the modular phase change material box of embodiment 1 is that the air duct 2 of the modular phase change material box of this embodiment includes three levels of nozzle-like air flow channels 21. The three levels of nozzle-like air flow channels 21 are arranged in sequence from the bottom of the phase change material box body 1 to the top of the phase change material box body 1, and the inner diameter of the narrowest part of the nozzle-like air flow channel 21 gradually decreases from the bottom of the phase change material box body 1 to the top of the phase change material box body 1. In other words, a vertical air duct 2 includes three sections of nozzle-like air flow channels 21 from bottom to top, and the inner diameter of the narrowest part of the nozzle-like air flow channel 21 gradually decreases from bottom to top. Multi-stage nozzle flow channels are designed inside the phase change material box so that the fluid undergoes multiple throttling processes, gradually reduces the temperature, and further improves the cooling effect.

Claims

1. A modular phase change material box with an air duct, characterized in that: It comprises a phase change material box body (1) and an air duct (2); There are a plurality of air ducts (2), and each of the air ducts (2) runs from the bottom of the phase change material box body (1) to the top of the phase change material box body (1); The air duct (2) comprises at least one primary nozzle-shaped air flow channel (21), wherein the nozzle-shaped air flow channel (21) is in a shape that first shrinks and then expands from the bottom of the nozzle-shaped air flow channel (21) to the top of the nozzle-shaped air flow channel (21).

2. The modular phase change material box with air duct according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner diameter of the bottom of the air duct (2) is greater than the inner diameter of the top of the air duct (2).

3. The modular phase change material box with air duct according to claim 2, characterized in that: The air duct (2) comprises a multi-stage nozzle-shaped air flow channel (21), wherein the multi-stage nozzle-shaped air flow channel (21) is arranged in sequence from the bottom of the phase change material box body (1) to the top of the phase change material box body (1), and the inner diameter of the narrowest part of the nozzle-shaped air flow channel (21) gradually decreases from the bottom of the phase change material box body (1) to the top of the phase change material box body (1).

4. The modular phase change material box with air duct according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air duct (2) is located at the center and / or edge of the phase change material box body (1).

5. The modular phase change material box with air duct according to claim 4, characterized in that: The air duct (2) located at the center of the phase change material box body (1) is complete, while the air duct (2) located at the edge of the phase change material box body (1) is a partial structure. When a plurality of modular phase change material boxes with air ducts are used in combination, adjacent modular phase change material boxes with air ducts are spliced ​​at the edges, and the partial structures at the splicing locations together form the complete air duct (2).

6. The modular phase change material box with air duct according to claim 1, characterized in that: The phase change material box body (1) has an opening (11).

7. The modular phase change material box with air duct according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the modular phase change material box with air duct does not exceed 15 mm.

8. The modular phase change material box with air duct according to claim 1, characterized in that: The volume of the air duct (2) in the modular phase change material box with air duct accounts for 30% to 50% of the volume of the modular phase change material box with air duct; The distribution of the air ducts (2) in the modular phase change material box with air ducts is uniform or non-uniform.

9. The modular phase change material box with air duct according to claim 1, characterized in that: The phase change material box body (1) is made of aluminum alloy.

10. Application of the modular phase change material box with air duct as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 in a high-density computing environment of a data center.

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