Leakage detection methods, control devices and liquid cooling units

Abstract

This application discloses a leakage detection method, control device, and liquid-cooled unit, relating to the field of liquid-cooled unit technology. The leakage detection method includes: acquiring the interval between the current water replenishment and the previous water replenishment each time the water replenishment pump starts replenishing water, and comparing the interval with the interval between severe leakage and minor leakage, wherein the severe leakage interval is shorter than the minor leakage interval; performing a first count when the interval is shorter than the severe leakage interval, and performing a second count when the interval is not shorter than the severe leakage interval and shorter than the minor leakage interval; determining the leakage status of the liquid-cooled unit based on the value of the first count and / or the value of the second count; this application aims to achieve leakage detection of liquid-cooled units to improve the reliability of liquid-cooled units.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of liquid cooling unit technology, and in particular to a leakage detection method, control device and liquid cooling unit. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of data centers, high-power electronic devices, and new energy fields, liquid cooling technology has been widely used due to its efficient heat dissipation capabilities. As the core component of a liquid cooling system, the liquid chiller unit continuously cools the equipment through circulating coolant, and its stable operation is crucial to the reliability of the entire system. During the operation of the liquid chiller unit, coolant leakage may occur due to factors such as pipe connections, aging seals, component corrosion, or external damage. If leaks are not detected and addressed in a timely manner, they can lead to decreased cooling efficiency and even overheating and damage to the equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The main purpose of this application is to propose a leakage detection method, control device, and liquid cooling unit, aiming to realize leakage detection of the liquid cooling unit and improve the reliability of the liquid cooling unit.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, this application proposes a leakage detection method applied to a liquid-cooled unit, wherein the liquid-cooled unit includes a water supply pump, and the leakage detection method includes:

[0005] Each time the water pump starts replenishing water, the interval between the current water replenishment and the previous water replenishment is obtained, and the interval is compared with the interval between severe leakage and the interval between minor leakage, with the interval between severe leakage and the interval between minor leakage being shorter.

[0006] If the interval duration is less than the severe leakage interval, a first count is performed; if the interval duration is not less than the severe leakage interval and less than the minor leakage interval, a second count is performed.

[0007] The leakage status of the liquid cooling unit is determined based on the value of the first count and / or the value of the second count.

[0008] In one embodiment, determining the leakage status of the liquid cooler unit based on the value of the first count and / or the value of the second count includes:

[0009] If the sum of the first count and the second count is not less than the number of minor leaks, the leakage status of the liquid cooling unit is determined to be minor leakage.

[0010] If the value of the first count is not less than the number of serious leaks, the liquid cooling unit is determined to be in a serious leak state.

[0011] If the sum of the first count and the second count is less than the number of minor leaks and the first count is less than the number of serious leaks, the leakage status of the liquid cooling unit is determined to be normal.

[0012] In one embodiment, the leakage detection method further includes:

[0013] If the interval is not less than the minor leakage interval but less than the normal time interval, the value of the first count is reset to zero.

[0014] If the interval is not less than the normal time interval, the values ​​of the first count and the second count are reset to zero; the normal time interval is greater than the minor leakage interval.

[0015] In one embodiment, the step of obtaining the interval between the current water replenishment and the previous water replenishment each time the water replenishment pump starts replenishing water, and comparing the interval with the interval between severe and minor leaks respectively, before the severe leak interval is less than the minor leak interval, further includes:

[0016] After the liquid chiller unit is powered on, a third count is performed on the number of times the liquid chiller unit is replenished with water;

[0017] When the value of the third count reaches a preset number, the following steps are performed: each time the water pump starts to replenish water, the interval between the current water replenishment and the previous water replenishment is obtained, and the interval is compared with the interval between severe leakage and the interval between minor leakage, wherein the interval between severe leakage and minor leakage is less than the interval between minor leakage.

[0018] In one embodiment, the leakage detection method further includes:

[0019] When the liquid chiller is powered on but not turned on, the return water pressure of the liquid chiller is obtained, and the return water pressure is compared with the system liquid shortage pressure and the system micro-leakage pressure, respectively.

[0020] The leakage status of the liquid chiller is determined based on the comparison results, and the operating status of the liquid chiller is controlled accordingly.

[0021] In one embodiment, the leakage detection method further includes:

[0022] When the liquid chiller unit is powered on for at least the second time after being powered on, the return water pressure of the liquid chiller unit is obtained, and if the return water pressure is not less than the system micro-leakage pressure, the current return water pressure is recorded and used as the reference return water pressure.

[0023] When the liquid cooling unit is shut down, the shutdown return water pressure of the liquid cooling unit is obtained, and the difference between the reference return water pressure and the shutdown return water pressure is compared with the system leakage pressure differential.

[0024] If the difference between the return water pressure and the shutdown return water pressure is not less than the system leakage pressure differential, the liquid cooling unit is determined to be in a state of severe leakage, and the liquid cooling unit is prohibited from being started.

[0025] In one embodiment, the leakage detection method further includes:

[0026] If the liquid chiller unit is powered on for at least the second time after being powered on, and the power-on time reaches a first preset time, the first return water pressure of the liquid chiller unit is obtained; if the power-on time reaches a second preset time, the second return water pressure of the liquid chiller unit is obtained; and the difference between the first return water pressure and the second return water pressure is compared with the system leakage pressure differential; the first preset time is less than the second preset time.

[0027] If the difference between the first return water pressure and the second return water pressure is not less than the system leakage pressure differential, the leakage condition of the liquid cooling unit is determined to be severe leakage.

[0028] This application also proposes a control device, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, the computer program being configured to implement the steps of the leakage detection method described in any of the preceding claims.

[0029] This application also proposes a liquid-cooled unit, including a liquid-cooled unit body, a water supply pump, and the control device described above.

[0030] This application's leakage detection method includes acquiring the interval between the current water replenishment and the previous water replenishment each time the water replenishment pump starts replenishing water, and comparing the interval with the intervals for severe and minor leaks, where the severe leak interval is shorter than the minor leak interval. If the interval is shorter than the severe leak interval, a first count is performed; if the interval is not less than the severe leak interval but shorter than the minor leak interval, a second count is performed. The leakage status of the liquid-cooled unit is determined based on the value of the first count and / or the value of the second count. With this setup, this leakage detection method uses the water replenishment interval to reflect the degree of leakage; the more frequent the water replenishment (the shorter the interval), the more severe the leakage. By setting two threshold levels (severe / minor), it achieves quantitative and graded identification of the leakage degree, allowing users to not only know whether the liquid-cooled unit is leaking, but also to understand the leakage status. Users can take appropriate measures based on the leakage status to avoid accidents caused by undetected leaks. Attached Figure Description

[0031] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without creative effort.

[0032] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of this application;

[0033] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of this application;

[0034] Figure 3 This application also provides a schematic flowchart of an embodiment;

[0035] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating yet another embodiment of this application.

[0036] The realization of the purpose, functional features and advantages of this application will be further explained in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Detailed Implementation

[0037] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0038] It should be noted that if the embodiments of this application involve directional indicators (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.), the directional indicators are only used to explain the relative positional relationship and movement of the components in a specific posture. If the specific posture changes, the directional indicators will also change accordingly.

[0039] Furthermore, if the embodiments of this application involve descriptions such as "first" or "second," these descriptions are for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of those features. Additionally, the use of "and / or" or "and / or" throughout the text includes three parallel solutions. For example, "A and / or B" includes solution A, solution B, or a solution that simultaneously satisfies A and B. Furthermore, the technical solutions of the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but this must be based on the ability of those skilled in the art to implement them. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or impossible to implement, it should be considered that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0040] With the development of data centers, high-power electronic devices, and new energy fields, liquid cooling technology has been widely used due to its efficient heat dissipation capabilities. As the core component of a liquid cooling system, the liquid chiller unit continuously cools the equipment through circulating coolant, and its stable operation is crucial to the reliability of the entire system. During the operation of the liquid chiller unit, coolant leakage may occur due to factors such as pipe connections, aging seals, component corrosion, or external damage. If leaks are not detected and addressed in a timely manner, they can lead to decreased cooling efficiency and even overheating and damage to the equipment.

[0041] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this application proposes a leakage detection method applied to a liquid-cooled unit, which includes a water supply pump. In one embodiment, referring to... Figure 1 The leakage detection method includes:

[0042] Step S100: Each time the water replenishment pump starts replenishing water, the interval between the current water replenishment and the previous water replenishment is obtained, and the interval is compared with the interval between severe leakage and the interval between slight leakage, wherein the interval between severe leakage and slight leakage is shorter than the interval between slight leakage.

[0043] Step S200: If the interval duration is less than the severe leakage interval, perform a first count; if the interval duration is not less than the severe leakage interval and less than the minor leakage interval, perform a second count.

[0044] Step S300: Determine the leakage status of the liquid cooling unit based on the value of the first count and / or the value of the second count.

[0045] It should be noted that the water replenishment interval reflects whether the liquid-cooled unit is leaking. The fundamental reason is that water replenishment is essentially a compensation for coolant loss within the liquid-cooled unit. Under ideal, leak-free and stable operating conditions, coolant only requires occasional replenishment due to minimal losses such as evaporation or thermal expansion and contraction, and the water replenishment interval should be relatively long and stable. Once a leak occurs, the liquid coolant in the liquid-cooled unit will continuously and abnormally decrease, causing the water replenishment pump to start more frequently, thus significantly shortening the water replenishment interval.

[0046] In this embodiment, the severe leakage interval and the minor leakage interval are artificially set empirical time thresholds used to classify the water replenishment interval. Essentially, they map the degree of leakage to quantifiable time-series criteria. They are not fixed physical constants, but are calibrated based on engineering parameters such as the system volume, normal water replenishment volume, and typical leakage rate of the specific liquid cooling unit.

[0047] The severe leakage interval is defined as the maximum permissible water replenishment interval for severe leaks. If the interval is shorter than the severe leakage interval, it indicates that the interval between the current water replenishment and the previous replenishment is extremely short, potentially indicating a severe leak in the liquid-cooled unit. The minor leakage interval is defined as the upper limit for water replenishment intervals for minor leaks. If the interval is not shorter than the severe leakage interval but shorter than the minor leakage interval, it indicates that the liquid-cooled unit may be leaking, but it does not yet threaten operational safety. This configuration, through the physical logic of "shorter intervals → more severe leakage," transforms the difficult-to-measure leakage rate into a monitorable temporal characteristic of water replenishment behavior, achieving reliable graded diagnosis.

[0048] It should be noted that in practical applications, some non-leakage-related interference situations may cause the interval to be shorter than the severe leak interval, or the interval to be not shorter than the severe leak interval but shorter than the minor leak interval. For example, after normal maintenance, venting operations, or temporary adjustments, the liquid cooling system may require an additional water replenishment, which will result in an isolated, short-lived water replenishment interval. Additionally, false triggering of the water level sensor or controller due to momentary interference can also cause a short-lived water replenishment interval. If a severe leak is determined solely based on an interval shorter than the severe leak interval, or a minor leak is determined solely based on an interval not shorter than the severe leak interval but shorter than the minor leak interval, misjudgment may occur.

[0049] To address this, this application sets a first count and a second count, corresponding to the persistent characteristics of severe and minor leaks, respectively: when the water replenishment interval is less than the severe leak interval, the first count is executed; when the interval is not less than the severe leak interval but less than the minor leak interval, the second count is executed. Since non-leakage interference is usually sporadic and non-persistent, it is difficult to trigger the count multiple times; while actual leaks (whether severe or minor) have a continuous and stable liquid loss characteristic, leading to repeated short-interval water replenishment and causing the corresponding count to accumulate continuously. Therefore, by using the accumulated values ​​of the first count and / or the second count, interference and actual leaks can be effectively distinguished, and the existence and severity of leaks can be accurately determined, significantly improving the reliability of detection and the ability to resist false alarms. In one embodiment, determining the leak status of the liquid-cooled unit based on the value of the first count and / or the value of the second count includes:

[0050] If the sum of the first count and the second count is not less than the number of minor leaks, the liquid cooling unit is determined to be in a minor leak state. It should be noted that since both the first count and the second count are used to count the leakage of the liquid cooling unit, their sum represents the cumulative number of abnormal events caused by leakage and water replenishment. When the sum of the first count and the second count is not less than the number of minor leaks, the liquid cooling unit can be determined to be in a minor leak state.

[0051] If the value of the first count is not less than the number of serious leaks, the liquid cooling unit is determined to be in a serious leak state.

[0052] If the sum of the first count and the second count is less than the number of minor leaks and the first count is less than the number of serious leaks, the leakage status of the liquid cooling unit is determined to be normal. It is understood that if neither of these conditions is met, it means that abnormal events either have not occurred or have occurred sporadically but have not yet formed a clear failure mode (the cumulative number of abnormal events is insufficient), and can be considered to be within an acceptable healthy range.

[0053] It should be noted that the number of serious leaks is the minimum first count value required to determine that the liquid cooling unit is in a serious leak state, which is generally 2 to 3 times. The number of minor leaks is the minimum cumulative number of abnormalities required to determine that the liquid cooling unit is in a minor leak state, which is generally 3 to 5 times. The number of serious leaks and the number of minor leaks can be set according to the actual situation or historical experience, and their values ​​are not restricted here.

[0054] With this configuration, the leakage detection method of this application uses the water replenishment interval to reflect the degree of leakage. The more frequent the water replenishment (the shorter the interval), the more serious the leakage. By setting two thresholds, severe and minor, the degree of leakage can be quantitatively classified and identified, so that users can not only know whether the liquid cooling unit is leaking, but also know the leakage status. Users can take corresponding measures according to the leakage status to avoid accidents caused by failure to detect leakage in time.

[0055] In one embodiment of this application, the leakage detection method further includes:

[0056] If the interval is not less than the minor leakage interval but less than the normal time interval, the value of the first count is reset to zero.

[0057] If the interval is not less than the normal time interval, the values ​​of the first count and the second count are reset to zero. The normal time interval is the maximum permissible interval for normal fluid replenishment, and it is greater than the interval for minor leaks. The specific value can be set according to actual conditions and is not limited here.

[0058] It should be noted that when the interval is not less than the minor leakage interval but less than the normal interval, it indicates that there is no serious leakage risk and the liquid loss of the liquid cooling unit has been significantly alleviated. The previous serious anomaly may have been a momentary disturbance or has been repaired. The first count should not be accumulated as a basis for serious leakage, but it has not yet fully returned to normal and there may be a slight leakage trend. The second count should be retained for continuous monitoring.

[0059] When the water replenishment interval is not less than the normal time interval, it indicates that the liquid cooling unit has returned to a stable and leak-free healthy state. The abnormal evidence reflected by the previously accumulated first and second counts has become invalid and no longer has any significance in judging the current state. In order to avoid historical data interfering with subsequent judgments, both need to be cleared to reset the monitoring starting point and start a new round of reliable state assessment cycle.

[0060] In one embodiment of this application, the step of obtaining the interval between the current water replenishment and the previous water replenishment each time the water replenishment pump starts replenishing water, and comparing the interval with the severe leakage interval and the minor leakage interval respectively, before the severe leakage interval is less than the minor leakage interval, further includes:

[0061] After the liquid chiller unit is powered on, a third count is performed on the number of times the liquid chiller unit is replenished with water;

[0062] When the value of the third count reaches a preset number, the following steps are performed: each time the water replenishment pump starts replenishing water, the interval between the current water replenishment and the previous water replenishment is obtained, and the interval is compared with the interval between severe leakage and the interval between minor leakage, with the severe leakage interval being less than the minor leakage interval. The preset number represents the minimum number of water replenishments required after the liquid cooling unit is powered on, typically set to 2-3 times, but can be adjusted according to actual conditions.

[0063] It should be noted that when the liquid cooling unit is powered on, it may be the first time the liquid cooling unit has been powered on after being reinstalled or deployed for the first time. When the liquid cooling unit has been reinstalled or deployed for the first time, manual liquid injection may not be able to fill it completely at once. It is necessary to continuously replenish the liquid with the subsequent water replenishment pump to achieve sufficient liquid cooling. Therefore, the liquid replenishment interval at this time is not caused by leakage. However, if it is directly used to judge leakage, it will lead to misjudgment.

[0064] To address this, this application introduces a third counter to accumulate the number of water replenishments during the initial power-on phase of the liquid-cooled unit. Only when the count reaches a preset threshold is the formal leak detection process initiated. This design effectively avoids unsteady water replenishment caused by reinstallation, insufficient liquid injection, or system venting, ensuring that leak detection is only performed after the system liquid level has stabilized and entered normal operating conditions, thereby significantly improving the accuracy and reliability of the detection results.

[0065] In one embodiment of this application, reference is made to Figure 2 The leakage detection method further includes:

[0066] Step S400: When the liquid chiller is powered on but not turned on, obtain the return water pressure of the liquid chiller and compare the return water pressure with the system liquid shortage pressure and the system micro-leakage pressure respectively;

[0067] Step S500: Determine the leakage status of the liquid cooling unit based on the comparison results, and control the operating status of the liquid cooling unit.

[0068] It should be noted that return water pressure refers to the pressure in the pipeline of the liquid cooling unit where the coolant flows from the load (such as server cold plates, battery modules, motors, etc.) and returns to the inlet of the liquid cooling unit. When the liquid cooling unit is shut down, if the pipeline is well-sealed and the coolant volume is sufficient, the circuit should maintain a certain static pressure. If there is a severe coolant shortage (such as a large leak that was not replenished after the last operation) or a continuous minor leak causing pressure decay, the initial return water pressure before power-on will be significantly lower. Understandably, this return water pressure is the initial return water pressure before the liquid cooling unit is powered on.

[0069] To address this, the leakage detection method of this application can acquire the initial return water pressure of the liquid chiller unit before it is powered on and started, and compare the initial return water pressure with the system short-leak pressure and the system micro-leak pressure respectively to determine the leakage status of the liquid chiller unit and control the operating status of the liquid chiller unit. In one embodiment, determining the leakage status of the liquid chiller unit based on the comparison results includes:

[0070] If the return water pressure is less than the system short-liquid pressure, the liquid cooling unit is determined to be in a state of serious leakage, and the liquid cooling unit is prohibited from being started.

[0071] If the return water pressure is not less than the system short-liquid pressure and less than the system micro-leakage pressure, the leakage status of the liquid chiller is determined to be a minor leakage, and the liquid chiller is allowed to be started.

[0072] It should be noted that the system low-coolant pressure is the minimum return water pressure limit allowed to maintain the basic safe operation of the liquid chiller unit. When the initial return water pressure measured before power-on is lower than this threshold, it indicates that the liquid chiller unit has suffered from severe leakage or prolonged liquid loss, resulting in an excessively low liquid level and posing a high risk of pump cavitation, cold plate dry burning, etc., thus losing its safe operating capability. In this case, the liquid chiller unit should be prohibited from being started, and a severe low-coolant alarm (such as audible and visual alarms, remote notifications, etc.) should be triggered to promptly remind the user to check for leaks, replenish coolant, and prevent equipment damage.

[0073] The system micro-leakage pressure is the lower limit of the maximum permissible pressure decay of the liquid-cooled unit due to normal physical factors (thermal expansion and contraction, gas dissolution equilibrium). When the initial return water pressure is not less than the system short-liquid pressure and is less than the system micro-leakage pressure, it indicates that the liquid-cooled unit has a slight leak or insufficient liquid volume, resulting in a low static pressure, but it has not yet endangered operational safety. At this time, the liquid-cooled unit can start with limited power and maintain its heat dissipation function to ensure the continuous operation of heat-generating equipment; at the same time, it triggers a slight liquid shortage warning (such as audible and visual prompts or remote alarms) to remind users to check and replenish liquid in time to prevent the potential danger from worsening.

[0074] With this configuration, the leakage detection method of this application can identify the potential for serious leakage or lack of liquid in the liquid chiller unit before it is powered on but not yet started. This effectively avoids pump cavitation, cold plate overheating and other faults caused by forcibly starting the liquid chiller unit due to insufficient liquid volume or significant leakage, and significantly improves the safety and reliability of the system operation.

[0075] In one embodiment of this application, reference is made to Figure 3 The leakage detection method further includes:

[0076] Step S600: When the liquid chiller unit is powered on for at least the second time after being powered on, obtain the return water pressure of the liquid chiller unit, and if the return water pressure is not less than the system micro-leakage pressure, record the current return water pressure and use it as the reference return water pressure.

[0077] Step S700: When the liquid cooling unit is shut down, obtain the shutdown return water pressure of the liquid cooling unit, and compare the difference between the reference return water pressure and the shutdown return water pressure with the system leakage pressure differential.

[0078] If the difference between the return water pressure and the shutdown return water pressure is not less than the system leakage pressure differential, the liquid cooling unit is determined to be in a state of severe leakage.

[0079] It should be noted that when the return water pressure is not less than the system micro-leakage pressure, it indicates that the liquid cooling unit is in a stable state and there is no leakage. The return water pressure at this time is the return water pressure value recorded when the liquid cooling unit is full of liquid and sealed. Therefore, it can be used as a reference return water pressure for comparison with the shutdown return water pressure.

[0080] When the liquid chiller is shut down, the return water pressure drops, making it unsuitable for direct comparison with the aforementioned system liquid shortage pressure and system slight leakage pressure. To detect whether leakage occurs when the liquid chiller is shut down, this application's leakage detection method compares the difference between the shutdown return water pressure and the reference return water pressure with the system leakage pressure differential. The system leakage pressure differential is the maximum allowable pressure decay that the liquid chiller can experience naturally after a period of shutdown and rest, under conditions of no leakage and only normal physical factors. When the difference between the shutdown return water pressure and the reference return water pressure is not less than the system leakage pressure differential, it indicates that the liquid chiller has experienced liquid loss exceeding the normal range during shutdown. This is highly likely due to a serious leakage in the liquid chiller. Therefore, this application determines the liquid chiller's leakage status as serious leakage when the difference between the shutdown return water pressure and the reference return water pressure is not less than the system leakage pressure differential, and prohibits its restart to prevent serious malfunctions such as pump dry running, dry burning, or overheating of core components due to liquid shortage, thus ensuring equipment safety and operational reliability.

[0081] It should be noted that when the liquid-cooled unit is powered on, it may be the first power-on after reinstallation or initial deployment. During this process, issues such as venting, thermal equilibrium, and insufficient initial liquid injection may arise, resulting in unstable return water pressure. Therefore, the return water pressure at the first startup after power-on is not suitable as a reference return water pressure. However, at least on the second startup after power-on, the liquid-cooled unit has undergone multiple liquid cooling cycles during the previous startups, completing self-venting and liquid volume balance, and entering a repeatable steady-state operating condition. Therefore, if the return water pressure is not less than the system's micro-leakage pressure at at least the second startup after power-on, it can be used as the reference return water pressure.

[0082] In one embodiment of this application, reference is made to Figure 4 The leakage detection method further includes:

[0083] Step S800: If the liquid chiller unit is powered on for at least the second time after being powered on, and the power-on time reaches a first preset time, obtain the first return water pressure of the liquid chiller unit; if the power-on time reaches a second preset time, obtain the second return water pressure of the liquid chiller unit; and compare the difference between the first return water pressure and the second return water pressure with the system leakage pressure differential; the first preset time is less than the second preset time.

[0084] Step S900: If the difference between the first return water pressure and the second return water pressure is not less than the system leakage pressure differential, the leakage state of the liquid cooling unit is determined to be severe leakage.

[0085] It should be noted that during the initial startup of a liquid-cooled unit, the unit is undergoing a dynamic process: the circulation pump starts up with shock, the pipeline vents, the flow distribution, and the temperature rise of each heat exchange component is inconsistent, leading to changes in the volume of the coolant. At this time, the return water pressure is not suitable for determining leakage.

[0086] When the liquid chiller unit has been running for the first preset duration, it has completed the aforementioned dynamic process. At this point, the return water pressure reaches equilibrium within a small fluctuation range, suitable for leak detection. Therefore, when the running time reaches the first preset duration, the first return water pressure of the liquid chiller unit is acquired for subsequent leak detection. The first preset duration is generally set to 12-15 minutes, but can be set according to actual conditions; no limitation is made here. When the running time reaches the second preset duration, the acquired second return water pressure also reaches equilibrium within a small fluctuation range, representing the pressure state of the liquid chiller unit after continuous operation in a quasi-steady state for a short period after the first preset duration. The second preset duration is generally set to 18-21 minutes, but can also be set according to actual conditions; no limitation is made here.

[0087] The physical essence of the difference between the first and second return water pressures is the change in return water pressure of the liquid-cooled unit over a period of highly stable operating conditions (the difference between the first and second preset durations). When the difference between the first and second return water pressures is greater than the system leakage pressure difference, it indicates that the liquid-cooled unit is leaking, causing a significant drop in return water pressure over a period of time. Therefore, it can be determined that the liquid-cooled unit is experiencing severe leakage.

[0088] With this configuration, the leakage detection method of this application determines whether there is obvious leakage in the liquid chiller unit after startup by measuring the change in return water pressure within a short time window, thereby enabling the identification of sudden leakage in the initial stage of operation of the liquid chiller unit and improving the safety and reliability of the liquid chiller unit.

[0089] This application also proposes a control device including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, the computer program being configured to implement the steps of the leakage detection method described in any of the preceding claims.

[0090] It is worth noting that since the control device of this application is based on the above-mentioned leakage detection method, the embodiments of the control device of this application include all the technical solutions of all embodiments of the above-mentioned leakage detection method, and the technical effects achieved are exactly the same, so they will not be repeated here.

[0091] This application also proposes a liquid-cooled unit, including a liquid-cooled unit body, a water supply pump, and the control device described above.

[0092] It is worth noting that since the liquid cooling unit of this application is based on the above-mentioned control device, the embodiments of the liquid cooling unit of this application include all the technical solutions of all the embodiments of the above-mentioned control device, and the technical effects achieved are exactly the same, so they will not be repeated here.

[0093] The above description is merely an exemplary embodiment of this application and does not limit the patent scope of this application. Any equivalent structural transformations made based on the technical concept of this application and the contents of the specification and drawings of this application, or direct / indirect applications in other related technical fields, are included within the patent protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A method for detecting a liquid leakage, applied to a liquid-cooled unit, the liquid-cooled unit comprising a water replenishing pump, characterized in that, The liquid leakage detection method comprises: At each time the water replenishing pump starts to replenish water, an interval duration between current water replenishing and previous water replenishing is obtained, and the interval duration is compared with a serious leakage interval and a slight leakage interval respectively, the serious leakage interval being smaller than the slight leakage interval; In the case that the interval duration is smaller than the serious leakage interval, a first count is performed, and in the case that the interval duration is not smaller than the serious leakage interval and smaller than the slight leakage interval, a second count is performed; A leakage state of the liquid cooling unit is determined according to a value of the first count and a value of the second count; The determination of the leakage state of the liquid cooling unit according to the value of the first count and the value of the second count comprises: In the case that a sum of the value of the first count and the value of the second count is not smaller than a slight leakage number of times, it is determined that the leakage state of the liquid cooling unit is slight leakage; In the case that the value of the first count is not smaller than a serious leakage number of times, it is determined that the leakage state of the liquid cooling unit is serious leakage; In the case that the sum of the value of the first count and the value of the second count is smaller than the slight leakage number of times and the value of the first count is smaller than the serious leakage number of times, it is determined that the leakage state of the liquid cooling unit is normal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein The liquid leakage detection method further comprises: In the case that the interval duration is not smaller than the slight leakage interval and smaller than a normal time interval, the value of the first count is cleared; In the case that the interval duration is not smaller than the normal time interval, the value of the first count and the value of the second count are cleared; the normal time interval is greater than the slight leakage interval.

3. The method for detecting liquid leakage according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The method further comprises: After the liquid cooling unit is powered on, a third count of water replenishing times of the liquid cooling unit is performed; In the case that the value of the third count reaches a preset number of times, the step of obtaining the interval duration between current water replenishing and previous water replenishing at each time the water replenishing pump starts to replenish water, and comparing the interval duration with the serious leakage interval and the slight leakage interval respectively, the serious leakage interval being smaller than the slight leakage interval, is performed.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein The liquid leakage detection method further comprises: In the case that the liquid cooling unit is powered on and not started, a backwater pressure of the liquid cooling unit is obtained, and the backwater pressure is compared with a system liquid deficiency pressure and a system slight leakage pressure respectively; According to a comparison result, a leakage state of the liquid cooling unit is determined, and a working state of the liquid cooling unit is controlled.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of detecting the liquid leakage is performed by detecting a change in the capacitance of the sensor. The determination of the leakage state of the liquid cooling unit according to the comparison result comprises: In the case that the backwater pressure is smaller than the system liquid deficiency pressure, it is determined that the leakage state of the liquid cooling unit is serious leakage, and the liquid cooling unit is prohibited from starting; In the case that the backwater pressure is not smaller than the system liquid deficiency pressure and smaller than the system slight leakage pressure, it is determined that the leakage state of the liquid cooling unit is slight leakage, and the liquid cooling unit is allowed to start.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein The liquid leakage detection method further comprises: In a case that the liquid cooling unit is powered on for at least the second time, a return water pressure of the liquid cooling unit is obtained, and in a case that the return water pressure is not less than a system micro-leakage pressure, a current return water pressure is recorded as a reference return water pressure; In a case that the liquid cooling unit is powered off, a shutdown return water pressure of the liquid cooling unit is obtained, and the reference return water pressure is compared with a difference between the shutdown return water pressure and the system leakage pressure difference; In a case that the difference between the reference return water pressure and the shutdown return water pressure is not less than the system leakage pressure difference, a leakage state of the liquid cooling unit is determined as serious leakage, and the liquid cooling unit is prohibited from being powered on.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein The leakage detection method further comprises: In a case that the liquid cooling unit is powered on for at least the second time, and a power-on duration reaches a first preset duration, a first return water pressure of the liquid cooling unit is obtained, and in a case that the power-on duration reaches a second preset duration, a second return water pressure of the liquid cooling unit is obtained, and a difference between the first return water pressure and the second return water pressure is compared with the system leakage pressure difference; the first preset duration is less than the second preset duration; In a case that the difference between the first return water pressure and the second return water pressure is not less than the system leakage pressure difference, the leakage state of the liquid cooling unit is determined as serious leakage.

8. A control device characterized by comprising: A computer program product comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, the computer program being configured to implement the steps of the leakage detection method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A liquid chiller unit characterized by, A control device comprising a liquid cooling unit body, a water supplement pump, and the control device according to claim 8.

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