Aluminum alloy liquid cooling plate of aluminum-based silicon carbide chip material
By designing a liquid cooling plate with aluminum-based silicon carbide chip material, combined with the diffusion welding of arc-shaped guide fins and aluminum-based silicon carbide chip base, the problems of easy deformation of the chip mounting position and low heat exchange efficiency of the liquid cooling plate are solved, achieving efficient heat dissipation and improved strength.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- UNIVERSKY MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-20
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-16
AI Technical Summary
Existing aluminum-based composite liquid cooling plates are prone to deformation at the chip mounting location, and irregularly shaped flow guide blocks occupy a large space, reducing heat exchange efficiency. It is difficult to balance overall weight and thermal conductivity.
The liquid cooling plate design uses aluminum-based silicon carbide chip material. The combination of arc-shaped guide fins and aluminum-based silicon carbide chip base is connected by diffusion welding technology to form a grid-reinforced structure, which supports the aluminum-based material cover plate and improves strength and thermal conductivity.
It improves the heat exchange efficiency of the liquid cooling plate, enhances the strength of the chip packaging location, keeps the overall weight within an acceptable range, and improves thermal conductivity.
Smart Images
Figure CN224368294U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of aluminum-based silicon carbide technology, specifically to an aluminum alloy liquid cooling plate made of aluminum-based silicon carbide chip material. Background Technology
[0002] Aluminum-based silicon carbide has high strength, low coefficient of thermal expansion, good wear resistance, and good electrical and thermal conductivity. It is widely used in aerospace, shipbuilding, automotive, and electronics fields. For example, if silicon materials are used as the packaging shell for devices in the past, aluminum-silicon carbide shells can be used instead, and the weight can be reduced to one-third of the original weight, while the thermal conductivity can be increased tenfold.
[0003] Aluminum-based composite liquid cooling plates are made of a combination of multiple materials. The core material is mostly aluminum-manganese alloy, which has good strength, corrosion resistance and processing performance. The composite layer may use other grades of aluminum alloy to improve the overall welding performance or increase the heat transfer efficiency.
[0004] Publication No. CN118758083B discloses an aluminum-based composite liquid cooling plate and its preparation method that facilitates diffusion welding. The plate includes a base plate, an aluminum-based composite plate, a surface coating layer, a connecting support structure, and a flow channel structure. The aluminum-based composite plate is installed on the upper end of the base plate. The outer side of the aluminum-based composite plate is coated with a surface coating layer that can improve corrosion resistance and diffusion welding quality. The outer side of the base plate is equipped with a connecting support structure that facilitates connection with other components. The aluminum-based composite plate has a flow channel structure inside for optimizing the cooling effect.
[0005] While the aforementioned inventions utilize surface coatings to improve corrosion resistance and diffusion welding quality, and employ flow channel structures of varying shapes to enhance cooling performance according to application needs, and facilitate connection of the base plate to other components via supporting structures, the large size of the irregularly shaped flow guide blocks occupies excessive space in the cooling cavity, reducing the capacity of the medium entering the cooling cavity. Furthermore, the gaps between the first inlet, first outlet, and the irregularly shaped flow guide blocks are larger than the gaps between the flow guide blocks themselves, and there is no obstruction between the first inlet and first outlet. This allows the medium to easily enter through the first inlet, flow through the irregularly shaped flow guide blocks, and exit through the first outlet, thus reducing heat exchange efficiency. The chip mounting location needs to withstand higher mechanical and thermal stresses, but traditional aluminum-based composite material plates are prone to extrusion deformation in this area. Changing the overall material would result in a significant increase in the overall weight of the liquid cooling plate, or a mismatch between strength requirements and thermal conductivity. Therefore, an aluminum alloy liquid cooling plate made of aluminum-based silicon carbide chip material is needed to solve these problems. Utility Model Content
[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide an aluminum alloy liquid cooling plate made of aluminum-based silicon carbide chip material, so as to solve the above-mentioned defects caused by the prior art.
[0007] An aluminum alloy liquid cooling plate made of aluminum-based silicon carbide chip material includes a base plate, an aluminum-based material box installed on the upper end of the base plate, a plurality of flow guide fins installed inside the aluminum-based material box, an aluminum-based material cover plate installed on the upper end of the aluminum-based material box, and a plurality of mounting grooves provided on the aluminum-based material cover plate, wherein an aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder is installed in the mounting groove.
[0008] Preferably, mounting plates are installed on both sides of the base plate, and the mounting plates are provided with mounting holes.
[0009] Preferably, the mounting groove size has a single-sided allowance of 1mm compared to the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder size.
[0010] Preferably, the assembly gap between the mounting groove and the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder is 0.04 mm.
[0011] Preferably, the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder and the aluminum-based material cover plate are connected together by diffusion bonding.
[0012] The advantages of this invention are as follows: The arc-shaped guide fins guide the medium, preventing it from entering through the inlet and flowing out rapidly through the outlet, thus improving heat exchange efficiency. Simultaneously, the upper end of the guide fins contacts the aluminum-based cover plate and supports it, preventing deformation of the liquid cooling plate during subsequent use. Furthermore, the combination of the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder and the aluminum-based cover plate enhances the strength of the chip packaging area on the liquid cooling plate while maintaining high thermal conductivity. Compared to existing technologies, the overall weight variation of the liquid cooling plate in this invention is within an acceptable range. Attached Figure Description
[0013] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall assembly of this utility model.
[0014] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly of the aluminum-based material cover plate and the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder of this utility model.
[0015] Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of the assembly of the base plate and the aluminum-based material box of this utility model.
[0016] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the aluminum-based material box of this utility model.
[0017] The components include: 1. Base plate; 2. Aluminum-based material box; 3. Guide fins; 4. Aluminum-based material cover plate; 5. Mounting groove; 6. Aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder; 7. Medium inlet; 8. Medium outlet; 9. Mounting plate; 10. Mounting hole. Detailed Implementation
[0018] To make the technical means, creative features, objectives and effects of this utility model easier to understand, the present utility model will be further described below in conjunction with specific embodiments.
[0019] like Figures 1 to 4 As shown, an aluminum alloy liquid cooling plate made of aluminum-based silicon carbide chip material includes a base plate 1, an aluminum-based material box 2 mounted on the upper end of the base plate 1, a plurality of flow guide fins 3 mounted inside the aluminum-based material box 2, an aluminum-based material cover plate 4 mounted on the upper end of the aluminum-based material box 2, a plurality of mounting grooves 5 provided on the aluminum-based material cover plate 4, and aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holders 6 mounted in the mounting grooves 5. A medium inlet 7 and a medium outlet 8 communicating with the interior of the aluminum-based material box 2 are provided on one side of the aluminum-based material box 2. The gaps between the flow guide fins 3 gradually decrease, and the flow velocity of the medium between the flow guide fins 3 gradually increases, with different flow velocities ensuring sufficient heat exchange. The base plate 1, the aluminum-based material box 2, and the aluminum-based material cover plate 4 are welded together by diffusion welding, brazing, laser welding, electron beam welding, and friction stir welding to form an aluminum alloy liquid cooling plate blank.
[0020] The steps for preparing aluminum alloy liquid cooling plates for aluminum-based silicon carbide chip materials are as follows:
[0021] Step 1: Manufacture aluminum-based material box 2 blanks;
[0022] Step 2: CNC machining method, grooves are cut on the aluminum base material box 2 at the positions where the chip needs to be welded. The size of the groove is 1mm on each side compared with the final size of the chip.
[0023] Step 3: Machining the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6, with the same dimensions as the mounting slot 5, and an assembly gap of 0.04mm;
[0024] Step 4: Assemble the low plate 1, aluminum-based material box 2, aluminum-based material cover plate 4 and aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6. After assembly, use diffusion welding to weld the aluminum alloy liquid cooling plate and aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6 into one piece.
[0025] Step 5: Remove excess material from the aluminum alloy liquid cooling plate and aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6 using CNC machining.
[0026] In this embodiment, mounting plates 9 are installed on both sides of the base plate 1, and mounting holes 10 are provided on the mounting plates 9.
[0027] In this embodiment, the single-sided allowance of the mounting groove 5 is 1mm compared to the size of the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6.
[0028] Specifically, the setting of a single-sided allowance of ≥0.5mm (1mm in the example) is intended to avoid stress concentration caused by excessively thin groove walls by reserving machining allowance.
[0029] Furthermore, the aluminum-based silicon carbide (AlSiC) used in this invention possesses superior material properties such as high specific stiffness and strength, low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), and excellent thermal conductivity. As a reinforcing phase, silicon carbide particles effectively bear and disperse the stress applied to the matrix, greatly improving the material's resistance to deformation (bending and warping) and crushing. The coefficient of thermal expansion of aluminum-based silicon carbide (AlSiC) is much lower than that of aluminum alloys (closer to that of semiconductor chip materials). When the liquid cooling plate undergoes temperature cycling (such as changes in coolant temperature and chip heating), the thermal stress between the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6 and the aluminum-based cover plate 4 is significantly reduced, decreasing the risk of structural deformation, interface cracking, or weld failure caused by thermal expansion and contraction mismatch, thereby improving the long-term stability of the structure under thermal cycling. The excellent thermal conductivity of aluminum-based silicon carbide (superior to many aluminum alloys) ensures that heat can be quickly transferred away from the cover plate, reducing the possibility of localized overheating leading to material softening or thermal stress concentration, indirectly maintaining structural strength.
[0030] Furthermore, this invention employs a grid-reinforced structure design. Instead of using aluminum-based silicon carbide (AlSiC) as the entire aluminum-based material cover plate 4, multiple mounting grooves 5 are machined on the aluminum-based material cover plate 4, and aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holders 6 of matching dimensions are precisely embedded. This design forms a unique grid-reinforced structure. These embedded aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holders 6 are like micro-reinforcing ribs distributed on the aluminum-based material cover plate 4. They can effectively bear local pressure. When external pressure (such as installation force or extrusion of adjacent components) is applied to the cover plate, the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holders 6 located below the pressure point can provide strong support and resist indentation deformation. Moreover, the load applied to the surface of the cover plate is more evenly distributed and transferred to the lower guide fins 3 and the base plate 1, avoiding stress concentration in the softer aluminum alloy area. The high-rigidity aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6 embedding significantly increases the overall bending stiffness of the cover plate, making it more difficult for the chip mounting position to bend and deform under pressure or vacuum.
[0031] Understandably, the high stiffness of aluminum-based silicon carbide material (elastic modulus of about 200 GPa, much higher than that of aluminum alloy of 70 GPa) can effectively offset the loss of matrix strength caused by slotting and reduce the impact of the opening on the shear strength of the liquid cooling plate in the direction perpendicular to the hole axis.
[0032] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6 is used for chip encapsulation, not merely as a mesh reinforcement structure. Moreover, in this invention, the entire aluminum-based cover plate 4 is not made of aluminum-based silicon carbide (AlSiC). Instead, multiple mounting grooves 5 are machined on the aluminum-based cover plate 4, and precisely fitted with matching-sized aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holders 6. This arrangement ensures that the chip is in contact with the aluminum-based silicon carbide material. Compared to aluminum alloy encapsulation structures, aluminum-based silicon carbide encapsulation structures offer corrosion resistance and high strength. Furthermore, the aluminum alloy liquid cooling plate in this embodiment can be applied to high-power applications. In fields such as high-density electronic packaging, spacecraft thermal control, and military radar systems, for example, in spacecraft thermal control components, aluminum-based silicon carbide liquid cooling plates reduce weight by about one-third compared to traditional solutions (such as using Kovar as the device packaging shell), and the thermal conductivity is also greatly improved, far exceeding the increase in material cost. Therefore, in this embodiment, a certain amount of aluminum-based silicon carbide material is used instead of the entire material. When packaging and dissipating heat for the chip, it can not only effectively save costs and avoid excessive increase in overall weight, but also achieve better packaging effect. Therefore, this solution not only avoids resource waste, but also has high practicality.
[0033] Furthermore, the connection between the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6 and the aluminum-based material cover plate 4 is not a simple mechanical assembly, but rather adopts diffusion welding technology. This process causes atomic diffusion at the contact interface between the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6 and the aluminum-based material cover plate 4 under high temperature and pressure, forming a strong metallurgical bond. The tight metallurgical bond interface is almost free of defects such as pores and gaps that may occur in traditional welding or bonding, ensuring efficient stress transfer between the silicon carbide reinforcing phase and the aluminum alloy matrix.
[0034] In addition, during the manufacturing process of liquid cooling plates, stress relief can be further achieved by adding heat treatment annealing or vibration treatment to the finished product. This type of stress relief is a common method in the prior art and will not be elaborated here.
[0035] Alternatively, a chamfer (such as a chamfer of R2-R3mm) can be added to the edge of the mounting groove 5 to reduce the stress concentration factor.
[0036] As can be seen from the above, by encapsulating the chip on the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6, and welding the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6 to the mounting groove 5 by diffusion bonding, the high strength and corrosion resistance of the aluminum-based silicon carbide material can improve the chip heat dissipation performance while improving the strength performance of the chip encapsulation position on the liquid cooling plate.
[0037] Furthermore: The guide fins 3 of this invention are not only flow channel disturbance elements, but their upper ends directly contact and support the aluminum-based material cover plate 4. This design means that there is a dense support array composed of numerous guide fins 3 below the aluminum-based material cover plate 4. The embedded aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6 is located on the upper surface of the aluminum-based material cover plate 4, while the guide fins 3 provide support from below. The two work together to form a "sandwich" support effect. The aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6 resists pressure above, while the guide fins 3 provide counter-support below. The base plate 1 and the aluminum-based material box 2 constitute the basic frame. The multi-layer structure greatly enhances the ability of the liquid cooling plate to resist pressure perpendicular to the plate surface. The guide fins 3 support the aluminum substrate. The cover plate 4 is divided into many small areas, which effectively reduces the unsupported span between adjacent guide fins 3. With the reduced span, the aluminum-based cover plate 4 is less prone to deformation even without the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6. The addition of the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6 further strengthens the rigidity of these divided small areas, making the deformation of the aluminum-based cover plate 4 minimal when subjected to pressure. In conditions where a vacuum may be formed inside the liquid cooling plate or under external high pressure (such as some sealed cooling systems), the dual support of the guide fins 3 and the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6 can effectively prevent the aluminum-based cover plate 4 and the aluminum-based box 2 from collapsing and deforming into the cooling cavity.
[0038] In this embodiment, the assembly gap between the mounting groove 5 and the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6 is 0.04 mm.
[0039] In this embodiment, the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6 and the aluminum-based material cover plate 4 are connected together by diffusion bonding.
[0040] The working principle of this utility model is as follows: the medium enters from the medium inlet 7 and flows away from the medium inlet 7 under the guidance of the guide fins 3. Then, the medium slows down its flow rate under the turbulence of the guide fins 3 and flows out from the medium outlet 8 after sufficient heat exchange.
[0041] This invention uses arc-shaped guide fins 3 to guide the medium, preventing the medium from entering from the medium inlet 7 and flowing out from the medium outlet 8 quickly, thereby improving heat exchange efficiency. At the same time, the upper end of the guide fins 3 contacts the aluminum-based material cover plate 4 and supports the aluminum-based material cover plate 4, preventing the liquid cooling plate from deforming during subsequent use. Furthermore, the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder 6, in conjunction with the aluminum-based material cover plate 4, enhances the strength of the chip mounting position on the liquid cooling plate.
[0042] As is known from common technical knowledge, this utility model can be implemented through other embodiments that do not depart from its spirit or essential characteristics. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments described above are merely illustrative in all respects and are not the only ones. All modifications within the scope of this utility model or its equivalents are included in this utility model.
Claims
1. An aluminum alloy liquid cooling plate made of aluminum-based silicon carbide chip material, characterized in that: Includes a base plate (1), an aluminum-based material box (2) is installed on the upper end of the base plate (1), a number of flow guide fins (3) are installed inside the aluminum-based material box (2), an aluminum-based material cover plate (4) is installed on the upper end of the aluminum-based material box (2), a number of mounting grooves (5) are provided on the aluminum-based material cover plate (4), an aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder (6) is installed in the mounting grooves (5), and a medium inlet (7) and a medium outlet (8) communicating with the interior of the aluminum-based material box (2) are provided on one side of the aluminum-based material box (2).
2. The aluminum alloy liquid cooling plate of aluminum-based silicon carbide chip material according to claim 1, characterized in that: Mounting plates (9) are installed on both sides of the base plate (1), and mounting holes (10) are provided on the mounting plates (9).
3. The aluminum alloy liquid cooling plate of aluminum-based silicon carbide chip material according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mounting groove (5) has a single-sided margin of 1 mm compared to the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder (6).
4. The aluminum alloy liquid cooling plate of aluminum-based silicon carbide chip material according to claim 1, characterized in that: The assembly gap between the mounting groove (5) and the aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder (6) is 0.04 mm.
5. The aluminum alloy liquid cooling plate of aluminum-based silicon carbide chip material according to claim 1, characterized in that: The aluminum-based silicon carbide chip holder (6) and the aluminum-based material cover plate (4) are connected together by diffusion welding.