Water cooling plate with floating heat pipe structure

Abstract

The utility model discloses a water cooling plate with floating heat pipe structure, this water cooling plate includes the water cooling plate body that is internally equipped with cooling liquid flow channel and sets up the floating heat pipe module of its installation plane. Floating heat pipe module is by heat pipe and the elastic support of the evaporation section of cladding or support constructs, the condensation section of heat pipe and water cooling plate body keep thermal contact, and elastic support can take place elastic deformation when being pressed, make heat pipe evaporation section can be relative water cooling plate body and produce floating displacement in vertical direction, thereby self -adaptation closely sticks to heat source surface. The utility model has reduced the contact thermal resistance effectively, and the heat dissipation capacity of local hot spot of heat source has been strengthened pertinently, and has good installation adaptability, and the heat dissipation efficiency and reliability of high power density electronic equipment have been improved significantly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of heat dissipation technology for electronic devices, and in particular to a water-cooled plate structure for high power density electronic devices (such as server CPUs, GPUs, etc.), specifically a water-cooled plate that adopts a floating heat pipe structure to improve heat dissipation efficiency and adaptability. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of computing power, the power density of modern electronic heat sources continues to rise, and the heat generated has become a key bottleneck restricting further performance improvements. Against this backdrop, innovation in heat dissipation technology is crucial.

[0003] Firstly, from a macroscopic heat dissipation perspective, water cooling (liquid cooling) technology has become the mainstream heat dissipation solution for servers, workstations, and high-performance computers due to the extremely high specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity of the coolant. The core component of water cooling technology is the water-cooled plate, which transfers heat to the internally flowing coolant and carries it away through contact with the heat source surface.

[0004] Secondly, focusing on the manufacturing process of the water-cooled plate itself, existing technologies mainly employ two methods: one is to directly machine cooling channels inside the metal substrate; the other is to use stamped upper and lower cover plates combined by brazing to form the channels. However, these traditional structures have gradually revealed their inherent limitations when dealing with extremely high heat flux densities.

[0005] Furthermore, a deeper analysis of these limitations reveals three progressively worse technical shortcomings: 1. Interface contact thermal resistance issue: The water-cooled plate and the heat source need to be bonded through a thermally conductive interface material, which inherently creates contact thermal resistance. When the installation pressure is uneven or there are microscopic irregularities on the contact surface, the air gap will increase, leading to a significant increase in this thermal resistance, which becomes the main bottleneck in the heat dissipation path.

[0006] 2. Insufficient heat dissipation in localized hot spots: The power distribution on the surface of the heat source is not uniform, and there are often localized "hot spots" where high heat is generated. The substrate of traditional water-cooled plates is rigid, and its heat dissipation capability is limited, making it difficult to specifically enhance heat dissipation in these small areas. This leads to excessively high local junction temperatures of the heat source, affecting performance and reliability.

[0007] 3. System adaptability and versatility issues: For heat sources with different sizes, power levels, or surface height tolerances, it is often necessary to customize water cooling plates of different specifications. This not only increases design and manufacturing costs, but also reduces the versatility and deployment flexibility of the heat dissipation solution.

[0008] Subsequently, the industry attempted to introduce heat pipes, a highly efficient heat-conducting element, to improve performance. Heat pipes possess extremely high equivalent thermal conductivity, enabling rapid directional heat transfer. However, existing technologies mostly rigidly embed or weld heat pipes into the water-cooled plate base. This approach fails to fundamentally solve the aforementioned problems: rigid connections cannot effectively compensate for interface unevenness, and contact thermal resistance still exists; the fixed position of the heat pipe also makes it difficult to adaptively align with randomly distributed dynamic hot spots on the heat source.

[0009] Therefore, there is an urgent need in this field for an innovative water-cooled heat dissipation device that can effectively reduce contact thermal resistance, actively eliminate local hot spots, and adapt well to diverse heat source forms. Utility Model Content

[0010] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of existing technologies and provide a water-cooled plate with a floating heat pipe structure. This water-cooled plate is designed to significantly reduce the contact thermal resistance with the heat source, efficiently eliminate local hot spots, and has excellent adaptability to heat sources of different sizes, powers, and surface heights.

[0011] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: A water-cooled plate with a floating heat pipe structure, comprising: The water-cooled plate body has a coolant flow channel inside and has a mounting surface for contacting a heat source. A floating heat pipe module is disposed between the water-cooled plate body and the heat source; the floating heat pipe module includes: A heat pipe has an evaporator section that is in contact with a heat source. An elastic support body that covers or supports the evaporation section of the heat pipe, the elastic support body having a contact surface facing the heat source; The condensing section of the heat pipe maintains thermal contact with the mounting plane of the water-cooled plate body; the elastic support is configured to undergo elastic deformation under pressure, allowing the evaporating section of the heat pipe to float relative to the water-cooled plate body in the vertical direction, thereby enabling the evaporating section of the heat pipe to fit tightly against the heat source surface.

[0012] By using a floating heat pipe module consisting of a heat pipe and an elastic support, and utilizing the deformation characteristics of the elastic support under pressure, the evaporation section of the heat pipe can achieve vertical floating displacement. This structure produces significant beneficial effects: First, it achieves adaptive and tight contact between the evaporation end of the heat pipe and the surface of the heat source, effectively compensating for installation tolerances and surface unevenness, thereby significantly reducing contact thermal resistance; second, it avoids rigid contact, preventing pressure damage to vulnerable heat sources (such as heat sources), and improving reliability.

[0013] Furthermore, the mounting surface of the water-cooled plate body is provided with a groove or cavity for accommodating the floating heat pipe module.

[0014] By setting grooves or cavities on the mounting plane of the water-cooled plate body, precise positioning and accommodation space are provided for the floating heat pipe module, ensuring the stability of the module's movement during pressure and preventing lateral slippage. At the same time, it is conducive to achieving compactness and modular integration of the overall structure of the water-cooled plate.

[0015] Furthermore, the condensation section of the heat pipe is kept in thermal contact with the mounting plane or the bottom surface of the groove / cavity of the water-cooled plate body by welding, thermally conductive adhesive or mechanical pressing.

[0016] By limiting the heat pipe condenser section to achieve thermal contact through welding, thermally conductive adhesive, or mechanical clamping, a variety of reliable and low thermal resistance thermal connection paths are provided, ensuring that heat can be efficiently and continuously transferred from the heat pipe condenser section to the water-cooled plate body and finally carried away by the coolant, thereby optimizing the overall heat transfer efficiency.

[0017] Furthermore, the elastic support is made of a thermally conductive elastic material, such as thermally conductive silicone, thermally conductive gel, or thermally conductive foam.

[0018] By limiting the elastic support to be made of thermally conductive elastic material, the elastic support not only provides mechanical support and cushioning, but also forms an auxiliary heat conduction path, which helps to dissipate some heat, avoids heat accumulation in local areas, and further enhances heat dissipation performance.

[0019] Furthermore, the contact surface of the elastic support protrudes above or is flush with the mounting plane of the water-cooled plate body when not under pressure, ensuring that the heat pipe module protrudes when not under pressure and can make priority contact when under pressure.

[0020] By limiting the contact surface of the elastic support to protrude from or be flush with the mounting plane when not under pressure, it is ensured that the floating heat pipe module can contact the heat source and be under pressure before the water-cooled plate body during installation and pressurization. This is the premise and guarantee for realizing the "floating displacement" and adaptive fitting functions.

[0021] Furthermore, the heat pipe is a vapor chamber or a loop heat pipe.

[0022] By limiting the heat pipe to either a vapor chamber or a loop heat pipe, a preferred high heat flux density conduction scheme suitable for different scenarios is provided. Vapor chambers are suitable for efficient surface-source diffusion, while loop heat pipes are suitable for long-distance, high-power transport, thereby broadening the application range and upper limit of heat dissipation capacity of this invention.

[0023] Furthermore, the number of floating heat pipe modules is multiple, arranged in an array or according to the distribution of heat source hotspots on the water-cooled plate body.

[0024] By setting multiple floating heat pipe modules and arranging them in an array or according to the distribution of hot spots, precise and targeted heat dissipation of multiple or distributed local hot spots on the surface of the heat source is achieved. Multiple modules work together to quickly conduct heat away from areas with high heat flux density, effectively preventing systemic local overheating.

[0025] Furthermore, the elastic support completely covers the evaporation section of the heat pipe.

[0026] By limiting the elastic support to completely cover the evaporation section of the heat pipe, the heat pipe is provided with all-round protection to prevent damage. On the other hand, it ensures that when under pressure, the elastic force can act evenly and symmetrically on the heat pipe, so that it can maintain stable vertical floating and avoid poor contact caused by tilting.

[0027] Furthermore, a thermally conductive interface material is provided between the evaporation section of the heat pipe and the heat source.

[0028] By setting a thermally conductive interface material between the heat pipe evaporation section and the heat source, the microscopic gaps are filled, further eliminating air between the interfaces. This further optimizes the heat transfer efficiency of the last link, on the basis of already reducing contact thermal resistance.

[0029] Furthermore, the water-cooled plate body is made of copper, aluminum, copper alloy, or aluminum alloy.

[0030] By limiting the water-cooled plate body to be made of copper, aluminum, copper alloy, or aluminum alloy, the excellent thermal conductivity and mature processing technology of these metals are utilized to provide an efficient basic heat dissipation carrier for the coolant flow channel, ensuring the basic heat dissipation performance and manufacturability of the water-cooled plate body.

[0031] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: 1. Extremely low contact thermal resistance: The floating design allows the heat pipe evaporator end to adaptively and tightly adhere to the heat source surface under pressure, greatly reducing the air gap between the interfaces and thus significantly reducing the contact thermal resistance.

[0032] 2. Highly efficient hot spot elimination capability: The heat pipe can quickly diffuse the huge heat flow generated by the local hot spot of the heat source and efficiently transfer it to the entire water-cooled plate surface, where it is carried away by the coolant, effectively preventing local overheating.

[0033] 3. Good adaptability: The elastic support can compensate for installation tolerances and unevenness of the heat source surface, enabling the water-cooled plate to adapt to heat sources of different thicknesses and surface heights, making it more versatile.

[0034] 4. Improved overall heat dissipation efficiency: Combining the dual advantages of efficient heat conduction of heat pipes and efficient heat dissipation of water cooling, the overall heat dissipation performance far exceeds that of traditional water cooling plates or single heat pipe radiators. Attached Figure Description

[0035] Figure 1 This is a cross-sectional structural diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the floating heat pipe module in this utility model.

[0037] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention when applied to heat source heat dissipation.

[0038] The following detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, will further illustrate this utility model.

[0039] Explanation of the labels in the diagram: 1. Water cooling plate body; 2. Coolant flow path; 3. Mounting surface; 4. Floating heat pipe module; 5. Heat pipe; 51a. Evaporation section; 51b. Condensation section; 6. Elastic support; 7. Contact surface; 8. Heat source. Detailed Implementation

[0040] Example: The discovery of this utility model stemmed from the inventor's in-depth analysis of the current state of technology in the field of heat dissipation for high-power-density electronic devices. The inventor found that traditional water-cooled plate structures have fundamental limitations: unavoidable contact thermal resistance exists between the rigid substrate and the heat source surface, and they cannot effectively address localized hot spots caused by uneven power distribution. Furthermore, existing solutions that rigidly fix heat pipes within the water-cooled plate do not fundamentally resolve the core contradiction between interface contact and adaptive heat dissipation.

[0041] The inventor of this invention has creatively conceived a technical approach that combines "floating" and "adaptive" technologies. Its core insight lies in breaking the rigid connection constraint between the heat pipe and the water-cooling plate, giving the evaporation section of the heat pipe the ability to generate adaptive displacement under pressure, thereby enabling it to actively track and closely adhere to the heat source surface, rather than passively relying on the flatness of the substrate.

[0042] Based on the above concept, the inventors designed and completed a specific solution: by introducing a floating heat pipe module consisting of a heat pipe and an elastic support, and placing this module between the water-cooled plate body and the heat source. The deformation of the elastic support under pressure is cleverly converted into the vertical floating displacement of the heat pipe's evaporation section. This structural innovation successfully achieves low thermal resistance contact between the heat pipe and the heat source interface, and endows the entire heat dissipation device with excellent adaptability to local hot spots and different heat source sizes, thus perfectly achieving the purpose of this invention.

[0043] Therefore, as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the present invention provides a water-cooled plate with a floating heat pipe structure, which mainly includes a water-cooled plate body 1 and a floating heat pipe module 4.

[0044] Considering basic heat dissipation performance and cost, the water-cooled plate body 1 is usually made of thermally conductive metals such as copper or aluminum, ensuring that the water-cooled plate body has excellent thermal conductivity while taking into account machinability, cost and weight.

[0045] The interior is machined with serpentine or parallel coolant channels 2 for coolant flow to remove heat. The lower surface of the water-cooled plate body 1 is a flat mounting plane 3 for contact with the heat source 8.

[0046] The floating heat pipe module 4 is positioned between the water-cooled plate body 1 and the heat source 8.

[0047] In this embodiment, the floating heat pipe module 4 includes a heat pipe 5 and an elastic support 6.

[0048] The evaporation section 51a of the heat pipe 5 is used to directly or indirectly contact the heat source 8 through a thermally conductive interface material. Even when the existing radiator and the surface of the heat source 8 are pressed together, there is still contact thermal resistance due to microscopic gaps. By setting a thermally conductive interface material between the evaporation section of the heat pipe and the heat source, the microscopic gaps are filled, the final heat conduction interface is optimized, and the air gaps caused by the microscopic unevenness of the surface of the evaporation section 51a of the heat pipe 5 and the heat source 8 are further eliminated, thereby minimizing the interface contact thermal resistance.

[0049] The heat source contact body 8 is made of copper with graphene material of high thermal conductivity placed on the top surface.

[0050] Its condensation section 51b is securely thermally connected to the mounting surface 3 of the water-cooled plate body 1 via mechanical fastening (e.g., screws). The elastic support 6 is made of high thermal conductivity silicone, which covers the evaporation section 51a of the heat pipe 5 and has a flat contact surface 7. Existing elastic supports 6 used for support or positioning are usually just structural components with poor thermal conductivity, which may become additional thermal resistance. The elastic support 6 is made of high thermal conductivity silicone, so that it can perform the function of elastic support while forming an auxiliary heat conduction channel to enhance heat dissipation.

[0051] The mounting plane 3 of the water-cooled plate body 1 is provided with a groove or cavity for accommodating the floating heat pipe module 4. By setting the groove or cavity on the mounting plane 3 of the water-cooled plate body 1, a precise positioning and accommodating space is provided for the floating heat pipe module 4, ensuring the stability of the module's movement during the pressure process and preventing it from sliding laterally. At the same time, it is conducive to realizing the compactness and modular integration of the overall structure of the water-cooled plate.

[0052] like Figure 3 As shown, the working process of the water-cooled plate is as follows: In the initial state, the contact surface 7 of the elastic support 6 of the floating heat pipe module 4 protrudes or is flush with the mounting plane 3 of the water-cooled plate body 1. The existing mounting plane of the water-cooled plate body 1 directly contacts the heat source 8. The additional heat dissipation structure may be lower than the mounting plane, resulting in ineffective contact. The contact surface 7 of the elastic support 6 is limited to protruding or being flush with the mounting plane 3 of the water-cooled plate body 1 when not under pressure. This provides the necessary structural conditions for the activation of the floating function and ensures that the floating heat pipe module 4 can contact the heat source surface first before the water-cooled plate body 1. This is a prerequisite for realizing the adaptive floating function.

[0053] When pressure F is applied by fasteners (such as screws) to press the entire water-cooled plate against the heat source 8, the contact surface 7 of the elastic support 6 of the floating heat pipe module 4 first contacts the surface of the heat source 8. As the pressure continues, the elastic support 6 is compressed and undergoes elastic deformation. This deformation process causes the evaporation section 51a of the covered heat pipe 5 to gain an upward floating displacement, thereby tightly adhering to the surface of the heat source 8.

[0054] This floating displacement ensures that: Even if there are microscopic irregularities on the surface of the heat source 8, the evaporation section 51a of the heat pipe 5 can always maintain close contact with it under continuous pressure.

[0055] The pressure F is buffered and evenly distributed by the elastic support 6, avoiding the risk of damage to the heat source caused by rigid impact.

[0056] The heat from the heat source, especially the heat generated at local hot spots, is rapidly absorbed by the heat pipe 5 and efficiently transferred to the condensation section 51b, then introduced into the water-cooled plate body 1, and finally carried away by the coolant in the flow channel 2.

[0057] In other embodiments, the condensing section 51b of the heat pipe 5 can also be connected to the bottom surface of the water-cooled plate body 1 or the groove / cavity by welding or thermally conductive adhesive. In the prior art, the thermal connection between the heat pipe 5 and the water-cooled plate body 1 is singular or relies only on a certain fixing method (such as welding alone), which may have thermal resistance or process reliability issues. It is clear that the condensing section 51b of the heat pipe 5 can achieve thermal contact with the mounting plane through multiple methods such as welding, thermally conductive adhesive or mechanical pressing, providing a variety of preferred implementation schemes to ensure that a stable, low thermal resistance and easily implemented heat conduction path is formed between the condensing section 51b of the heat pipe 5 and the water-cooled plate body 1.

[0058] The elastic support 6 can also be made of thermally conductive foam or other materials; the elastic support is limited to being made of thermally conductive elastic material, so that while performing the elastic support function, it also forms an auxiliary heat conduction channel to enhance heat dissipation.

[0059] Multiple floating heat pipe modules 4 can be set and arranged non-uniformly according to the hot spot diagram of the heat source 8 to achieve precise heat dissipation. Since the heat dissipation structure is simple, it cannot cope with complex heat sources with multiple high power points or uneven hot spot distribution. Setting multiple floating heat pipe modules 4 and arranging them in an array or according to the hot spot distribution can achieve multi-point and precise heat dissipation coverage of the heat source, and effectively and specifically dissipate heat from multiple or unevenly distributed local hot spots on the surface of the heat source.

[0060] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of several implementations of this utility model, and while the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of this utility model patent. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of this utility model, and these all fall within the protection scope of this utility model. Therefore, the protection scope of this utility model patent should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A water-cooled plate with a floating heat pipe structure, characterized in that, include: The water-cooled plate body has a coolant flow channel inside and has a mounting surface for contacting a heat source. A floating heat pipe module is disposed between the water-cooled plate body and the heat source; the floating heat pipe module includes: The heat pipe has an evaporation section that is in contact with a heat source and a condensation section that is in thermal contact with the mounting surface of the water-cooled plate body. An elastic support body that covers or supports the evaporation section of the heat pipe and has a contact surface facing the heat source; The elastic support is configured to undergo elastic deformation under pressure, allowing the evaporation section of the heat pipe to float relative to the water-cooled plate body in the vertical direction.

2. The water-cooled plate according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mounting surface of the water-cooled plate body is provided with a groove or cavity for accommodating the floating heat pipe module.

3. The water-cooled plate according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The condensation section of the heat pipe is kept in thermal contact with the mounting surface of the water-cooled plate body by welding, thermally conductive adhesive, or mechanical pressing.

4. The water-cooled plate according to claim 1, characterized in that, The elastic support is made of a thermally conductive elastic material.

5. The water-cooled plate according to claim 1, characterized in that, The contact surface of the elastic support protrudes from or is flush with the mounting plane of the water-cooled plate body when not under pressure.

6. The water-cooled plate according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heat pipe is a vapor chamber or a loop heat pipe.

7. The water-cooled plate according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of floating heat pipe modules is multiple, and they are arranged on the water-cooled plate body in an array or in the form of a distribution of heat source hotspots.

8. The water-cooled plate according to claim 1, characterized in that, The elastic support completely covers the evaporation section of the heat pipe.

9. The water-cooled plate according to claim 1, characterized in that, A thermally conductive interface material is provided between the evaporation section of the heat pipe and the heat source.

10. The water-cooled plate according to claim 1, characterized in that, The water-cooled plate body is made of copper, aluminum, copper alloy, or aluminum alloy.

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