Additives for thermal management fluids, and thermal management fluid compositions containing the same.

Abstract

The present invention provides an additive for thermal management fluids and a thermal management fluid composition that contribute to reducing the viscosity of thermal management fluids, improve cooling efficiency during immersion cooling without degrading the dielectric constant, thereby reducing the amount of electricity used for cooling and offering the potential benefit of reducing carbon emissions. [Solution] An additive for thermal management fluids, comprising a phosphate-based compound, and a thermal management fluid composition containing the same.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to additives for thermal management fluids and thermal management fluid compositions containing the same.

Background Art

[0002] A thermal management fluid is a fluid used to efficiently transfer and control heat, and is mainly used in cooling and heating systems.

[0003] A coolant plays a role of absorbing heat generated from a heat source and reducing the temperature of the heat source. Substances having high thermal efficiency, low viscosity, low cost, no toxicity, chemical stability, and not causing corrosion of equipment are preferable as coolants.

[0004] As various electronic products such as electric vehicles are becoming more high-performance, more heat is generated during the use of electronic products. In order to smoothly use the product and prevent shortening of the product life, control of heat generated from the product is an essential consideration.

[0005] Immersion cooling is one of the cooling methods used for thermal management of electronic devices and computer systems. Since the electronic device is directly cooled by contact with the fluid in immersion cooling, effective heat removal is possible compared to conventional air cooling or water cooling methods.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006] [[ID=3,3]] [[ID=3,5]]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] The present disclosure relates to additives for thermal management fluids and thermal management fluid compositions containing the same. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One aspect of this disclosure is an additive for thermal management fluids, comprising a phosphate compound.

[0009] According to one embodiment, the phosphate compound satisfies the following chemical formula 1, [ka] In the formula, R is a functional group that independently contains hydrogen or 1 to 10 carbon atoms.

[0010] According to one embodiment, at least one of the Rs is a functional group containing 1 to 10 carbon atoms.

[0011] According to one embodiment, R is a functional group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms independently of each other.

[0012] According to one embodiment, R further comprises a heteroatom.

[0013] According to one embodiment, the heteroatom is a halogen atom.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the additive satisfies a ΔFP of at least 10°C, where ΔFP = (flash point of the fluid containing the additive) - (flash point of the fluid without the additive).

[0015] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a thermal management fluid composition comprising a base oil and at least one phosphate compound.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the composition can be used for immersion cooling.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the base oil is a mineral oil-based base oil.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the base oil content is at least 80 wt%.

[0019] According to one embodiment, the content of the phosphate compound is more than 0 wt% and 10 wt% or less.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the composition further includes an additive.

[0021] According to one embodiment, the additive includes an antioxidant, an antifoaming agent, a corrosion inhibitor, a detergent, a dispersant, a friction modifier, an antiwear agent, an extreme pressure additive, a viscosity index improver, a pour point depressant, a viscosity modifier, or a combination thereof.

Advantages of the Invention

[0022] According to one embodiment, the application of the additive can improve the safety of the heat management fluid. According to one embodiment, the application of the additive can contribute to reducing the viscosity of the heat management fluid. According to one embodiment, the application of the additive does not deteriorate the dielectric constant of the heat management fluid. According to one embodiment, the heat management fluid to which the additive is applied can be used as a fluid for immersion cooling. According to one embodiment, the application of the additive can improve the cooling efficiency during immersion cooling using the heat management fluid, so that the amount of electric power used for cooling can be reduced, and as a result, the effect of reducing carbon emissions can also be expected.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023] [Figure 1] It is a diagram showing the structural formula of a phosphate compound according to one embodiment.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0024] Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in detail. However, this is merely exemplary, and the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described by way of example.

[0025] Additive for Heat Management Fluid This disclosure provides an additive for thermal management fluids. The additive includes a phosphate compound. Therefore, in this disclosure, “additive for thermal management fluids” can be used interchangeably with “phosphate additive” or “phosphate compound additive.” In this disclosure, a phosphate compound refers to a compound containing phosphate. Specifically, the phosphate compound may be an organic phosphate compound. In one embodiment, the additive for thermal management fluids may be a phosphate compound. In other embodiments, the additive for thermal management fluids may include at least one phosphate compound.

[0026] The phosphate compound can satisfy the following chemical formula 1.

[0027] [ka] In the formula, the three R groups are independent of each other. R may be hydrogen or a functional group containing 1 to 10 carbon atoms. Specifically, R may be hydrogen or a functional group containing 1 to 8 carbon atoms, and more specifically, R may be hydrogen or a functional group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms. From the viewpoint of a higher flash point, the number of carbon atoms in R may be less than 8.

[0028] According to one embodiment, at least one of the three Rs does not have to be hydrogen. In other words, at least one of the Rs may be a functional group containing 1 to 10 carbon atoms. Specifically, at least two of the Rs may be non-hydrogen functional groups. More specifically, all of the Rs may be non-hydrogen functional groups. Of course, even in this case, the three Rs may be independent of each other. Even more specifically, the Rs may be functional groups containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms, independently of each other. From the viewpoint of improving the performance of the thermal management fluid containing additives, none of the Rs have to be hydrogen. Specifically, the performance improvement may include improvements in flame retardancy, electrical conductivity, corrosiveness, etc.

[0029] Furthermore, according to one embodiment, the total number of carbon atoms in the compound may be 1 to 30. Specifically, the total number of carbon atoms may be 1 to 24, more specifically 1 or more but less than 24, even more specifically 1 to 21, and even more specifically 1 to 18. From the viewpoint of a higher flash point, the total number of carbon atoms may be less than 24.

[0030] Exemplary, the functional group may be a hydrocarbyl group. From the viewpoint of chemical stability, the functional group may be an alkyl group. The functional group may be linear, branched, or cyclic. Alternatively, the functional group may include aromatic compounds.

[0031] In other embodiments, R may further comprise a heteroatom. Exemplarily, R may further comprise O, N, S, P, B, F, Cl, Br, I, or a combination thereof. Specifically, R may further comprise a halogen atom. In this case, R may be an alkyl group substituted with a halogen atom. More specifically, R may further comprise F.

[0032] Using the aforementioned additive in a thermally controlled fluid can increase the flash point of the fluid. While we do not wish to be bound by any particular theory, it is believed that the phosphate compounds in the additive can remove radicals and form a char layer, and when used in a thermally controlled fluid, the phosphate compounds remove flammable radicals generated by the oxidation of the base oil, thereby improving the flash point.

[0033] According to one embodiment, the additive can satisfy a ΔFP of at least 10°C. Here, ΔFP means (flash point of the fluid containing the additive) - (flash point of the fluid without the additive). In this disclosure, the flash point of the fluid is measured in accordance with ASTM D93. The ΔFP value means the maximum value of ΔFP when the amount of additive in the fluid is in the range of more than 0 and less than or equal to 10 wt%. Specifically, the ΔFP may be 10 to 60, more specifically 15 to 60, and even more specifically 15 to 55.

[0034] The additive described above improves the flash point of the thermal management fluid, thereby enabling enhanced safety effects such as delayed thermal runaway in systems using the fluid. Furthermore, because the additive has a lower flash point than conventional additives, it can make base oils unsuitable for use in thermal management fluids usable in thermal management fluids, thus expanding the selectivity of base oils for thermal management fluids.

[0035] thermal management fluid composition This disclosure provides a thermal management fluid composition comprising the above-described thermal management fluid additive (i.e., a phosphate-based additive). It should be noted that the above-described content applies to the thermal management fluid additive hereafter, and redundant content can be omitted. Because the thermal management fluid composition possesses excellent properties such as insulation and cooling performance, it can be used to cool electronic equipment by direct contact with it. In other words, the composition can be used as an immersion cooling fluid.

[0036] The composition comprises a base oil and at least one phosphate compound. The base oil may include mineral oil, synthetic base oil, or a combination thereof. Mineral oil refers to oil derived from crude oil without undergoing a separate synthesis process. In this disclosure, mineral oil may include base oils corresponding to groups I to III of the API (American Petroleum Institute) standards. Synthetic base oils may include, for example, polyalphaolefin (PAO) or ester base oils. In one embodiment, the base oil may include mineral oil as the major base oil and synthetic base oil as the minor base oil. In this disclosure, the major base oil means base oil exceeding 50 wt% of the total base oil content. In other embodiments, the base oil may be mineral oil.

[0037] Generally, PAO exhibits superior performance compared to mineral oil, but it has the disadvantage of being expensive.

[0038] The composition of this disclosure, by including the aforementioned phosphate-based additives, is expected to achieve at least equivalent performance as a thermal management fluid compared to using PAO alone, even though mineral oil is used as the main base oil, and to achieve a relatively lower price. On the other hand, ester base oils have excellent thermal conductivity, but are polar and therefore have inferior insulating properties compared to mineral oil, and are also vulnerable to water due to the possibility of hydrolysis, and are therefore not suitable as the main base oil of the present invention.

[0039] According to one embodiment, the base oil content relative to the total weight of the composition may be at least 80 wt%. Specifically, the base oil content may be 80 wt% or more and less than 100 wt%. More specifically, the base oil content may be 90 wt% or more and less than 100 wt%. Even more specifically, the base oil content may be 90 to 98 wt%.

[0040] If the base oil content is low, there is a risk that the amount of additives, which are more expensive than the base oil, will increase, leading to an increase in the price of the final product. Furthermore, there is a risk that the dielectric constant of the final product will increase, leading to increased electrical conductivity and deterioration of material compatibility (e.g., corrosion), which may result in difficulties in using it as an immersion cooling fluid.

[0041] The base oils of this disclosure are not particularly limited, as long as they can be used as thermal management fluids or immersion cooling fluids. Furthermore, since the flash point of the fluid can be improved by adding phosphate compounds, it is considered that oils with lower flash points than those used in conventional thermal management fluids can also be used as new base oils.

[0042] The composition comprises at least one phosphate compound. The at least one phosphate compound may be the compound of chemical formula 1 described above.

[0043] According to one embodiment, the content of the phosphate compound relative to the total weight of the composition may be greater than 0 wt% and less than or equal to 10 wt%. For example, the content of the compound may be 0.1-10 wt%, 0.5-10 wt%, 1-10 wt%, 2-10 wt%, 3-10 wt%, 4-10 wt%, 5-10 wt%, 0.1-9 wt%, 0.5-9 wt%, 1-9 wt%, 2-9 wt%, 3-9 wt%, 4-9 wt%, 5-9 wt%, 0.1-8 wt%, 0.5-8 wt%, The content of the compound may be 1-8 wt%, 2-8 wt%, 3-8 wt%, 4-8 wt%, 5-8 wt%, 0.1-7 wt%, 0.5-7 wt%, 1-7 wt%, 2-7 wt%, 3-7 wt%, 4-7 wt%, 5-7 wt%, 0.1-6 wt%, 0.5-6 wt%, 1-6 wt%, 2-6 wt%, 3-6 wt%, 4-6 wt%, or 5-6 wt%. Specifically, the content of the compound may be 1.5-10 wt%. From the viewpoint of improving the flash point, the content of the compound may be at least 1.5 wt%. If the content of the compound exceeds the above values, there is a risk that the flash point of the composition will be lower than that of a heat-controlled fluid composition without added phosphate compounds.

[0044] The composition may further include other additives other than phosphate compounds. Here, the additives are different from the additives for thermal control fluids described above and may be referred to as “second additives” in this disclosure for distinction.

[0045] The second additive is not particularly limited as long as it can be used to improve the physical properties of the thermal management fluid. Exemplary examples, the second additive may include antioxidants, defoamers, corrosion inhibitors, detergents, dispersants, friction modifiers, anti-wear agents, extreme pressure additives, viscosity index improvers, pour point depressants, viscosity modifiers, or any combination thereof.

[0046] According to one embodiment, the total content of the second additive relative to the total weight of the composition may be 0 to 10 wt%. For example, the content may be 0.01 to 10 wt%, 0.05 to 10 wt%, 0.1 to 10 wt%, 0.2 to 10 wt%, 0.5 to 10 wt%, 1 to 10 wt%, 0.01 to 7 wt%, 0.05 to 7 wt%, 0.1 to 7 wt%, 0.2 to 7 wt%, 0.5 to 7 wt%, 1 to 7 wt%, 0.01 to 5 wt%, 0.05 to 5 wt%, 0.1 to 5 wt%, 0.2 to 5 wt%, 0.5 to 5 wt%, or 1 to 5 wt%. Specifically, the content may be 0 to 5 wt%.

[0047] As described above, the flash point of the fluid composition is improved by the addition of a phosphate compound. Specifically, the flash point of the fluid composition containing the compound may be at least 10°C higher than that of the composition without the compound. More specifically, such a difference in flash point may be 10 to 60°C, more specifically 15 to 60°C, and even more specifically 15 to 55°C. In this disclosure, the flash point can be measured in accordance with ASTM D93.

[0048] In other words, according to one embodiment, the flash point of the composition may be at least 190°C. Specifically, the flash point may be 190 to 250°C, and more specifically, 195 to 250°C.

[0049] The kinematic viscosity of the fluid composition can be reduced by adding a phosphate compound. Specifically, the kinematic viscosity (at 40°C) of the fluid composition containing the compound can be reduced by at least 1 cSt. More specifically, the kinematic viscosity can be reduced by at least 1.5 cSt.

[0050] As described above, the use of the thermal management fluid additive of this disclosure can improve the flash point of the fluid, and when applied to immersion cooling systems and the like, it can be expected to have safety improvements such as delaying thermal runaway. Furthermore, the use of the additive can reduce the viscosity of the fluid relative to the base oil, and when applied to immersion cooling systems and the like, it can be expected to reduce power consumption. Since the additive can be applied by simply adding it to conventional thermal management fluids, it is expected to have a wide range of applications.

[0051] The embodiments of this disclosure will be further described below with reference to specific experimental examples. The examples and comparative examples included in the experimental examples are merely illustrative of this disclosure and do not limit the scope of the attached claims. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications to the examples are possible within the scope of this disclosure and the technical concept, and that such variations and modifications also fall within the scope of the attached claims.

[0052] Examples 1. Preparation of phosphate compounds The phosphate compounds (P1-P5) to be used in the experiment were prepared. The specific chemical structures of each compound are shown in Figure 1.

[0053] 2. Observation of changes in physical properties due to the addition of phosphate compounds. Two types of base oils (base oil A and base oil B) were prepared. By adding specific amounts of compound P1 or P2 to each base oil, the changes in physical properties due to the addition of the compound were observed. Each physical property was measured using the following equipment and / or methods.

[0054] -Closed cup flash point: ASTM D93 method - Electrical conductivity: Epsilon+ from Flucon / IEC 60247 - Kinematic viscosity: Cannon CAV2000 / ASTM D445-01 The measurement results are shown in Table 1 below.

[0055] [Table 1]

[0056] Referring to Table 1 above, it can be seen that the addition of the phosphate compounds of this disclosure improves the flash point and reduces kinematic viscosity while still maintaining electrical conductivity. Such a reduction in kinematic viscosity can provide advantageous effects in that it can reduce the power consumption of the pump required to move the fluid.

[0057] 3. Observation of changes in flash point due to the amount of phosphate compound added. (1) Base oil A P1 to P5 were added to base oil A in various concentrations, and the change in flash point with respect to the amount of compound added was observed. The measurement results are shown in Table 2 below.

[0058] [Table 2]

[0059] (2) Base oil B P2 to P3 were added to base oil B in various concentrations, and the change in flash point with respect to the amount of compound added was observed. The measurement results are shown in Table 3 below.

[0060] [Table 3]

[0061] Referring to Tables 2 and 3 above, it can be seen that adding the phosphate compounds of this disclosure improves the flash point compared to existing base oils. In particular, for P1 to P3, the flash point improves by 9°C or more.

[0062] Furthermore, referring to Table 3, it can be seen that the addition of the additives of this disclosure can provide a flash point improvement effect even for base oils having a high flash point of 200°C or higher.

[0063] On the other hand, referring again to Tables 2 and 3, it can be seen that the content of the additive having the maximum ΔFP can vary depending on the additive. Although we do not wish to be bound by any particular theory, this is likely because the decrease in viscosity of the fluid composition due to the addition of the additive increased the generation of flammable oil vapors.

[0064] As confirmed from the embodiments described above, the phosphate compounds of this disclosure are expected to be used as additives for thermal management fluids, improving various physical properties of the fluids and making them usable in a variety of fields.

[0065] The above description is merely an example of applying the principles of this disclosure, and other configurations may be further included without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An additive for thermal management fluids, Additives for thermal management fluids, containing phosphate compounds.

2. The phosphate compound satisfies the following chemical formula 1, 【Chemistry 1】 The additive for thermal control fluid according to claim 1, wherein R is independently of each other a hydrogen atom or a functional group containing 1 to 10 carbon atoms.

3. The additive for thermal control fluid according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the R is a functional group containing 1 to 10 carbon atoms.

4. The additive for thermal control fluid according to claim 2, wherein R is a functional group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms independently of each other.

5. The additive for thermal management fluid according to claim 2, wherein R further comprises a heteroatom.

6. The additive for thermal management fluid according to claim 5, wherein the heteroatom is a halogen atom.

7. The aforementioned additive satisfies a ΔFP of at least 10°C, The thermal control fluid additive according to claim 1, wherein ΔFP = (flash point of the fluid containing the additive) - (flash point of the fluid without the additive).

8. A thermal management fluid composition, A thermal management fluid composition comprising a base oil and at least one phosphate compound.

9. The thermal management fluid composition according to claim 8, wherein the composition can be used for immersion cooling.

10. The thermal management fluid composition according to claim 8, wherein the base oil is a mineral oil-based base oil.

11. The thermal management fluid composition according to claim 8, wherein the base oil content is at least 80 wt%.

12. The thermal management fluid composition according to claim 8, wherein the content of the phosphate compound is greater than 0 wt% and less than or equal to 10 wt%.

13. The thermal control fluid composition according to claim 8, further comprising an additive.

14. The thermal management fluid composition according to claim 13, wherein the additive comprises an antioxidant, an antifoaming agent, a corrosion inhibitor, a cleaning agent, a dispersant, a friction modifier, an anti-wear agent, an extreme pressure additive, a viscosity index improver, a pour point depressant, a viscosity modifier, or a combination thereof.

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