Immersion cooling device and immersion cooling method

Abstract

To provide an immersion cooling device and a immersion cooling method that can efficiently cool electronic equipment. [Solution] The immersion cooling device 1 includes an ice-making unit 2 that cools water W to produce ice slurry I, a storage chamber 3 that stores the ice slurry I produced in the ice-making unit 2, a cooling chamber 4 to which the ice slurry I stored in the storage chamber 3 is supplied, a first circulation path 5 that circulates water W between the ice-making unit 2 and the storage chamber 3, and a second circulation path 6 that circulates ice slurry I between the storage chamber 3 and the cooling chamber 4. The electronic device Q is then cooled by immersing it in the ice slurry I contained in the cooling chamber 4.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid immersion cooling device and a liquid immersion cooling method.

Background Art

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a liquid immersion cooling device for liquid-immersion cooling an electronic device with an insulating liquid refrigerant.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the liquid immersion cooling device described in Patent Document 1, since the refrigerant for cooling the electronic device is a liquid, it can only perform cooling by sensible heat, and there is a problem that the cooling efficiency of the electronic device is poor.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid immersion cooling device and a liquid immersion cooling method capable of efficiently cooling an electronic device using latent heat by using ice slurry as a refrigerant.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] Such an object is achieved by the following present invention.

[0007] (1) An ice-making unit that cools a refrigerant to generate ice slurry, a cooling chamber to which the ice slurry is supplied, and immersing an electronic device in the ice slurry accommodated in the cooling chamber to cool the electronic device. A liquid immersion cooling device characterized by

[0008] ​(2) A storage chamber for storing the ice slurry produced in the ice-making section, A first circulation path for circulating the refrigerant between the ice-making section and the storage chamber, The immersion cooling apparatus according to (1) above, further comprising a second circulation path for circulating the ice slurry between the storage chamber and the cooling chamber.

[0009] (3) The immersion cooling device described in (1) above, wherein the refrigerant is water.

[0010] (4) The immersion cooling apparatus described in (1) above, wherein the ice-making section cools the refrigerant by heat exchange with liquefied gas to produce the ice slurry.

[0011] (5) The immersion cooling device described in (1) above, wherein the electronic equipment is sealed in a liquid-tight housing member.

[0012] (6) An ice-making unit that cools the refrigerant to produce an ice slurry, Using an immersion cooling device having a cooling chamber to which the ice slurry is supplied, A liquid immersion cooling method characterized by cooling electronic equipment by immersing it in the ice slurry contained in the cooling chamber. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the immersion cooling apparatus and method of the present invention, since electronic equipment is cooled by immersing it in an ice slurry, the latent heat of the ice slurry can be used to cool the electronic equipment. Therefore, compared to conventional configurations that cool electronic equipment using the sensible heat of a liquid coolant, the electronic equipment can be cooled more efficiently. As a result, it can adequately handle the cooling of electronic equipment that generates a large amount of heat. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] This figure shows the overall configuration of the immersion cooling device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the ice-making section and storage chamber of an immersion cooling system. [Figure 3] This diagram shows the storage chamber and cooling chamber of an immersion cooling system. [Figure 4] This figure shows the overall configuration of the immersion cooling device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows the overall configuration of the immersion cooling device according to the third embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0015] The liquid immersion cooling apparatus and liquid immersion cooling method of the present invention will be described in detail below based on the embodiments shown in the attached drawings. Note that the upper side of the paper is the upper side in the vertical direction, and the lower side of the paper is the lower side in the vertical direction.

[0016] <First Embodiment> The liquid immersion cooling device 1 shown in Figure 1 is a device for cooling electronic equipment Q by immersing it in an ice slurry I. The electronic equipment Q is not particularly limited, but examples include computer equipment equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), especially server equipment, and among these, GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) server equipment, which is essential for processing generative AI. Demand for GPU server equipment has increased in recent years due to the widespread adoption of generative AI, and it generates significantly more heat than conventional server equipment. The liquid immersion cooling device 1 can efficiently cool even such high-heat-generating electronic equipment Q.

[0017] In the immersion cooling device 1, water W as a refrigerant is cooled by heat exchange with liquefied natural gas LNG as a liquefied gas to generate ice slurry I, and at least a part of the liquefied natural gas LNG is evaporated and vaporized to generate natural gas NG. Then, the electronic device Q is cooled by immersing it in the generated ice slurry I. According to such a method, the cold energy of the liquefied natural gas LNG can be effectively utilized, and the environmental load can be reduced. In addition, since the latent heat of the ice slurry I can be used to cool the electronic device Q, the electronic device Q can be cooled more efficiently compared with the conventional configuration (that is, the configuration using a liquid refrigerant for cooling). That is, it is possible to provide the immersion cooling device 1 with a small environmental load and a high cooling function. Note that the liquefied gas is not limited to liquefied natural gas LNG, and may be, for example, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), liquefied ammonia gas, or the like.

[0018] Hereinafter, the immersion cooling device 1 will be described in detail. First, natural gas NG will be briefly described. In Japan, most of the natural gas NG depends on imports. In addition, in order to improve the transportation efficiency, the natural gas NG is liquefied into liquefied natural gas LNG at about -162°C by a liquefaction plant installed in a foreign natural gas field, and is transported (by sea) to about 40 receiving bases 9 in Japan using an LNG tanker.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the receiving base 9 generally includes an LNG tank 91 for temporarily storing the transported liquefied natural gas LNG, a vaporizer 92 for vaporizing the liquefied natural gas LNG stored in the LNG tank 91 to generate the required amount of natural gas NG, and an odorizer 93 for adding an odor to the natural gas NG generated by the vaporizer 92. In addition, the natural gas NG odorized by the odorizer 93 is temporarily stored in a gas holder 94 installed in various places such as urban areas, and is generally sent from there to each building 95 of the contract customers through a gas pipe.

[0020] Furthermore, generally, a configuration using a seawater shower as the vaporizer 92 is used, that is, a configuration in which heat exchange is performed between seawater pumped from the sea and liquefied natural gas (LNG). However, this means that the cold energy of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is not utilized and is discarded into the sea, and there is a risk of it leading to an increase in seawater temperature, resulting in a large environmental burden. Therefore, in the immersion cooling device 1 of this embodiment, the cold energy of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which has not been utilized until now, is used to generate ice slurry I from water W, and at least a portion of the used liquefied natural gas (LNG) is vaporized to produce natural gas (NG). With this configuration, the cold energy of liquefied natural gas (LNG) can be effectively utilized, and the amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) vaporized in the vaporizer 92 can be reduced. Therefore, the immersion cooling device 1 can reduce the environmental burden. In particular, while the freezing point of water W, which is the refrigerant, is 0°C, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is at an extremely low temperature of about -162°C. Therefore, a lot of heat is exchanged between the two, and ice slurry I and natural gas (NG) are efficiently produced.

[0021] Next, the immersion cooling device 1 will be described. As shown in Figure 1, the immersion cooling device 1 is located, for example, in a receiving base 9 or in a data center DC installed adjacent to the receiving base 9. A large number of server devices, which are electronic devices Q, are installed in the data center DC. The immersion cooling device 1 also includes an ice-making unit 2 that cools water W to produce ice slurry I, a storage chamber 3 that stores the ice slurry I produced in the ice-making unit 2, a cooling chamber 4 to which the ice slurry I is supplied, a first circulation path 5 that circulates water W between the ice-making unit 2 and the storage chamber 3, and a second circulation path 6 that circulates ice slurry I between the storage chamber 3 and the cooling chamber 4.

[0022] The ice-making unit 2 is a device that cools water W to produce ice slurry I. Here, ice slurry I refers to a slushy ice-like substance in which fine ice particles are mixed in water W, and is sometimes called slurry ice, ice slurry, or slurry ice. The water W is not particularly limited, and can be fresh water, tap water, rainwater, pure water, ultrapure water, theoretically pure water, or ion-exchanged water. Here, the lower the concentration of impurities in water W, the lower the electrical conductivity (higher the insulation). Therefore, if high insulation is desired to reduce the risk of failure of electronic equipment Q due to short circuits, etc., ultrapure water (close to theoretically pure water) is preferable. Also, if a more inexpensive system is to be constructed, it is preferable to use tap water, rainwater, etc. Furthermore, the refrigerant is not limited to water W. For example, a liquid with a lower freezing point than water W, such as salt water (sodium chloride aqueous solution), calcium chloride aqueous solution, or ethanol, may be used, or conversely, a liquid with a higher freezing point than water W may be used. The refrigerant can be appropriately set according to the heat generation of the electronic equipment Q, the operating temperature of the electronic equipment Q, etc. Furthermore, as a refrigerant, insulating liquids such as fluorine-based inert liquids and silicone oil, which are commonly used in conventional immersion cooling systems, can also be used.

[0023] As shown in Figure 2, the ice-making unit 2 includes a heat exchanger 21 in which heat exchange takes place between liquefied natural gas (LNG) and water (W), and a liquid level measuring unit 22 for measuring the amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the heat exchanger 21. The ice-making unit 2 also includes piping 231 connecting the LNG tank 91 and the heat exchanger 21, piping 232 connecting the heat exchanger 21 and the odorizer 93, and a liquid level adjustment valve 233 located in the middle of piping 231. In other words, the ice-making unit 2 bypasses the space between the LNG tank 91 and the vaporizer 92, and the space between the vaporizer 92 and the odorizer 93, and is arranged in parallel with the vaporizer 92.

[0024] Therefore, liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the LNG tank 91 is supplied to the heat exchanger 21 via piping 231, where it evaporates and vaporizes through heat exchange with water W, becoming natural gas (NG), which is then supplied to the odorizer 93 via piping 232. The amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplied to the heat exchanger 21 is controlled by a liquid level adjustment valve 233 installed upstream of the heat exchanger 21. The liquid level adjustment valve 233 can be adjusted not only ON / OFF but also in multiple stages or steplessly with an opening of 0 to 100%. During operation of the ice-making unit 2, the amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplied to the heat exchanger 21 is controlled by the liquid level adjustment valve 233, and the amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the heat exchanger 21, i.e., the liquid level height of the liquefied natural gas (LNG), is maintained at the target liquid level height. This allows for stable and continuous cooling of water W, and enables the efficient production of a homogeneous ice slurry (I).

[0025] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, the heat exchanger 21 includes a main heat exchanger 211 and a sub-heat exchanger 215. The main heat exchanger 211 has an outer tube 212 and an inner tube 213 coaxially arranged inside the outer tube 212. The outer tube 212 and inner tube 213 are installed vertically, with their axes oriented vertically. In other words, the main heat exchanger 211 is a vertical double-tube evaporator.

[0026] The main heat exchanger 211 is a liquid-filled type, and almost the entire space between the outer tube 212 and the inner tube 213 is filled with liquefied natural gas (LNG). This space will also be referred to as the "liquefied natural gas storage section 214" below. Meanwhile, water W flows through the inner tube 213. Therefore, heat exchange occurs between the water W and the liquefied natural gas (LNG) via the wall surface of the inner tube 213. In a liquid-filled main heat exchanger 211, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) is in direct contact with the outer surface of the inner tube 213, resulting in high work efficiency and improved heat exchange efficiency between the liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the water W. As a result, ice slurry I can be efficiently generated.

[0027] Here, because liquefied natural gas (LNG) is at an extremely low temperature of around -162°C, it can do a large amount of work and cool the water W in a short time. On the other hand, this makes the water W more likely to freeze in the main heat exchanger 211, and increases the risk of ice accumulating and growing on the inner wall of the inner tube 213. If ice continues to accumulate and grow on the inner wall of the inner tube 213, the volume inside the inner tube 213 will gradually decrease, and accordingly the cooling efficiency of the water W will gradually decrease, eventually potentially blocking the inner tube 213 and making it impossible to circulate the water W.

[0028] Therefore, although not shown in the diagram, a rotating blade for scraping off ice adhering to the inner wall may be installed inside the inner tube 213. By rotating the rotating blade around the central axis of the inner tube 213, the ice adhering to the inner wall can be scraped off, suppressing ice growth inside the inner tube 213 and preventing a decrease in the efficiency of ice slurry I generation. In addition, the rotation of the rotating blade creates a swirling convection in the water W flowing inside the inner tube 213. As a result, the heat exchange efficiency between liquefied natural gas LNG and water W is increased, and the water W can be cooled efficiently and evenly. The blades of the rotating blade may or may not be in contact with the inner wall of the inner tube 213. In the former case, the ice removal effect is improved, but on the other hand, high precision is required in the dimensions and mounting of the rotating blade. In the latter case, the ice removal effect is slightly inferior to the former, but there is more leeway in the dimensional and mounting precision, and the device configuration becomes simpler.

[0029] The sub-heat exchanger 215 is installed horizontally alongside the main heat exchanger 211. The sub-heat exchanger 215 is a pipe with its lower end closed. The sub-heat exchanger 215 is also installed vertically, with its axis oriented vertically. This sub-heat exchanger 215 is connected to the liquefied natural gas storage unit 214 via a pair of pipes 216. Therefore, the liquefied natural gas LNG supplied to the liquefied natural gas storage unit 214 is also supplied to the sub-heat exchanger 215 through these pipes 216. The natural gas NG produced by evaporation and vaporization through heat exchange with water W in the main heat exchanger 211 is then supplied from the upper end of the sub-heat exchanger 215 through pipe 232 to the odorizer 93.

[0030] The liquid level measuring unit 22 is installed in the sub-heat exchanger 215 and measures the liquid level of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the sub-heat exchanger 215. Since the liquid level of LNG in the sub-heat exchanger 215 is equal to the liquid level of LNG in the main heat exchanger 211, the liquid level of LNG in the main heat exchanger 211 can be measured by measuring the liquid level of LNG in the sub-heat exchanger 215. In this way, by installing the liquid level measuring unit 22 in a location different from the liquefied natural gas storage unit 214, the liquid level of LNG in the liquefied natural gas storage unit 214 can be detected without hindering heat exchange between LNG and water W.

[0031] As shown in Figure 2, the storage chamber 3 stores the water W, which is the raw material for the ice slurry I, and the ice slurry I produced in the ice-making unit 2. By arranging the storage chamber 3, a certain amount of ice slurry I can be kept in stock at all times and quickly supplied to the cooling chamber 4 when needed. The storage chamber 3 is also connected to the inner pipe 213 of the ice-making unit 2 by a first circulation path 5. The first circulation path 5 includes a pipe 51 connecting the storage chamber 3 to the upper end of the inner pipe 213, a pipe 52 connecting the storage chamber 3 to the lower end of the inner pipe 213, and a pump 53 positioned in the middle of the pipe 51.

[0032] During operation of the ice-making unit 2, the water W in the storage chamber 3 is supplied to the heat exchanger 21 through the piping 51 by the drive of the pump 53, and is cooled by heat exchange with liquefied natural gas (LNG). The water W cooled in the heat exchanger 21 is returned to the storage chamber 3 through the piping 52 and supplied again to the heat exchanger 21 through the piping 51. By repeating this circulation cycle, the water W is gradually cooled and ice slurry I is continuously produced. Although not shown in the figures, a stirring device may be provided to agitate the ice slurry I in the storage chamber 3 in order to suppress aggregation of the ice slurry I in the storage chamber 3.

[0033] As shown in Figure 3, the ice slurry I stored in the storage chamber 3 is supplied to the cooling chamber 4. The storage chamber 3 is connected to the cooling chamber 4 by a second circulation path 6. The second circulation path 6 includes a pair of pipes 61 and 62 connecting the storage chamber 3 and the cooling chamber 4, and pumps 63 and 64 positioned in the middle of the pipes 61 and 62. When pump 63 is driven, the ice slurry I in the storage chamber 3 is supplied to the cooling chamber 4 through pipe 61, and when pump 64 is driven, the ice slurry I or water W in the cooling chamber 4 is returned to the storage chamber 3 through pipe 62. In this way, by circulating the ice slurry I between the storage chamber 3 and the cooling chamber 4, the ice slurry I can be properly stored in the cooling chamber 4.

[0034] Furthermore, during operation of the immersion cooling device 1, pumps 63 and 64 may be kept running at all times to continuously circulate the ice slurry I between the storage chamber 3 and the cooling chamber 4. Alternatively, the running / stopping of pumps 63 and 64 may be switched at predetermined intervals to periodically circulate the ice slurry I between the storage chamber 3 and the cooling chamber 4. With such a method, fresh ice slurry I is continuously or periodically supplied to the cooling chamber 4, so that the electronic equipment Q can be continuously and stably cooled. Alternatively, for example, a temperature sensor may be placed to detect the temperature of the ice slurry I in the cooling chamber 4, and pumps 63 and 64 may be driven when the temperature of the ice slurry I begins to rise from 0° (i.e., when all the ice components in the ice slurry I have melted and become water W) to fill the cooling chamber 4 with fresh ice slurry I, and then pumps 63 and 64 may be stopped until the temperature of the ice slurry I begins to rise from 0° again. This method allows the operating time of pumps 63 and 64 to be kept short, thereby enabling power-saving operation of the immersion cooling device 1.

[0035] The configuration of the immersion cooling device 1 has been described above. In this immersion cooling device 1, as shown in Figure 3, the electronic equipment Q is cooled using the cold energy of the ice slurry I stored in the cooling chamber 4 by immersing the electronic equipment Q in the ice slurry I. By immersing the electronic equipment Q in the ice slurry I, heat exchange between the electronic equipment Q and the ice slurry I can be performed efficiently. Furthermore, the temperature of the ice slurry I is maintained near its freezing point, i.e., around 0°C, until the ice components melt due to the action of latent heat. Since the heat of fusion required to turn a solid (ice) into a liquid (water) is higher than the specific heat of the liquid, the electronic equipment Q can be cooled for a longer period of time. Therefore, the immersion cooling device 1 can efficiently cool the electronic equipment Q.

[0036] The electronic device Q is immersed in the ice slurry I while sealed in an insulating housing member 10. This effectively suppresses failure of the electronic device Q due to a short circuit via the ice slurry I. The housing member 10 is not particularly limited as long as it can seal the electronic device Q, that is, prevent the intrusion of the ice slurry I. The housing member 10 in this embodiment is made of an insulating film, and the electronic device Q is sealed by covering it with this film. It is preferable to make the film tightly attached to the electronic device Q so that no gap (insulating layer formed from the air layer) is created between the film and the electronic device Q. This allows the electronic device Q to be cooled efficiently. In this regard, for example, if a heat-shrinkable film is used and the electronic device Q is covered with heat and then shrinked, it becomes less likely for a gap to be created between the film and the electronic device Q. However, if the refrigerant is insulating, the housing member 10 may be omitted.

[0037] The liquid immersion cooling device 1 has been described above. As mentioned above, this liquid immersion cooling device 1 has an ice-making unit 2 that cools water W, which is a refrigerant, to produce ice slurry I, and a cooling chamber 4 to which the ice slurry I is supplied. The electronic equipment Q is cooled by immersing it in the ice slurry I contained in the cooling chamber 4. With this configuration, the electronic equipment Q can be efficiently cooled using the cold energy of the ice slurry I.

[0038] Furthermore, as mentioned above, the immersion cooling device 1 includes a storage chamber 3 for storing ice slurry I produced in the ice-making unit 2, a first circulation path 5 for circulating water W between the ice-making unit 2 and the storage chamber 3, and a second circulation path 6 for circulating ice slurry I between the storage chamber 3 and the cooling chamber 4. In this way, by having a storage chamber 3 for storing ice slurry I, a certain amount of ice slurry I can be stocked and quickly supplied to the cooling chamber 4 when needed.

[0039] Furthermore, as mentioned above, the refrigerant is water. With this configuration, the refrigerant can be prepared inexpensively and easily.

[0040] Furthermore, as mentioned above, the ice-making unit 2 cools the refrigerant through heat exchange with liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a liquefied gas before vaporization, thereby generating ice slurry I. With this configuration, ice slurry I can be generated using the cold energy of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Therefore, the environmental impact can be reduced.

[0041] Furthermore, as mentioned above, the electronic device Q is sealed in an insulating housing member 10. With this configuration, failure of the electronic device Q due to short circuits or the like can be prevented.

[0042] Furthermore, as mentioned above, the immersion cooling method uses an immersion cooling apparatus 1 having an ice-making unit 2 that cools water W, which is a refrigerant, to produce ice slurry I, and a cooling chamber 4 to which the ice slurry I is supplied. The electronic equipment Q is cooled by immersing it in the ice slurry I contained in the cooling chamber 4. With this method, the electronic equipment Q can be efficiently cooled using the cold energy of the ice slurry I.

[0043] <Second Embodiment> The immersion cooling device 1 of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, except that the configuration of the ice-making unit 2 is different. In the following description, this embodiment will be described mainly in terms of the differences from the first embodiment described above, and similar matters will not be described. Also, in the figures of this embodiment, the same reference numerals are used for components that are the same as those in the previously described embodiment.

[0044] As shown in Figure 4, the ice-making unit 2 of this embodiment includes a compressor 23, a condenser 24, an expansion valve 25, and a heat exchanger 21, and has a circuit for circulating the refrigerant N.

[0045] In the ice-making unit 2, the refrigerant N is compressed in the compressor 23 to become a high-temperature, high-pressure gas. The refrigerant N, now in a high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous state in the compressor 23, flows into the condenser 24, where it condenses and liquefies to become a high-pressure liquid. The high-pressure liquid refrigerant N in the condenser 24 is depressurized by the expansion valve 25 and flows into the heat exchanger 21. The low-pressure liquid refrigerant N that flows into the heat exchanger 21 evaporates and vaporizes while absorbing heat from the water W, becoming a low-pressure gas. The low-pressure gaseous refrigerant N in the heat exchanger 21 is returned to the compressor 23, where it is compressed again to become a high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous state and discharged. The ice-making unit 2 generates ice slurry I by circulating the refrigerant N in this heat exchange cycle, thereby continuously cooling the water W circulating between the heat exchanger 21 and the storage chamber 3.

[0046] The refrigerant N is not particularly limited, and may be natural refrigerants such as HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons), HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons), HFOs (hydrofluoroolefins), propane, propylene, butane, isobutane, hexafluoropropane, heptafluoropropane, ammonia, or carbon dioxide.

[0047] With this configuration, ice slurry I can be generated by driving the compressor 23 with electricity. Therefore, compared to the first embodiment described above, it is less restricted by the installation location of the data center (DC). Furthermore, it can be easily introduced into existing data centers (DCs).

[0048] This second embodiment can also achieve the same effects as the first embodiment described above.

[0049] <Third Embodiment> The immersion cooling device 1 of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, except that the storage chamber 3 is omitted. In the following description, this embodiment will be described mainly in terms of the differences from the first embodiment described above, and similar matters will not be described. Also, in the figures of this embodiment, the same reference numerals are used for components that are the same as those in the previously described embodiment.

[0050] As shown in Figure 5, in the immersion cooling device 1 of this embodiment, the storage chamber 3 is omitted, and water W circulates between the ice-making section 2 (heat exchanger 21) and the cooling chamber 4.

[0051] This third embodiment can also achieve the same effects as the first embodiment described above.

[0052] Although the liquid immersion cooling device and liquid immersion cooling method of the present invention have been described above based on the illustrated embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto. The configuration of each part can be replaced with any configuration having a similar function. Furthermore, any other configuration may be added to the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0053] 1...Immersion cooling device, 10...Storage component, 2...Ice making section, 21...Heat exchanger, 211...Main heat exchanger, 212...Outer pipe, 213...Inner pipe, 214...Liquefied natural gas storage section, 215...Sub heat exchanger, 216...Piping, 22...Liquid level measuring section, 23...Compressor, 231...Piping, 232...Piping, 233...Liquid level adjustment valve, 24...Condenser, 25...Expansion valve, 3...Storage chamber, 4...Cooling chamber 5...First circulation path, 51...Piping, 52...Piping, 53...Pump, 6...Second circulation path, 61...Piping, 62...Piping, 63...Pump, 64...Pump, 9...Receiving station, 91...LNG tank, 92...Vaporizer, 93...Odorizer, 94...Gas holder, 95...Building, DC...Data center, I...Ice slurry, LNG...Liquefied natural gas, N...Refrigerant, Q...Electronic equipment, W...Water

Claims

1. An ice-making unit that cools the refrigerant to produce ice slurry, The system includes a cooling chamber into which the ice slurry is supplied, An immersion cooling device characterized by cooling electronic equipment by immersing it in the ice slurry contained within the cooling chamber.

2. A storage chamber for storing the ice slurry produced in the ice-making section, A first circulation path for circulating the refrigerant between the ice-making section and the storage chamber, The immersion cooling apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second circulation path for circulating the ice slurry between the storage chamber and the cooling chamber.

3. The immersion cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerant is water.

4. The immersion cooling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ice-making section cools the refrigerant by heat exchange with liquefied gas to produce the ice slurry.

5. The liquid immersion cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device is sealed with an insulating housing member.

6. An ice-making unit that cools the refrigerant to produce ice slurry, Using an immersion cooling device having a cooling chamber to which the ice slurry is supplied, A liquid immersion cooling method characterized by cooling electronic equipment by immersing it in the ice slurry contained in the cooling chamber.

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