Liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly and server device including the same

Abstract

A liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly is configured for cooling a central processing unit and at least one voltage regulator. The liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly includes a cold plate, at least one thermally conductive metal component, and at least one heat pipe. The cold plate is configured to be in thermal contact with the central processing unit and for coolant to flow through. The thermally conductive metal component is configured to be in thermal contact with the voltage regulator. Two ends of the heat pipe are respectively thermally coupled to the cold plate and the thermally conductive metal component.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a liquid cooling heat dissipation component and a server device including the same, and more particularly to an integrated liquid cooling heat dissipation component and a server device including the same. [Previous Technology]

[0002] With the continuous development of artificial intelligence (AI), AI products are emerging in an endless stream, and the market demand for computing power is increasing day by day. In order to improve computing speed, the performance of servers must be improved accordingly. However, the computing power of high-performance server chips is usually accompanied by higher power consumption, and high-performance chips require more efficient heat dissipation methods.

[0003] In recent years, countries have actively promoted energy conservation and carbon reduction, making the energy consumption of data centers a major concern. Traditional air-cooled servers mainly rely on high-speed fans to cool internal heat-generating components. However, this cooling method is not only energy-intensive and noisy, but also has low heat dissipation efficiency. In traditional servers, the central processing unit (CPU) is usually the main high-power heat-generating component, and in the environment of high-power CPUs, the power supply module (such as voltage regulator, VR) responsible for stable power supply also usually generates a lot of heat.

[0004] Therefore, how to effectively solve the heat dissipation problem of the CPU and its power supply module has become an important direction of current server heat dissipation technology research. [Summary of the Invention]

[0005] The present invention provides a liquid cooling heat dissipation component and a server device including the liquid cooling component, thereby solving the problems of high energy consumption, high noise and low heat dissipation efficiency of air-cooled servers in the prior art.

[0006] One embodiment of the present invention discloses a liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly for cooling a central processing unit and at least one voltage regulator. The liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly includes a cold plate, at least one thermally conductive metal component, and at least one heat pipe. The cold plate is used to thermally contact the central processing unit and to supply a coolant. The thermally conductive metal component is used to thermally contact the voltage regulator. The two ends of the heat pipe are thermally coupled to the cold plate and the thermally conductive metal component, respectively.

[0007] Another embodiment of the present invention discloses a server device comprising a motherboard, a central processing unit (CPU), at least one voltage regulator, and a liquid cooling assembly. The CPU is mounted on the motherboard. The voltage regulator is mounted on the motherboard. The liquid cooling assembly comprises a cold plate, at least one thermally conductive metal component, and at least one heat pipe. The cold plate is in thermal contact with the CPU and serves to allow coolant to flow through it. The thermally conductive metal component is in thermal contact with the voltage regulator. The two ends of the heat pipe are thermally coupled to the cold plate and the thermally conductive metal component, respectively.

[0008] According to the liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly and server device including the above embodiments, the integrated liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly design can effectively dissipate heat from both the central processing unit (CPU) and the voltage regulator simultaneously. The cold plate is in thermal contact with the CPU, while the heat generated by the voltage regulator is transferred to the cold plate through thermally conductive metal parts and heat pipes. Finally, the coolant in the cold plate carries away the heat from both the CPU and the voltage regulator, thereby achieving simultaneous and effective heat dissipation from both the CPU and the voltage regulator by the liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly.

[0009] The above description of the content of the present invention and the following description of the embodiments are used to demonstrate and explain the principles of the present invention, and to provide a further explanation of the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

Implementation Method

[0011] The following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention outlines its features and advantages. This description is sufficient to enable anyone skilled in the art to understand the technical content of the embodiments of the present invention and to implement them accordingly. Furthermore, based on the disclosure, patent claims, and drawings in this specification, anyone skilled in the art can easily understand the relevant objectives and advantages of the present invention. The following embodiments further illustrate the viewpoints of the present invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

[0012] Please refer to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of a server device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 2 is a side view of the server device of Figure 1.

[0013] The server device 1 in this embodiment includes a motherboard 9, a central processing unit 8, multiple voltage regulators 7, and a liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly 10. The central processing unit 8 and the voltage regulators 7 are both disposed on the motherboard 9. The liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly 10 is used to cool the central processing unit 8 and the voltage regulators 7.

[0014] The liquid cooling heat dissipation component 10 may include a cold plate 11, multiple thermally conductive metal parts 12, multiple thermally conductive pads 13 and multiple heat pipes 14.

[0015] The cold plate 11 is in thermal contact with the central processing unit 8 and serves to supply coolant. Specifically, the cold plate 11 may include a plate body 110, an inlet connector 111, and an outlet connector 112. The plate body 110 is in thermal contact with the central processing unit 8, and the plate body 110 has a fluid chamber inside. The inlet connector 111 and the outlet connector 112 are disposed on the plate body 110 and are both in fluid communication with the fluid chamber of the plate body 110. The inlet connector 111 is in fluid communication with a coolant distribution unit (CDU, not shown) through an inlet pipe P1, and the outlet connector 112 is in fluid communication with the coolant distribution unit through an outlet pipe P2. This forms a cooling circuit to effectively dissipate heat from the central processing unit 8. The coolant distribution unit may include, for example, a heat exchanger for cooling the coolant. The material of the cold plate 11 may be, for example, copper, but the invention is not limited thereto.

[0016] These thermally conductive metal parts 12 are in thermal contact with these voltage regulators 7. These thermally conductive metal parts 12 are, for example, copper blocks, but the invention is not limited thereto. In this embodiment, these thermally conductive pads 13 are respectively disposed between these thermally conductive metal parts 12 and these voltage regulators 7, so that these thermally conductive metal parts 12 can make thermal contact with these voltage regulators 7 through these thermally conductive pads 13. The thermally conductive pads are optional, and the invention is not limited thereto.

[0017] The two ends of these heat pipes 14 are thermally coupled to the plate body 110 of the cold plate 11 and the thermally conductive metal parts 12, respectively. In this way, the heat generated by the voltage regulator 7 can be transferred to the cold plate 11 by thermal conduction through the thermal pad 13, the thermally conductive metal parts 12, and the heat pipes 14. Then, the heat transferred to the cold plate 11 is carried away through the cooling circuit formed by the cold plate 11 and the coolant distribution unit, thereby achieving simultaneous and effective heat dissipation for the central processing unit 8 and the voltage regulator 7. These heat pipes 14 are, for example, high thermal conductivity heat pipes, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0018] The present invention is not limited to the number of heat-conducting metal parts and heat pipes. In different embodiments of the present invention, the number of heat-conducting metal parts and heat pipes can be adjusted to one or more according to actual design requirements.

[0019] According to the liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly and the server device including it in the above embodiments, the integrated liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly design can effectively dissipate heat from both the central processing unit (CPU) and the voltage regulator simultaneously. The cold plate is in thermal contact with the CPU, while the heat generated by the voltage regulator is transferred to the cold plate through thermally conductive metal parts and heat pipes. Finally, the coolant in the cold plate carries away the heat from both the CPU and the voltage regulator, thereby achieving simultaneous and effective heat dissipation from both the CPU and the voltage regulator by the liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly.

[0020] In addition, compared with traditional servers that use air cooling, the liquid cooling heat dissipation component and the server device containing it disclosed in this invention adopt a liquid cooling solution, which has a thermal conductivity of 15 to 25 times that of the air cooling solution, can achieve heat dissipation with higher heat flux density, can cope with high-power central processing units and voltage regulators, and has more stable performance and longer service life.

[0021] Furthermore, compared to traditional servers that use air cooling, the liquid cooling heat dissipation component and server device containing it disclosed in this invention have a more compact liquid cooling system design, and rely on liquid flow for heat dissipation, which is not limited by space and has a better heat dissipation effect.

[0022] Furthermore, for traditional servers that only use air cooling, the central processing unit and voltage regulator are often the difficult points for heat dissipation and often participate in fan speed control, thus posing a risk to heat dissipation speed control. The liquid cooling heat dissipation component and server device containing it disclosed in this invention can cover the heat source on the motherboard to a great extent with its liquid cooling design, which can effectively solve this problem and reduce the power consumption of the system fan.

[0023] During the simulation test of the liquid cooling heat dissipation component and the server device including it in the above embodiment, the inlet temperature of the coolant was set to 40°C and the flow rate to 1.2 L / min, and a system simulation was performed. The power consumption of the central processing unit (CPU) was 600W, and the power consumption of the voltage regulator (VR) was 98.142W. The simulation results showed that the highest temperature of the CPU was 67.7°C, lower than the specified 72°C, and the temperature of the voltage regulator was 79.7°C, also lower than the specified 90°C. Therefore, the simulation results meet the specifications of each component and have sufficient margin.

[0024] Although the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to the preferred embodiments described above, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art may make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of patent protection of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the patent application attached to this specification. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0010] FIG1 is a partial perspective view of a server device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG2 is a side view of the server device of FIG1.

Claims

1. A liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly for cooling a central processing unit and at least one voltage regulator, the liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly comprising: a cold plate for thermally contacting the central processing unit and for supplying a coolant; at least one thermally conductive metal element for thermally contacting the at least one voltage regulator; and at least one heat pipe, the two ends of the at least one heat pipe being thermally coupled to the cold plate and the at least one thermally conductive metal element, respectively.

2. The liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the at least one thermally conductive metal component is a copper block.

3. The liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly as described in claim 1 further includes at least one thermal pad, wherein the at least one thermal pad is disposed between the at least one thermally conductive metal component and the at least one voltage regulator.

4. The liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number of the at least one voltage regulator is multiple, the number of the at least one thermally conductive metal component is multiple, and the number of the at least one heat pipe is multiple.

5. The liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cold plate includes a plate body, a liquid inlet connector and a liquid outlet connector, the plate body is used to thermally contact the central processing unit and has a fluid chamber, the liquid inlet connector and the liquid outlet connector are disposed on the plate body and fluidly communicate with the fluid chamber, the liquid inlet connector is used to fluidly communicate with a heat exchanger through a liquid inlet pipe, and the liquid outlet connector is used to fluidly communicate with the heat exchanger through a liquid outlet pipe.

6. A server device, comprising: a motherboard; a central processing unit disposed on the motherboard; at least one voltage regulator disposed on the motherboard; and a liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly, comprising: a cold plate in thermal contact with the central processing unit and for supplying a coolant; at least one thermally conductive metal element in thermal contact with the at least one voltage regulator; and at least one heat pipe, the two ends of the at least one heat pipe being thermally coupled to the cold plate and the at least one thermally conductive metal element, respectively.

7. The server device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the at least one heat-conducting metal component is a copper block.

8. The server device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly further includes at least one thermal pad, and the at least one thermal pad is disposed between the at least one thermally conductive metal member and the at least one voltage regulator.

9. The server device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the number of the at least one voltage regulator is multiple, the number of the at least one thermally conductive metal element is multiple, and the number of the at least one heat pipe is multiple.

10. The server device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the cold plate includes a plate body, an inlet connector and an outlet connector, the plate body being in thermal contact with the central processing unit and having a fluid chamber, the inlet connector and the outlet connector being disposed on the plate body and in fluid communication with the fluid chamber, the inlet connector being in fluid communication with a heat exchanger through an inlet pipe, and the outlet connector being in fluid communication with the heat exchanger through an outlet pipe.

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