Self-Contained Cold-Plate Liquid Cooling for Data Center Upgrades
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cold-plate liquid cooling systems for servers require extensive infrastructure construction, high resource investment, and are difficult to upgrade from air-cooled to liquid-cooled data centers due to reliance on outdoor cold sources, leading to uncontrollable heat dissipation and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A self-configuring liquid cooling device with integrated cold and heat sources, including a cabinet, cold source circulation system, liquid supply circulation system, and controller, which allows for independent operation and control of refrigerant and cooling liquid flow, enabling efficient heat exchange and temperature regulation without external chillers or towers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If conventional cold-plate liquid cooling systems use outdoor cold sources (water chiller, cooling tower), then heat dissipation can be achieved, but construction complexity and resource investment increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the cold source circulation system and liquid supply circulation system into a single integrated device housing. The cold source system (compressor, condenser, expansion valve, evaporator) and the liquid cooling system (pump, pipelines, cold plates) are merged into one unit, eliminating the need for separate outdoor chillers and cooling towers. This integration directly reduces construction complexity while maintaining heat dissipation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated device is self-contained with an independent cold source generation system that does not require external water chillers or cooling towers. The system generates its own cold source through the refrigeration cycle (compressor→condenser→expansion valve→evaporator) and serves itself, eliminating dependency on external infrastructure and reducing construction resource investment.
2Temperature
If conventional systems rely on outdoor water chiller and cooling tower, then cooling function is provided, but construction period and resource investment increase
Solution Approach 1:
By merging all cooling components (cold source generation, refrigerant circulation, liquid cooling circulation) into a single integrated device, the patent eliminates the need for extensive infrastructure construction including outdoor water chillers, cooling towers, and complex pipeline networks. This significantly reduces construction period while maintaining the cooling function.
Solution Approach 2:
The self-contained integrated device requires no external infrastructure installation. All cooling functions are provided by the device itself through its internal refrigeration cycle and liquid circulation system, enabling rapid deployment without lengthy construction periods associated with traditional outdoor cooling infrastructure.
3Temperature
If outdoor cold source is used, then heat dissipation is achieved, but heat dissipation state becomes uncontrollable due to external environmental conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a controller that monitors the heat dissipation requirements of the load and adjusts the operation state of the cold source circulation system accordingly. The controller receives feedback on cooling demand and regulates the refrigeration cycle (compressor operation, expansion valve opening, pump speed) to maintain optimal heat dissipation state, making the system controllable and adaptable to changing conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated device features dynamic control capabilities where the controller can adjust the operation state of the cold source circulation system based on real-time heat dissipation requirements. The system transitions from static outdoor cold source dependency to dynamic internal control, allowing flexible adjustment of cooling capacity to match actual thermal loads.
4Temperature
If conventional cold-plate liquid cooling is implemented, then liquid cooling function is achieved, but upgrade from air-cooled data center becomes difficult due to extensive infrastructure requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the cold source generation system and liquid cooling circulation system into a single deployable unit that can be placed within existing data center environments. This integrated design allows air-cooled data centers to be upgraded to liquid-cooled configurations without requiring extensive infrastructure modifications, as the entire cooling system is self-contained and can be installed alongside existing equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The self-contained integrated device requires no external infrastructure for operation. It generates its own cold source and manages its own liquid circulation, allowing data centers to upgrade to liquid cooling by simply adding these modular units rather than reconstructing entire cooling infrastructure. This dramatically improves upgrade flexibility and adaptability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates engineer-free construction of cold-plate liquid cooling environments, reducing costs and complexity, allowing easy upgrading of air-cooled data centers, and providing precise cooling capacity control, while being suitable for small-scale applications.
Implementation Method 1
The cold source circulation system is configured to drive a refrigerant to circularly flow along a preset path, and cool the refrigerant
Implementation Method 2
the first heat exchanger is connected between the cold source circulation system and the liquid supply circulation system, and configured to facilitate heat exchange between the cooled refrigerant and the cooling liquid after absorbing heat
Implementation Method 3
drive the cooling liquid to flow through a cold plate to absorb heat of a load
Implementation Method 4
The liquid supply circulation system is configured to drive cooling liquid to circularly flow along a preset path
Implementation Method 5
the first heat exchanger is connected between the cold source circulation system and the liquid supply circulation system, and configured to facilitate heat exchange between the cooled refrigerant and the cooling liquid after absorbing heat
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid cooling device with self-configuring cold and heat sources is disclosed, including a cabinet, a cold source circulation system, a first heat exchanger, a liquid supply circulation system, and a controller; wherein the cold source circulation system is configured to drive a refrigerant to circularly flow and cool the refrigerant; the liquid supply circulation system is configured to drive cooling liquid to circularly flow and enable the cooling liquid to flow through a cold plate to absorb heat of a load; the first heat exchanger is configured to facilitate heat exchange between the cooled refrigerant and the cooling liquid after absorbing heat; and the controller is in signal connection with the cold source circulation system and is configured to control an operation state of the cold source circulation system according to a heat dissipation requirement of the load.