Cold Plate With Segmented Plenum For Thermal Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In electronics water cooling systems, existing cold plates often struggle to accommodate variations in the alignment and height of heat-generating components, leading to inefficiencies in heat transfer and potential structural damage due to rigid designs.
Innovation Solution
A cold plate design featuring active and non-active areas with varying widths and thicknesses, where active areas have larger dimensions for heat transfer and non-active areas are narrower and thinner to flex and accommodate component variations, incorporating cooling fins and a plenum with differential fluid flow restrictions to enhance heat dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid cold plate design is used, then structural strength is improved, but adaptability to component misalignments deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cold plate is divided into multiple regions with different thicknesses: thicker regions (active areas) positioned over heat-generating components provide structural strength and heat transfer capability, while thinner regions (non-active areas) between components provide flexibility to accommodate misalignments. This segmentation allows different parts of the same cold plate to serve different functional requirements simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The cold plate features non-uniform thickness distribution where specific local regions have different properties: active areas have greater thickness for strength and heat conduction, while non-active areas have reduced thickness for flexibility. This local quality variation resolves the contradiction by providing both rigidity where needed and compliance where needed.
2Ease of manufacture
If uniform thickness is used throughout the cold plate, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but heat transfer efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cold plate thickness is segmented into different levels: thicker active areas for heat transfer and thinner non-active areas for flexibility. This segmentation can be achieved through stamping processes that create varying thickness zones, balancing manufacturing feasibility with optimized heat transfer performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The cold plate employs local quality variation with different thicknesses in different regions. Active areas have increased thickness to enhance heat conduction capability, while non-active areas have reduced thickness. This local differentiation optimizes heat transfer efficiency without requiring completely complex manufacturing processes.
3Manufacturing precision
If active areas are enlarged to improve heat transfer, then heat transfer efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cold plate is segmented into active areas (thicker regions for heat transfer) and non-active areas (thinner regions). This segmentation achieves improved heat transfer efficiency by concentrating material where needed, while the overall structure remains relatively simple and can be manufactured using standard stamping and forming processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The cold plate uses local quality enhancement by increasing thickness only in active areas where heat transfer is required, rather than uniformly increasing the entire cold plate. This approach improves heat transfer efficiency while minimizing the increase in device complexity and material usage.
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
This design improves heat transfer efficiency by allowing the cold plate to flex and adapt to component misalignments, reducing structural stress and enhancing cooling fluid distribution, thereby maintaining effective heat dissipation across the electronics assembly.
Implementation Method 1
Heat from the components of the electrical system is transferred to the sheet metal or other thermally conductive material and then to the water in the plenum
Implementation Method 2
An exterior surface of the sheet metal or other thermally conductive material is arranged in contact (or conductive communication) with heat-generating components of the electrical system
Implementation Method 3
The water flowing through the plenum transports the heat away from the components of electrical system, thereby keeping the components cool
Data Source
AI summary
A cold plate, an electronic assembly including a cold plate, and a method for forming a cold plate are provided. The cold plate includes an interface plate and an opposing plate that form a plenum. The cold plate includes a plurality of active areas arranged for alignment over respective heat generating portions of an electronic assembly, and non-active areas between the active areas. A cooling fluid flows through the plenum. The plenum, at the non-active areas, has a reduced width and/or reduced height relative to the plenum at the active areas. The reduced width and/or height of the plenum, and exterior dimensions of cold plate, at the non-active areas allow the non-active areas to flex to accommodate surface variations of the electronics assembly. The reduced width and/or height non-active areas can be specifically shaped to fit between physical features of the electronics assembly.