Data Center Cooling System for High Density Server Clusters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current two-phase immersion cooling systems for data centers face challenges such as coolant loss, unreliability, and inappropriateness for hyper-scale deployments due to variations in phase change caused by dynamic vapor amounts, requiring efficient system architecture, adaptation to dynamic scenarios, and scalable solutions for high-density server clusters.
Innovation Solution
A cooling system design that includes a dedicated secondary condensing system with pressure sensors to manage vapor condensation, using air or liquid cooling sources, and a coolant distribution unit to recirculate cooling liquid back to IT containers, with air or liquid heat exchangers for efficient heat management, allowing for dynamic configuration and scalability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If two-phase immersion cooling systems directly operate with variation generation and condensation in the IT container, then cooling efficiency is improved, but coolant loss increases and system reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a dedicated condensing system as an intermediary component separate from the IT container. This condensing system receives vapor from the IT container through a vapor port, condenses it externally, and returns the liquid coolant to the IT container. This intermediary approach maintains the two-phase cooling efficiency while preventing direct operation issues that cause coolant loss and reliability problems.
2Productivity
If two-phase immersion cooling systems directly operate with variation generation and condensation in the IT container, then cooling efficiency is improved, but coolant loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
The dedicated condensing system acts as a controlled intermediary that manages the phase change process externally. By condensing vapor outside the IT container in a controlled environment, the system prevents uncontrolled vapor escape and coolant loss while maintaining the efficiency benefits of two-phase cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The system recycles the coolant through a closed loop where vapor is condensed back to liquid and returned to the IT container. This recovery process eliminates coolant loss by ensuring that evaporated coolant is continuously condensed and reused rather than being lost to the environment.
3Ease of operation
If previous two-phase immersion cooling solutions are used, then cooling function is provided, but the system is not appropriate for hyper-scale deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cooling system into separate functional modules: the IT container with vapor port, the dedicated external condensing system, and the coolant distribution unit. This modular segmentation allows the system to be scaled by adding more containers and condensing units as needed, making it suitable for hyper-scale deployments while maintaining operational simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The dedicated condensing system design creates a universal platform that can serve multiple IT containers. The system architecture allows a single condensing unit to handle vapor from multiple containers, providing scalability and adaptability for hyper-scale data centers while maintaining the same reliable cooling function.
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
The solution provides a robust, efficient, and reliable cooling system that maintains thermal equilibrium, enhances server performance and reliability, and supports hyper-scale deployments by effectively managing vapor condensation and recirculation, reducing coolant loss and improving operational safety.
Implementation Method 1
a primary condenser disposed within the vapor region to condense the vapor
Implementation Method 2
a secondary condenser disposed within the vapor container to condense the portion of the vapor using air cooling or liquid cooling received from an external cooling source
Implementation Method 3
a cooler system coupled to the secondary condenser via a cooling line to provide liquid cooling to the secondary condenser
Implementation Method 4
The liquid region is to store a plurality of electronic devices, which when operate, generate heat that causes the cooling liquid to evaporate
Implementation Method 5
The vapor container includes a pressure sensor to measure a vapor pressure of the vapor within the vapor container
Data Source
AI summary
The cooling system for a data center includes an information technology (IT) container, secondary condensing system, and a coolant distribution unit. In particular, an IT container includes a liquid region to store cooling liquid, a vapor region to receive vapor evaporated from the cooling liquid, and a primary condenser disposed within the vapor region to condense the vapor. For example, the external cooling air or cooling liquid is controlled to be delivered to condensers. Further, a secondary condenser is coupled to the IT container via a vapor line to receive at least a portion of the vapor from the vapor region of the IT container and to condense the portion of the vapor. Furthermore, a coolant distribution unit is coupled to the IT container and the secondary condenser to store and to distribute the cooling liquid to the IT container.