Extruded Liquid Cooler With Friction Stir Welded Insert
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat sinks for liquid coolers face challenges in achieving high cooling performance and cost-effective manufacturing, with limitations in fin height, pitch, and thermal conductivity, particularly due to the use of low-conductivity brazing materials and labor-intensive manufacturing processes.
Innovation Solution
A liquid cooler design featuring a hollow extruded aluminum heat sink with internal liquid channels and fins, where an insert forms serpentine channels for improved heat transfer, and Friction Stir Welding is used for reliable and low-contact-resistance connections, allowing for enhanced cooling capacity and pressure resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If brazing is used to insert fins into cooling passages, then the heat transfer is improved, but the thermal conductivity decreases due to low-conductivity brazing material
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the brazing material from the heat transfer path by using a different construction method where fins are integrated into the heat sink body without requiring brazing, thereby eliminating the thermal resistance introduced by low-conductivity brazing material
Solution Approach 2:
The fin structure and heat sink body are merged into a single integrated component, eliminating the need for separate fin insertion and brazing operations, which removes the thermal interface resistance
2Ease of manufacture
If extrusion is used to produce heat sink, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but fin height and pitch are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The heat sink is divided into a base body and separate fin components that can be manufactured independently using extrusion, then assembled together, allowing optimization of each component separately
Solution Approach 2:
The design transitions from traditional three-dimensional extruded fins to a planar or simplified geometric fin structure that can be manufactured with standard extrusion processes while maintaining effective cooling surface area
3Manufacturing precision
If labor-intensive manufacturing processes are used, then manufacturing precision is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Fins and cooling passages are pre-formed during the extrusion process itself, eliminating the need for subsequent manual insertion and brazing operations, thereby maintaining precision while dramatically increasing production speed
Solution Approach 2:
Manual labor and complex assembly operations are replaced with automated extrusion molding processes that form the complete heat sink structure in a single continuous operation
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 design achieves improved heat removal capacity and cost-effective manufacturing by maximizing channel pitch and height, enabling efficient cooling of electronic components with high thermal conductivity and reduced manufacturing time and costs.
Implementation Method 1
an insert is introduced into the cavity to form the systems of liquid channels... abutting the top of the fins after insertion into the cavity
Implementation Method 2
liquid channels, adapted to cool electronic components... cooling liquid pump and a plurality of liquid channels being used as supply and return channels
Implementation Method 3
Friction Stir Welding is used for reliable and low-contact-resistance connections
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention provides a liquid cooler including a heat sink comprising: a hollow body (10) produced by extrusion having at least one flat outer surface between a first and a second end, and at least one elongated cavity (18) passing through the body (10) from the first to the second end,and said hollow body (10) including a plurality of parallel fins (12) directed into and along said at least one cavity (18), an insert (14) housed in said at least one cavity (18) connecting the tops of the fins (12) in a fluid-tight manner thereby forming liquid channels (20, 22) for a coolant liquid between the insert (14) and the hollow body (10), a lid (A) attached at both ends of the hollow body (10) for forming a liquid cooling system.