Flexible Cold Plate Parallel Flow Paths
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cooling multiple electronic components using a single flexible cold plate often results in preheating of downstream components due to series fluid flow, leading to temperature increases and reduced system performance.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a flexible cold plate with parallel fluid flow paths, where a partition separates the fluid flow into distinct active areas, ensuring that fluid flows through either the first or second active area but not both, thereby minimizing preheating and enhancing cooling uniformity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a single flexible cold plate is used to cool multiple electronic components, then cost is reduced, but temperature uniformity deteriorates due to preheating of downstream components
Solution Approach 1:
The cold plate is segmented into multiple flow regions by partitions, creating separate parallel fluid flow paths for different active areas. This segmentation allows independent thermal management of each region while using a single cold plate structure, resolving the contradiction between cost savings and temperature uniformity.
2Device complexity
If series fluid flow is used through multiple active areas, then device complexity is reduced, but harmful preheating effects increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fluid flow path is segmented into parallel streams by partitions, preventing the series flow configuration that causes preheating. Each partition creates an independent flow channel, eliminating the harmful thermal coupling between downstream active areas while maintaining relatively simple device architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow paths are arranged in parallel dimensions rather than series sequence. By creating multiple simultaneous flow channels side-by-side separated by partitions, the system transitions from sequential thermal interaction to parallel independent flow, eliminating preheating effects.
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 approach provides efficient and uniform cooling of multiple electronic components, reducing temperature increases and lowering overall data center energy costs by preventing fluid preheating across components.
Implementation Method 1
Cooling multiple electronic components using a single flexible cold plate
Implementation Method 2
flowing fluid through the cold plate apparatus such that the flow is divided into separate, parallel paths
Data Source
AI summary
A cold plate apparatus includes a top wall and a bottom wall that enclose a plenum for fluid flow; an inlet and an outlet each formed in one of the top wall or the bottom wall; a first active area within the plenum; a second active area within the plenum; and a partition that extends between the top wall and the bottom wall within the plenum and that separates the first active area from the second active area so that a portion of fluid flowing from the inlet to the outlet through the plenum flows through either the first active area or the second active area but not through both active areas.