Gravity-Assisted Dry Cooling Unit for Constant Coolant Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing power dissipation in integrated circuit chips poses a cooling challenge, particularly in data centers where traditional air-cooling methods are insufficient, leading to stress on room air-conditioning systems and potential overheating in large server installations.
Innovation Solution
A cooling unit comprising a heat rejection unit with a heat exchange assembly and an elevated coolant tank, which facilitates heat rejection from coolant to air and maintains coolant pressure, combined with a coolant loop for efficient heat extraction and distribution across electronics racks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If liquid cooling is used to manage high heat fluxes, then cooling efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is divided into separate functional modules: coolant distribution units for each rack, coolant loops for heat extraction, and remote heat rejection units. This segmentation allows the liquid cooling infrastructure to be implemented incrementally and maintains modularity, reducing overall system complexity while achieving high cooling efficiency for high-power-density racks.
Solution Approach 2:
A coolant (liquid) is introduced as an intermediary substance to transfer heat from the electronics racks to remote heat rejection points. This mediator enables efficient heat removal from high-power-density racks without requiring complex integrated cooling solutions at each rack location, simplifying the overall system architecture.
2Power
If evaporative cooling towers are used for heat rejection, then heat dissipation capability is improved, but water consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat rejection function is extracted from the data center environment and located remotely. The coolant absorbs heat from the racks and transports it to external heat rejection units that can use air cooling or other non-evaporative methods, eliminating the need for evaporative cooling towers within the facility and thereby reducing water consumption while maintaining high heat dissipation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses hydraulic principles with liquid coolant to transport thermal energy from the racks to remote locations. At the remote heat rejection units, thermal convection and conduction replace evaporative cooling, enabling effective heat dissipation without the water loss associated with evaporative towers.
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 solution effectively manages high heat fluxes by using liquid cooling, reducing the load on room air-conditioning systems and providing a more efficient cooling method that does not require evaporative cooling towers, thus enhancing data center cooling efficiency and reducing energy consumption.
Implementation Method 1
The elevated coolant tank is coupled in fluid communication with the at least one heat exchange assembly of the at least one heat rejection unit, and facilitates return of coolant to the coolant loop at a substantially constant pressure, wherein the elevated coolant tank is elevated above at least a portion of the coolant loop
Implementation Method 2
The at least one heat rejection unit includes at least one heat exchange assembly coupled to the coolant loop for at least a portion of the coolant to pass therethrough
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling unit is provided to facilitate cooling of coolant passing through a coolant loop. The cooling unit includes one or more heat rejection units and an elevated coolant tank. The heat rejection unit(s) rejects heat from coolant passing through the coolant loop to air passing across the heat rejection unit. The heat rejection unit(s) includes one or more heat exchange assemblies coupled to the coolant loop for at least a portion of coolant to pass through the one or more heat exchange assemblies. The elevated coolant tank, which is elevated above at least a portion of the coolant loop, is coupled in fluid communication with the one or more heat exchange assemblies of the heat rejection unit(s), and facilitates return of coolant to the coolant loop at a substantially constant pressure.