Immersion Cooling Pressure Control for Rapid Compute Load Changes
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional immersion cooling systems struggle to quickly adjust to rapid changes in compute demand and heat generation by electronic components, leading to fluctuations in fluid pressure and boiling temperatures that can cause thermal damage or degradation.
Innovation Solution
A thermal management system using a high-pressure (HP) and low-pressure (LP) container configuration with a two-phase working fluid, controlled by pumps and condensers, dynamically adjusts fluid pressure to maintain different components at desired operating temperatures through pressure differential control devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional immersion cooling system is used, then cooling is provided to heat-generating components, but the system cannot quickly adjust to rapid changes in compute demand and heat generation, leading to fluctuations in fluid pressure and boiling temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts fluid pressure between high-pressure and low-pressure states to match changing compute loads. The pressure differential control devices enable the cooling system to adapt its operating parameters in real-time, transitioning from static to dynamic operation to respond to rapid changes in heat generation from electronic components.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameter of fluid pressure to control boiling temperature. By adjusting pressure between high and low states, the boiling point of the working fluid is modified, enabling the system to maintain optimal cooling conditions across varying compute demands and prevent thermal damage.
2Adaptability or versatility
If fluid pressure is adjusted to match changing compute loads, then different components can be maintained at different optimal temperatures, but the system complexity increases with pressure differential control devices
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into high-pressure and low-pressure zones, each capable of maintaining different boiling temperatures for different components. This segmentation allows batteries to be cooled at one optimal temperature while heat-generating components are cooled at another, with each zone independently controlled by pressure differential control devices.
Solution Approach 2:
Pressure differential control devices act as intermediaries between the heat-generating components and the working fluid. These devices mediate the pressure adjustments, enabling controlled transitions between high and low pressure states to achieve different cooling conditions without requiring complete system redesign.
3Device complexity
If a single working fluid is used for both batteries and heat-generating components, then system simplicity is maintained, but the ability to provide different optimal cooling conditions for different components is limited
Solution Approach 1:
A single working fluid is used to perform multiple cooling functions for different types of components. The fluid operates in both high-pressure and low-pressure modes, allowing it to provide different optimal cooling conditions for batteries and heat-generating components sequentially, eliminating the need for separate cooling systems while maintaining versatility.
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 system efficiently maintains batteries and heat-generating components at different optimal temperatures using a single working fluid, enhancing performance and reducing thermal damage by proactively adjusting fluid pressure to match changing compute loads.
Implementation Method 1
A two-phase working fluid is partially in the HP container and partially in the LP container. The two-phase working fluid has a vapor phase and a liquid phase.
Implementation Method 2
The liquid phase of the working fluid in the immersion chamber absorbs heat from the heat-generating components to become the vapor phase
Implementation Method 3
A condenser is configured to condense the vapor phase of the working fluid into the liquid phase
Implementation Method 4
A pump is configured to move the working fluid through the system
Implementation Method 5
changing a pressure differential between an LP container of the battery and an HP container of another heat-generating component based at least partially on the change in battery operation, and lowering a boiling temperature of a two-phase working fluid proximate the battery
Data Source
AI summary
A thermal management system includes a high-pressure (HP) container, a low-pressure (LP) container in fluid communication with the HP container and having a fluid pressure less than the HP container, and a two-phase working fluid partially in the HP container and partially in the LP container. The two-phase working fluid has a vapor phase and a liquid phase. A pump is configured to move the working fluid through the system, and a condenser is configured to condense the vapor phase of the working fluid into the liquid phase.