Immersion Cooling Pump Array for Board-Level Refrigerant Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional air and liquid cooling methods are inadequate for supercomputers with high-power chips, leading to inefficiencies and increased risk of malfunctions due to overheating.
Innovation Solution
An immersion cooling system with a pump array and controller that individually controls refrigerant flow to each board based on workload and temperature, using insulation fluid to manage heat dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional air cooling or liquid cooling methods are used, then the cooling system is simple to implement, but they are inadequate for cooling high-power chips in supercomputers
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into multiple independent pump units, each responsible for a specific board. Each pump unit includes a pump, temperature sensor, and control circuit, allowing independent operation and precise control of refrigerant flow to each board based on its specific cooling needs.
Solution Approach 2:
An insulating fluid serves as an intermediary medium between the high-power chips and the refrigerant. The insulating fluid allows heat transfer from the chips while electrically isolating the refrigerant from the electronic components, enabling effective cooling without compromising system safety.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a single pump is used for circulation, then the system is simpler, but it cannot provide individualized cooling control for each board
Solution Approach 1:
The single pump is divided into multiple independent pump units, with each pump dedicated to a specific board. This segmentation enables individualized cooling control for each board based on its workload and temperature conditions, while the modular design keeps each pump unit relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
Each pump unit dynamically adjusts its operation based on real-time temperature feedback from its corresponding board. The control circuit activates or deactivates each pump individually, and adjusts refrigerant flow rates dynamically to match the cooling demands of each board under varying workload conditions.
3Reliability
If refrigerant flow is increased for all boards, then cooling capacity is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing refrigerant flow for all boards uniformly, the system applies partial action by activating only the specific pump units whose boards require cooling. Each pump adjusts its flow rate to the minimum necessary to maintain appropriate temperature, avoiding excessive cooling and associated energy waste.
Solution Approach 2:
Temperature sensors on each board provide real-time feedback to the control circuit, which adjusts the operation of corresponding pump units accordingly. When a board's temperature is within the acceptable range, the associated pump is deactivated or operates at minimal flow, thereby reducing power consumption while maintaining cooling capacity when needed.
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
Enhances cooling efficiency by dynamically adjusting refrigerant flow, reducing power consumption, and minimizing overheating-related malfunctions in high-performance computing systems.
Implementation Method 1
The refrigerant may include an insulation fluid, the refrigerant having characteristics to release heat absorbed from a surface of the determined board
Implementation Method 2
a pump array including a plurality of pumps disposed inside the reservoir, each pump of the plurality of pumps configured to individually generate a flow of the refrigerant by performing a discharging of the refrigerant
Data Source
AI summary
An immersion cooling system including an electronic device including a plurality of boards, the electronic device being configured in the immersive cooling system to be immersed in refrigerant that a reservoir is configured to accommodate, a pump array including a plurality of pumps disposed inside the reservoir, each pump of the plurality of pumps configured to individually generate a flow of the refrigerant by performing a discharging of the refrigerant, and a controller, the controller being configured to individually control an operation of each pump of the plurality of pumps, determine a board of the plurality of boards that requires cooling, identify a pump corresponding to the determined board among the plurality of pumps, and increase a flow quantity of the refrigerant discharged from the identified pump.