Immersion Cooling Agitator for Vibration-Induced Phase Change
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current immersion cooling systems for electronic components in aerospace face challenges in efficiently managing heat transfer and vibration-induced phase changes, which can lead to thermal runaway and reduced cooling efficiency.
Innovation Solution
An immersion cooling system with a vibratory agitator and control module that adjusts the position of a dielectric coolant within a sealed housing to optimize heat transfer between electronic devices and the coolant, using sensors and actuators to maintain a predetermined heat transfer coefficient and flux, thereby counteracting vibration effects and enhancing cooling efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If immersion cooling is used to remove heat from electrical systems, then cooling efficiency is improved, but vibration-induced phase change can occur between the liquid and heat-generating component
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies mechanical vibration through a vibratory agitator that generates controlled vibrations in the dielectric coolant. This vibration prevents localized phase change between the liquid coolant and heat-generating components by maintaining consistent liquid contact, thereby resolving the contradiction between improved cooling efficiency and phase change stability
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates temperature sensors and controllers that monitor thermal conditions and adjust agitator operation accordingly. This feedback mechanism ensures that cooling efficiency is maintained while preventing harmful phase change by dynamically adjusting agitation based on real-time temperature measurements
2Productivity
If higher power density components are used to meet increasing power requirements, then productivity is improved, but heat generation increases requiring increased cooling provisioning
Solution Approach 1:
The vibratory agitator creates micro-scale mixing and circulation patterns that enhance heat transfer from high-power-density components. This allows the system to effectively cool higher power density components without requiring proportionally larger cooling infrastructure, thus supporting productivity improvements while managing increased heat generation
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes controlled phase transition dynamics of the dielectric coolant, where the vibratory agitator prevents unwanted localized phase change while allowing beneficial phase change heat absorption to occur, enabling effective cooling of high-power-density components
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 effectively stabilizes heat transfer and critical heat flux, expanding the operating window of electronic devices by actively managing coolant displacement and phase changes, thus ensuring reliable operation under varying conditions.
Implementation Method 1
heat transfer between electronic devices and the coolant
Implementation Method 2
vibratory agitator... counteracting vibration effects
Implementation Method 3
localized phase change that can occur between the liquid and heat-generating component
Data Source
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AI summary
An immersion cooled electronic arrangement (100; 200; 300) includes a sealed housing (102; 202), a coolant (C) contained within the housing (102; 202), and an electronic device (104; 204; 304) submerged within the coolant (C). An agitator (106; 206) is disposed within the housing (102; 202) to control passive heat transfer between the electronic device (104; 204; 304) and the coolant (C). An immersion cooling system and related method are also described.