Immersion Server Rack Cooling With Vertical Dielectric Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling technologies for data centers are inefficient and costly, failing to keep pace with increasing server and data-center performance needs, leading to high energy consumption and capital investment.
Innovation Solution
A system where servers are submerged in a dielectric liquid coolant within a tank, with a controlled fluid circuit and heat exchanger to maintain an elevated coolant temperature, reducing the temperature difference and energy consumption for cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If conventional air cooling methods are used for servers, then the cooling system is simple to implement, but energy consumption is high and cooling efficiency is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies hydraulic cooling by immersing servers in liquid coolant within a sealed tank, replacing conventional air cooling systems. The liquid cooling system absorbs heat more efficiently from server components, reducing energy consumption while maintaining system reliability through the closed-loop hydraulic environment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the thermal parameters of the cooling system by using liquid coolant with higher specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity compared to air. This parameter change enables more efficient heat absorption from servers, reducing the energy required for cooling while improving cooling capacity.
2Productivity
If servers are immersed in liquid coolant, then cooling efficiency is enhanced, but device complexity and initial investment cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a hydraulic cooling system where servers are submerged in liquid coolant contained within a sealed tank. This approach enhances cooling efficiency through direct liquid-to-component heat transfer while containing the complexity within a self-contained hydraulic environment.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system is segmented into distinct functional modules: server immersion tanks, coolant circulation systems, heat exchangers, and control systems. This segmentation allows for optimized cooling efficiency in each module while managing overall system complexity through modular architecture.
3Use of energy by moving object
If higher coolant temperature is maintained, then energy consumption is reduced, but cooling capacity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the thermal parameters of the coolant system by maintaining elevated coolant temperatures closer to the server operating temperatures. This reduces the temperature differential and minimizes thermal irreversibilities, lowering energy consumption while maintaining adequate cooling capacity through increased coolant flow rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system incorporates feedback control mechanisms that monitor server temperatures and coolant conditions, dynamically adjusting coolant flow rates and temperatures. This feedback loop ensures energy-efficient operation by maintaining coolant temperatures that minimize energy consumption while preventing overheating.
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 enhances cooling efficiency by minimizing irreversibilities, potentially reducing energy consumption by up to ⅛ compared to conventional methods, allowing for heat recapture or dissipation with minimal power.
Implementation Method 1
absorbing heat from each respective server
Implementation Method 2
rejecting heat from the heated dielectric liquid coolant
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for cooling a plurality of rack-mountable servers containing heat generating electronic components in a server room including a dielectric liquid cooling apparatus located inside the tank and a secondary cooling apparatus comprising a remote heat exchanger and at least one pump. The volume of dielectric liquid coolant comprises at least one passage in the tank that is outside of the vertically oriented rack-mountable servers. When the at least one pump is operated to move the dielectric liquid coolant vertically across the heat producing components on the vertically oriented servers, a circuit is formed in which a first portion of dielectric liquid coolant is moved vertically upward across the heat producing components on the vertically oriented servers and then downward outside of the rack mountable servers in the at least one passage, while a second portion of the dielectric liquid coolant flows out of the tank.