Internal Coolant Recirculation Module for Low-Flow Impingement Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling infrastructure cannot support the peak performance of jet impingement cooling modules due to the inability to handle the required 2×-4× increase in flow rate, necessitating a reduction in flow requirements to achieve optimal impingement performance even at lower flow rates.
Innovation Solution
Implementing internal recirculation of liquid coolant fluid within the cooling module, allowing it to impinge on cooling surfaces multiple times before exiting, thereby reducing flow rate demands and minimizing pressure losses through efficient routing and re-use of coolant fluid.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If jet impingement cooling modules are used to achieve high heat transfer coefficients, then cooling performance is improved, but flow rate requirements increase by 2×-4× compared to established cooling technologies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements internal recirculation that continuously routes coolant from impingement zones back to inlet plenums, allowing the coolant to perform useful cooling action multiple times. The couch passages create closed-loop flow paths within the cooling module, enabling the coolant to recirculate through different jet plate sections repeatedly, thereby extending the useful action of each unit of coolant.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of discarding coolant after a single pass through the cooling module, the patent recovers it by routing it through couch passages back to inlet plenums. The coolant is recovered and reused multiple times, extracting heat from different sections of the cooling surface in successive passes, thereby recovering its cooling potential.
2Quantity of substance
If external recirculation of coolant is implemented to reduce flow rate requirements, then flow demand decreases, but additional external seal failure points and pressure drops are introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the recirculation function with the internal structure of the cooling module by integrating couch passages directly into the module housing. This combines the cooling function with the recirculation function in a single integrated system, eliminating the need for separate external recirculation loops and their associated seals.
Solution Approach 2:
The couch passages serve as internal intermediaries that transport coolant between impingement zones and inlet plenums without requiring external connections. These internal passages act as mediators that enable recirculation while maintaining the integrity of the external seal boundary.
3Quantity of substance
If external recirculation piping is added to reduce flow rate, then flow demand decreases, but pressure losses in manifolding increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cooling module into multiple functional zones (inlet plenums, jet plate sections, impingement zones, couch passages) that are interconnected in a staged recirculation pattern. This segmentation allows for optimized local flow paths that minimize overall pressure losses compared to long external recirculation loops.
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
Reduces flow rate requirements by approximately 50% to 67% without significant decreases in cooling performance, while avoiding additional external seal failure points and pressure drops.
Implementation Method 1
liquid cooling fluid impinges the surfaces of the heat-generating electronic components multiple times before exiting the cooling module
Implementation Method 2
cooling performance of direct-to-chip single phase liquid cooling (DLC) devices is typically measured in terms of heat transfer coefficients
Data Source
AI summary
Improved cooling modules and methods are configured to recirculate the liquid coolant fluid inside the cooling modules so that the same liquid cooling fluid impinges the surfaces of the heat-generating electronic components (or cooling plates in thermal communication with the heat-generating electronic components) multiple times before exiting the cooling module, thereby allowing a given flow of coolant fluid to be re-used several times over. With each re-use of the coolant fluid, the flow rate demand drops, reducing infrastructure required to achieve higher performance in direct and indirect micro-convective impingement cooling applications.