Jet Impingement Cooling Module With Standoff Flow Balancing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional liquid-cooled jet-impingement cooling modules face manufacturing challenges due to complex structures integrated into the base plate, leading to high costs, long lead times, limited material and geometric flexibility, and suboptimal fluid dynamics with issues like flow maldistribution and jet wash-out, hindering rapid prototyping and customization.
Innovation Solution
A modular cooling module design comprising a housing, jet plate, standoff, and thermally conductive base plate, with separate flow-routing features in the standoff and jet plate, allowing for precise jet height control, balanced flow, and rapid effluent removal, using components like effluent isolators and exit slots to minimize wash-out effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If complex flow-routing features are integrated into the base plate through precision machining, then coolant distribution is managed, but manufacturing cost and lead time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling module is divided into separate functional components: a base plate for heat transfer, a jet plate for coolant distribution, and a housing for structural support. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently using optimal processes, eliminating the need for complex precision machining of the base plate while maintaining effective coolant flow management.
Solution Approach 2:
The complex flow-routing features are extracted from the base plate and relocated to the jet plate and housing components. This extraction simplifies the base plate manufacturing process while concentrating the fluid management complexity in separate components that can be manufactured using more economical processes.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the base plate serves both as heat-transfer interface and structural foundation for fluid management, then integration is achieved, but material and geometric flexibility is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The base plate is separated from the fluid management functions, allowing it to be made from optimal thermal materials without the constraint of integrated flow channels. The jet plate and housing independently handle fluid routing, enabling the base plate to focus solely on heat transfer performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The base plate is designed as a universal heat-transfer component that can be paired with different jet plate configurations to accommodate various cooling requirements. This multi-functionality approach allows the same base plate to serve different applications by simply changing the jet plate design.
3Reliability
If complex internal channels are used for effluent removal, then fluid management is achieved, but flow maldistribution and jet wash-out occur
Solution Approach 1:
The effluent removal function is extracted from the base plate and implemented through dedicated exit slots in the housing. This separation allows the base plate to focus on heat transfer while the housing manages effluent collection and removal, preventing flow maldistribution and jet wash-out effects.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing acts as an intermediary component between the base plate and the coolant supply system. It collects effluent from the base plate through strategically positioned exit slots and directs it away from the jet impingement zones, preventing wash-out while maintaining uniform flow distribution across the cooling surface.
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 modular design enables efficient heat dissipation, reduces manufacturing complexity and cost, facilitates rapid customization, and improves thermal uniformity by minimizing pressure drop and jet interference, supporting flexible adaptation to diverse cooling applications.
Implementation Method 1
These nozzles generate high-velocity jets of coolant that impinge directly onto the base plate, rapidly extracting heat
Implementation Method 2
a thermally conductive base plate—preferably copper, copper alloy, or aluminum—with a substantially flat impingement surface to maximize thermal conductivity
Data Source
AI summary
A modular liquid-cooling apparatus is disclosed for dissipating heat from electronic devices via high-velocity jet impingement. The apparatus comprises a thermally conductive, substantially flat base plate; a jet plate with an array of nozzles and optional fluid exit port holes; and a thin standoff interposed between the plates. The standoff precisely fixes jet height, partitions the impingement region into multiple discrete chambers using integrated effluent isolators, and contains exit slots of variable size and pitch. These effluent isolators are thin cross bars that prevent impinged fluid from traveling long distances across the impingement surface, instead forcing effluent to exit locally through the nearest slot, thereby substantially mitigating jet wash-out and preserving the performance of adjacent jets. A housing surrounds these elements, forming an inlet plenum, connecting spurs, and an exit channel coupled to inlet and outlet ports. Effluent coolant is routed through the standoff directly into the connecting spurs, minimizing lateral travel and equalizing flow across the module. The standoff may be inexpensively fabricated from sheet metal or polymer, enabling rapid, low-cost customization without machining complex features into the base plate. The configuration provides superior flow balancing, lower differential pressure, and improved thermal performance compared with conventional cold plates.