Liquid Cold Plate for Data Center Server Heat Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling systems for data centers face challenges in effectively managing heat generated by high-power electronic devices, leading to potential device failure due to inadequate cooling, especially in areas where forced convection is ineffective.
Innovation Solution
A liquid cold plate assembly integrated with a server tray package, featuring a base and top portion forming a cooling liquid flow path, a vapor chamber, and thermal interface materials, which enables direct liquid cooling and customizable heat transfer surfaces to address varying heat loads across devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If forced convection cooling is used with fans and ductwork, then cooling coverage can be provided across the server rack, but cooling effectiveness is insufficient in difficult-to-cool areas and energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies hydraulic cooling by circulating liquid coolant through cold plate assemblies that are in direct thermal contact with heat-generating electronic components. This liquid cooling system replaces or supplements air-based forced convection, providing more effective heat removal from critical areas including those that are difficult to cool with air flow alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements localized cooling by placing individual cold plate assemblies at specific locations where heat generation is highest or cooling is most difficult. Each cold plate can be independently configured and sized to match the thermal load of particular components, providing targeted cooling efficiency rather than uniform cooling across the entire rack.
2Adaptability or versatility
If standardized cooling solutions are used for all devices, then system complexity is reduced, but adaptability to different heat loads and device configurations is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the cooling system into modular cold plate assemblies that can be independently selected and configured for different device types and heat loads. Each cold plate is a discrete unit that can be attached to specific electronic components, allowing the cooling system to be customized for each rack configuration without requiring a completely different cooling architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs cold plate assemblies with universal mounting interfaces and standardized coolant flow connections that can accommodate various electronic device form factors and heat generation characteristics. This allows the same basic cold plate technology to serve multiple cooling applications across different device types while maintaining adaptability through configurable plate sizes, shapes, and thermal conductive material selections.
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 solution provides efficient cooling for both high and low heat generating devices, prevents hot spots, and allows for customizable cooling solutions, enhancing the reliability and performance of data center operations by effectively managing heat distribution.
Implementation Method 1
a liquid cold plate assembly... that provides cooling to a plurality of data center electronic devices... forming a cooling liquid flow path... thermal interface materials
Implementation Method 2
forming a cooling liquid flow path through which a cooling liquid is circulated
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
This disclosure describes a cooling system, for example, for rack mounted electronic devices (e.g., servers, processors, memory, networking devices or otherwise) in a data center. In various disclosed implementations, the cooling system may be or include a liquid cold plate assembly that is part of or integrated with a server tray package. In some implementations, the liquid cold plate assembly includes a base portion and a top portion that, in combination, form a cooling liquid flow path through which a cooling liquid is circulated and a thermal interface between one or more heat generating devices and the cooling liquid.