Localized Immersion Cooling Enclosure for High-Power Components
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooling techniques, such as air-cooling and indirect liquid cooling, are inadequate for high-power or high-density electronic and optical components, as they reach thermal limits and require significant infrastructure changes, whereas full immersion cooling is inefficient and operationally challenging.
Innovation Solution
A localized immersion cooling enclosure system that uses a dielectric liquid to directly cool specific high-power components, allowing for flexible implementation on modular line cards and reducing thermal challenges while maintaining air-cooling for other components, with a low-pressure coolant system and external heat sinks for fail-safe operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If conventional air-cooling or indirect liquid cooling is used, then infrastructure changes are minimized, but cooling effectiveness is insufficient for high-power components
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the cooling approach into two segments: localized immersion cooling enclosures for high-power components and conventional air-cooling for other components. This segmentation allows targeted thermal management where needed while maintaining simplicity elsewhere in the system.
Solution Approach 2:
Dielectric liquid serves as an intermediary cooling medium that enables direct thermal contact with high-power components without requiring full system immersion or complex infrastructure changes. The liquid transfers heat efficiently from specific heat-generating components to heat sinks.
2Temperature
If full immersion cooling is used, then cooling effectiveness is maximized, but operational complexity and infrastructure changes increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements localized immersion cooling enclosures that contain dielectric liquid only where high-power components require cooling, rather than immersing the entire system. This reduces operational complexity while maintaining cooling effectiveness for critical components.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling approach is tailored to local thermal requirements: localized immersion enclosures are deployed only at positions where high-power components generate excessive heat, while other areas continue to use conventional air-cooling methods.
3Use of energy by moving object
If indirect liquid cooling is used, then infrastructure changes are reduced, but pumping power requirements and thermal efficiency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the cooling function from a centralized indirect liquid cooling system and implements localized cooling enclosures with integrated heat sinks. This eliminates the need for high-power pumps and complex thermal pathways, reducing both pumping power requirements and thermal losses.
Solution Approach 2:
The localized immersion enclosures with heat sinks provide self-contained cooling for high-power components, eliminating the need for centralized pumping systems and complex thermal management infrastructure. Each enclosure serves its own thermal management needs independently.
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 localized immersion cooling system effectively manages high heat loads with low pumping power, providing improved energy efficiency and performance compared to indirect liquid cooling or full immersion cooling, while minimizing infrastructure changes and maintaining system reliability.
Implementation Method 1
A localized immersion cooling enclosure with thermal efficiency features... uses a dielectric liquid to directly cool specific high-power components
Implementation Method 2
external heat sinks for fail-safe operation
Implementation Method 3
external heat sinks for fail-safe operation
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, an apparatus includes an enclosure configured for connection to a printed circuit board, a substrate within the enclosure, a plurality of components mounted on the substrate, a fluid inlet connector, a fluid outlet connector, and a plurality of flow channels within the enclosure, at least one of the components disposed in each the flow channels and segregated from other components in another of the flow channels. The enclosure is configured for immersion cooling of the components.