Parallel refrigerant cooling in datacenter cooling systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing datacenter cooling systems face challenges in efficiently addressing varying cooling requirements and ensuring uniform cooling across multiple computing devices, particularly in high heat density environments, due to issues with series cooling methods that prioritize one device over others and inadequate control of two-phase refrigerant flow in cold plates.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a parallel refrigerant cooling system with flow controllers to distribute equal measures of liquid and vapor phases of refrigerant across multiple paths, ensuring uniform cooling by maintaining equal liquid phase values in each path, and using flow equalization to optimize two-phase refrigerant flow in cold plates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If series cooling methods are used to cool multiple computing devices, then one device can be cooled effectively, but other devices receive insufficient cooling and hot spots develop
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is divided into multiple parallel cooling paths, each independently cooling a specific computing device. Instead of using a single series cooling path that cools devices sequentially, the system segments the cooling flow into parallel branches, allowing simultaneous cooling of multiple devices with equal effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a one-dimensional series cooling arrangement to a multi-dimensional parallel cooling architecture. By adding the dimension of parallelism, the system can address multiple cooling requirements simultaneously rather than sequentially, eliminating hot spots and ensuring uniform cooling distribution across all devices.
2Power
If two-phase refrigerant flow is used in cold plates, then cooling capacity is increased, but flow distribution becomes uneven and control becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system carefully controls and adjusts the parameters of two-phase refrigerant flow, including pressure, temperature, and phase composition, to optimize cooling capacity while maintaining stable and uniform flow distribution across parallel paths. By precisely managing these parameters, the system achieves high cooling power without the flow distribution and control problems that typically accompany two-phase flow.
3Ease of operation
If parallel refrigerant paths are implemented, then uniform cooling is achieved across multiple devices, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into multiple parallel paths with independent flow control, allowing uniform cooling distribution across multiple devices. Each path is a simplified independent unit that can be easily controlled and maintained, offsetting the apparent structural complexity through modular design.
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 enables efficient and uniform cooling of high heat density computing components by ensuring all devices receive equal cooling capacity, addressing hot spots and optimizing heat removal, even in dynamic conditions.
Implementation Method 1
distribute equal measures of a liquid phase, relative to a vapor phase, of a refrigerant to multiple parallel refrigerant paths
Implementation Method 2
cooling systems may include a chiller within the datacenter area, which may include area external to the datacenter itself
Implementation Method 3
cold plates...optimizing heat removal
Implementation Method 4
external heat exchanger that receives heated coolant from the datacenter and that disperses the heat
Implementation Method 5
distribute equal measures of a liquid phase, relative to a vapor phase, of a refrigerant to multiple parallel refrigerant paths
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for cooling a datacenter are disclosed. A datacenter cooling system includes one or more flow controllers to distribute equal ratios of a liquid phase of refrigerant relative to a vapor phase of refrigerant to cold plates along a plurality of parallel refrigerant paths.