Passive Direct Liquid Cooling Arrangement for Reliable Heat Sink Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling systems for electronic devices with direct liquid cooling face challenges such as restricted space, energy inefficiency due to mechanical pumps, and ineffective heat dissipation when heat sinks are placed at the top, leading to thermal insulation and limited size reduction.
Innovation Solution
A passive direct liquid cooling arrangement featuring a wall surrounding a cooling channel that connects an upper and lower opening, allowing the cooling liquid to circulate from top to bottom without mechanical input, creating a temperature gradient and enhancing heat transfer through a heat sink.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a heat sink is placed at the top of the cooling chamber to dissipate heat, then heat dissipation is attempted, but a thermally insulating layer forms between the cooling liquid and the heat sink due to rising gases and steam, making the heat sink ineffective
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of placing the heat sink at the top where hot cooling liquid rises, the invention inverts the approach by placing the heat sink at the bottom of the cooling chamber. The cooled liquid, being denser, naturally sinks to the bottom and contacts the heat sink, creating an effective thermal contact without the interference of rising gases and steam that plague top-mounted heat sinks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes natural convection currents created by temperature differences within the cooling chamber. Hot cooling liquid rises to the top, cools there, becomes denser, and sinks to the bottom where it contacts the heat sink, which then reheats it. This self-sustaining circulation eliminates the need for mechanical pumps while maintaining effective heat transfer.
2Temperature
If mechanical pumps are used to circulate cooling liquid, then heat dissipation is improved, but energy consumption increases and the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is designed to be self-propelling through natural convection. Temperature differences within the cooling chamber create density variations that drive the circulation of cooling liquid without any external mechanical input. Hot liquid rises, cools, becomes denser, sinks, and is reheated, creating a continuous self-sustaining circulation loop.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical pump system with a thermally-driven natural convection system. Instead of using mechanical energy to force liquid circulation, the system harnesses thermal energy differences to create buoyancy-driven flow, eliminating mechanical moving parts and their associated energy requirements.
3Temperature
If mechanical pumps and control systems are added to improve cooling, then heat dissipation is enhanced, but device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system operates autonomously through natural convection currents generated by temperature differences within the cooling chamber. No external control systems, sensors, or mechanical components are required - the thermal gradients themselves drive the circulation, making the system self-regulating and inherently simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and eliminates all unnecessary mechanical and control components from the cooling system. By relying solely on natural convection principles, it removes pumps, motors, control circuits, and associated mounting structures, leaving only the essential cooling chamber and heat sink components.
4Temperature
If the cooling chamber is divided into many small chambers with individual walls, then heat dissipation is improved, but the space available for electronic components is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling chamber is segmented into functionally distinct zones - a upper cooling zone where hot liquid rises and a lower heating zone where liquid contacts the heat sink - without requiring physical walls or partitions. The natural convection currents create functional separation while maintaining an open, unobstructed space for electronic components.
Solution Approach 2:
The single cooling chamber serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides the cooling medium reservoir, facilitates heat transfer through natural convection, and offers unobstructed space for electronic component placement. The heat sink at the bottom serves both as a thermal management component and a structural base for the chamber.
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
Enables efficient heat dissipation without mechanical parts, maintaining a compact design and ensuring uniform cooling of electronic components, thereby improving the operational efficiency and reducing parasitic reactance.
Implementation Method 1
an electrically insulating heat transfer liquid, filled within said container and having direct contact to the electrical components to transport heat away from those electrical components
Implementation Method 2
If the cooling liquid heats up, it rises to the top of the cooling chamber
Implementation Method 3
to cool the cooling liquid and thereby lift it in the cooling channel from top to bottom, so that a temperature gradient from top to bottom is created
Implementation Method 4
The cooling of the cooling liquid increases its density, and the cooling liquid is lifted from top to bottom in the cooling channel
Data Source
Figure 1a~1c
Figure 2a~2d
Figure 3
AI summary
Cooling arrangement (1) for passive direct liquid cooling, comprising: a) a wall (2), b) a cooling channel (3), c) an upper opening (4), d) a lower opening (5), e) whereby the wall (2) surrounds the cooling channel (3), f) whereby the cooling channel (3) connects the upper opening (4) with the lower opening (5), g) whereby the cooling arrangement (1) is designed: to be arranged on a heat sink (6) and in a cooling liquid (7) and to cool the cooling liquid (7) and thereby lift it in the cooling channel (3) from top to bottom, so that a temperature gradient from top to bottom is created. Disclosed is also a cooling unit (10), comprising such a cooling arrangement (1), a cooling system (100) comprising such a cooling unit (10), an electronic device (1000), comprising such a cooling system (100), an HP-generator for plasma processing, and a plasma processing system (1002).