Pattern-Bonded Finned Cold Plate Without Braze Flow Blockage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cold plate manufacturing methods face challenges with capillary wicking and 'ball-up' issues due to the use of large areas of solder or braze paste, especially in tight fin pitch configurations, which obstruct coolant flow and lead to inefficient heat transfer.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a lid with brazing material applied only to specific wettable regions on a fin pack, preventing intrusion between parallel plates and ensuring mechanical bonding while maintaining open spaces for coolant flow, using techniques like paste screening and non-wetting agents to control the brazing process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If large areas of solder or braze paste are used to attach the lid to the fin pack, then mechanical bonding strength is improved, but capillary wicking occurs between parallel plates causing brazing material intrusion that blocks coolant flow
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous brazing material application area is segmented into discrete spaced-apart regions, preventing capillary wicking between regions while maintaining adequate bonding strength at each localized contact point between the lid and fin pack edges
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the lid surface are treated differently: wettable regions receive brazing material for bonding while non-wettable regions (between wettable regions) are treated to repel brazing material and prevent capillary wicking, creating localized functional zones
2Reliability
If brazing material is applied to ensure complete sealing and bonding, then reliability of the sealed enclosure is improved, but excess brazing material blocks liquid flow through the fin pack
Solution Approach 1:
The brazing material is applied in spaced-apart regions rather than continuously, creating discrete bonding zones that seal the enclosure at critical locations while leaving gaps between regions that prevent coolant flow blockage
Solution Approach 2:
Non-wettable regions act as intermediary zones between wettable bonding regions, preventing brazing material from migrating into coolant flow paths while still allowing the lid to be securely bonded to the fin pack
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
This approach allows for efficient attachment of the lid to the fin pack without blocking coolant flow, ensuring effective heat transfer and reducing material waste, thus enhancing the cooling efficiency of computer systems.
Implementation Method 1
painting the lid with the brazing material only in a plurality of wettable regions
Implementation Method 2
The lid is brazed to the fin pack without intrusion of the brazing material between the parallel plates
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus includes a fin pack of parallel plates that protrude from a base, a lid attachable to the fin pack opposite the base, and a brazing material painted onto the lid only in a plurality of wettable regions. The lid is positioned against the fin pack, opposite the base, with portions of the plurality of regions contacting edges of the parallel plates. The lid is brazed to the fin pack without intrusion of the brazing material between the parallel plates. This is accomplished by obtaining a lid to be attached to a fin pack of parallel plates that protrude from a base, painting the lid with the brazing material only in a plurality of wettable regions, positioning the lid against the fin pack, opposite the base, with portions of the plurality of regions contacting edges of the parallel plates, and brazing the lid to the fin pack.