Rack Liquid Cooling with Two-Phase Loop
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data centers with air-cooled systems face challenges in cooling high-power density electronic racks, as conventional cooling units like CRAC units are inadequate for managing the increased heat load, and retrofitting to support liquid cooling is costly and disruptive.
Innovation Solution
A liquid cooling system for electronic racks that integrates a two-phase heat exchanging loop with an air-to-liquid heat exchanger, allowing for direct deployment in existing air-cooled data centers, enabling both air-cooled and liquid-cooled IT equipment to coexist within the same rack without requiring infrastructure upgrades.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If conventional air cooling units (CRAC) are used to cool electronic racks, then the thermal environment can be maintained for conventional racks, but the cooling capacity is insufficient for high-power density racks that generate heat at a higher rate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions the cooling system from air cooling to liquid cooling by changing the cooling medium parameter. The liquid cooling system uses coolant flowing through cold plates attached to IT equipment, enabling effective heat removal from high-power density racks that air cooling cannot handle.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a liquid cooling system using hydraulic principles where coolant is pumped through a closed-loop system with cold plates, manifolds, and heat exchangers. This hydraulic cooling approach provides superior heat transfer capacity compared to air cooling for high-power applications.
2Adaptability or versatility
If data centers are retrofitted to support liquid cooling infrastructure, then liquid cooled equipment can be deployed, but the retrofitting cost is considerable and normal operations are impacted due to construction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the cooling system into rack-level modular units with integrated liquid cooling components (cold plates, manifolds, heat exchangers). This segmentation allows individual racks to be upgraded to liquid cooling without requiring facility-wide infrastructure changes, enabling phased deployment and avoiding extensive construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs a hybrid cooling system where racks can support both air-cooled and liquid-cooled IT equipment simultaneously. The liquid cooling system can serve multiple functions: cooling high-power density equipment, pre-cooling air for CRAC units, and operating independently or in conjunction with existing air cooling infrastructure.
3Power
If liquid cooling systems are deployed in existing air-cooled data centers, then high-power density racks can be cooled effectively, but the system complexity increases with additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the liquid cooling system with existing air cooling infrastructure by integrating heat exchangers that can reject heat to the air cooling system. The liquid cooling loops are combined within rack enclosures, and the systems can operate in parallel or with heat transfer between them, reducing overall complexity compared to completely separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses heat exchangers as intermediary components that enable thermal coupling between the liquid cooling system and air cooling infrastructure. These heat exchangers act as mediators that allow heat transfer from the liquid coolant to the air cooling system, enabling integration without direct mechanical connection between the two cooling systems.
4Productivity
If high-density chips are packaged closer together to provide more processing power, then processing capacity increases, but the heat load increases at a higher rate requiring more effective cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by attaching cold plates directly to specific high-heat-generating IT equipment components (processors, GPUs) within racks. This localized liquid cooling approach targets hot spots at the component level, providing intensive cooling exactly where high-density chip packaging creates concentrated heat loads.
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 solution effectively manages heat in high-power density racks by transferring heat from IT equipment to cooling air, maintaining a proper thermal environment without the need for data center infrastructure upgrades, ensuring continuous operation even in case of fluid control unit failures through natural convection.
Implementation Method 1
transferring heat generated by a processor into a cooling liquid by a cold plate
Implementation Method 2
heat generated by the processor is transferred into the cooling liquid by the cold plate thereby causing at least some of the cooling liquid to turn into the vapor
Implementation Method 3
a heat exchanger coupled to the vapor manifold to receive the vapor and configured to condense the vapor back into cooling liquid
Implementation Method 4
a fluid control unit coupled between the liquid manifold and the heat exchanger to circulate the cooling liquid within the heat exchanging loop by drawing the cooling liquid condensed by the heat exchanger and providing the cooling liquid to the liquid manifold
Implementation Method 5
A liquid cooling system for electronic racks that integrates a two-phase heat exchanging loop with an air-to-liquid heat exchanger
Data Source
AI summary
According to one embodiment, an electronic rack cooling system includes a liquid manifold and a vapor manifold. The system includes a cold plate configured to mount on a processor of a piece of information technology (IT) equipment for liquid cooling. The cooling device such as the cold plate is coupled to the liquid manifold to receive cooling liquid and is coupled to the vapor manifold that receives vapor produced by the cold plate when heat generated by the processor is transferred into the cooling liquid through the cold plate. The system also includes a heat exchanger coupled to the vapor manifold to receive the vapor and configured to condense the vapor back into cooling liquid. The system also includes a fluid control unit coupled between the liquid manifold and the heat exchanger to create a heat exchanging loop, and configured to circulate the cooling liquid within the heat exchanging loop. Multiple methods of implementing the proposed thermal system and the loop design on a rack and a data center.