Rack-Mountable Tray Fluid Circulation for Uniform Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional cooling systems for information handling systems, such as rack-mountable trays, face challenges in providing uniform cooling and energy efficiency due to inadequate thermal management.
Innovation Solution
A rack-mountable tray with a fluid circulation system that introduces cold fluid to and returns warm fluid from computing modules through bays, utilizing thermal pads and interconnects for efficient heat transfer, along with air circulation for additional cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If traditional cooling systems are used for rack-mountable trays, then the system structure is simple, but uniform cooling is not achieved and thermal management becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into multiple independent fluid circulation loops, with each bay having its own cold fluid intake and warm fluid return. This allows each computing module to be cooled independently and uniformly, addressing the non-uniform cooling problem while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
A fluid circulation system acts as an intermediary between computing modules and the cooling mechanism. The fluid (cold and warm) serves as a mediator to transfer heat uniformly from each computing module through dedicated intake and return pathways, achieving uniform cooling without requiring direct complex thermal contact between components.
2Loss of energy
If traditional cooling systems are used, then energy consumption is high, but thermal management efficiency is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system provides localized cooling quality tailored to each computing module's thermal needs. Each bay has customized cold fluid intake and warm fluid return configurations that match the specific heat generation characteristics of the engaged computing module, improving thermal management efficiency while reducing overall energy consumption through precise, localized heat removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the thermal parameters (temperature, fluid flow) locally at each bay based on the computing module's heat generation. By adjusting cold fluid intake temperature and warm fluid return flow rates for each individual module, the system optimizes energy efficiency while maintaining effective thermal management across different operating conditions.
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 ensures uniform cooling and improved energy efficiency by effectively transferring heat from computing modules to the fluid circulation system, maintaining optimal operating temperatures and reducing energy consumption.
Implementation Method 1
transfer heat from the computing modules
Implementation Method 2
fluid circulation system introducing, for each bay that a respective computing module is engaged with, fluid within the computing module via the cold fluid intake of each bay and returning warm fluid via the warm fluid return of each bay
Data Source
AI summary
An information handling system, including a plurality of computing modules; a rack-mountable tray including: a plurality of bays, each bay including a cold fluid intake and a warm fluid return, wherein each computing module of the plurality of computing modules is engaged with the cold fluid intake and the warm fluid return of one or more of the bays of the plurality of bays; and a fluid circulation system positioned within the tray and coupled to the cold fluid intake and the warm fluid return of each of the bays, the fluid circulation system introducing, for each bay that a respective computing module is engaged with, fluid within the computing module via the cold fluid intake of each bay and returning warm fluid via the warm fluid return of each bay to transfer heat from the computing modules.