Cooling Fluid Deflector Layout for Server Thermal Shadowing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling systems for servers fail to effectively address thermal shadowing between processors, leading to modest improvements in processing performance at the expense of increased power consumption.
Innovation Solution
A cooling fluid deflector is used to re-direct cooling fluid inflow laterally across the plane between processors, bypassing one processor to cool the other, thereby reducing thermal shadowing and improving overall server performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If cooling capacity is increased to cool downstream processors, then cooling effectiveness improves, but power consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into multiple independent cooling channels using deflectors. The deflector divides the cooling fluid flow into at least a first cooling channel and a second cooling channel, allowing separate control and optimization of cooling for different processor regions without requiring uniform increases in overall cooling capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The deflector creates non-uniform cooling distribution by directing cooling fluid preferentially to downstream processors that suffer from thermal shadowing. This localizes cooling enhancement exactly where needed rather than uniformly increasing cooling across all processors, thereby improving cooling effectiveness without proportionally increasing power consumption.
2Productivity
If processors are arranged sequentially to improve fluid flow, then cooling efficiency improves, but thermal shadowing worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The deflector acts as an intermediary element between upstream and downstream processors. It intercepts cooling fluid that would otherwise be depleted by upstream processors and redirects it to downstream processors, mediating the thermal interaction and eliminating the harmful thermal shadowing effect while maintaining the sequential processor arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The deflector introduces a lateral dimension to the cooling fluid flow by redirecting it across the processor array rather than only in the forward direction. This creates alternative cooling paths that bypass the thermal shadowing problem inherent in sequential arrangements, effectively adding a spatial dimension to the cooling strategy.
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 cooling fluid deflector enhances the cooling of downstream processors, reducing thermal shadowing and improving the overall processing performance of the server.
Implementation Method 1
The cooling fluid deflector is configured to re-direct a first portion of a cooling fluid inflow that has entered the server along the cooling fluid inflow direction and has cooled the first processor, laterally with respect to the server cooling fluid inflow direction and across the plane
Implementation Method 2
A fluid-moving device such as a fan, a piezoelectric cooler, a pump, a loudspeaker, or an ionic thruster, may be used to cause the cooling fluid to come into thermal contact with the processors, e.g. via a heatsink, thereby removing the heat
Data Source
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AI summary
A cooling fluid deflector (100) is provided. The cooling fluid deflector may be used in a server (102) that includes a first processor (104) and a second processor (106) wherein the first and second processors are arranged on a plane, and sequentially with respect to a server cooling fluid inflow direction (110). The cooling fluid deflector (100) is configured to be disposed between the first processor (104) and the second processor (106). The cooling fluid deflector (100) re-directs a first portion (112) of a cooling fluid inflow (114) that has entered the server (102) along the server cooling fluid inflow direction (110) and has cooled the first processor (104) such that at least a portion of the re-directed first portion of the cooling fluid inflow bypasses the second processor (106) by passing laterally with respect to the second processor. The cooling fluid deflector (100) also re-directs a second portion (116) of the cooling fluid inflow (114) that has bypassed the first processor (104) such that at least a portion of the re-directed second portion of the cooling fluid inflow flowing laterally across the plane (108) cools the second processor (106).