Serviceable Thermal Interconnect for Hot-Swappable Liquid Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid-cooled systems for electronic components require complex designs and often necessitate system shutdowns for component replacement, risking coolant leaks and downtime.
Innovation Solution
A thermal interconnect system comprising a pair of removably attachable thermal connectors with overlapping structures that facilitate high thermal conductivity and allow for hot-swappable components without disrupting the coolant loop.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing liquid-cooled systems are used for electronic components, then thermal cooling is achieved, but system complexity increases and component replacement requires system shutdown
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is divided into modular components: a fixed cooling loop and removable thermal connectors. The thermal connectors can be detached and reattached without shutting down the cooling system, enabling hot-swappable component replacement while maintaining cooling functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
Thermal connectors serve as intermediary components between the cooling loop and heat-generating components. These connectors can be removed and reattached without disrupting the main cooling loop, facilitating component replacement while maintaining system cooling.
2Adaptability or versatility
If component replacement is performed in existing liquid-cooled systems, then component updates are achieved, but coolant leaks and downtime occur
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal connectors are extracted as separate, removable components from the cooling loop. This allows components to be replaced without disturbing the coolant loop, eliminating the risk of coolant leaks during component replacement operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system is designed with pre-configured thermal connector interfaces that maintain coolant flow paths. When components are replaced, the coolant loop remains intact and operational, preventing downtime and maintaining system reliability.
3Ease of operation
If thermal connectors are designed for removable attachment, then component serviceability is improved, but thermal connection stability may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal connectors feature nested arrays of spaced structures that interlock when connected. This nested configuration provides stable thermal contact while allowing the connectors to be removed and reattached for component serviceability.
Solution Approach 2:
The thermal connectors use arrays of spaced structures extending in multiple dimensions to create extensive thermal contact surfaces. This multi-dimensional contact arrangement maintains stable thermal connections while preserving the ability to remove and reattach connectors.
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 thermal energy transfer and component replacement without coolant leaks, supporting high-density server architectures with reduced downtime.
Implementation Method 1
a heat-transfer device, the heat-transfer device in thermally conductive contact with a heat-generating component
Implementation Method 2
a cooling loop including a liquid coolant... selectively connects to the first thermal connector
Data Source
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AI summary
Hot-swappable electronic components may be incompatible with traditional cold plates as additional operations are required to detach the hot-swappable electronic components. Such activities risk a coolant leak and thus tend to require an entire associated system to be powered down for component replacement. This is inefficient and undesirable as it causes unnecessary downtime. The presently disclosed thermal interconnect allows for such replacements with little to no risk of coolant leaks, and thus no requirement to power down the entire system. Still further, the presently disclosed thermal interconnect may allow for more electronic components to be connected to a main cooling loop within the overall system, thereby yielding server architectures with increased density and higher processing power. The thermal interconnect is a selectively connectable fixture that mates a series of alternating parallel structures together. Thermal energy captured by the vapor chamber(s) is rejected into the liquid coolant via the thermal interconnect.