Passive Thermosiphon Cooling for Server Boards
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooling systems for data processing centers are energy-intensive, noisy, prone to fouling, and pose environmental and health risks due to leakage, while active pumping systems are vulnerable to power failures and malicious attacks.
Innovation Solution
A passive two-phase fluid cooling system using a main thermosiphon circuit with local capillary-pumping circuits, eliminating the need for active pumping members and utilizing a single working fluid to efficiently transfer heat from server boards to an external heat exchanger, ensuring continuous cooling even during power failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If active pumping systems are used for cooling, then cooling efficiency can be maintained, but the system becomes vulnerable to power failures and malicious attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system uses the heat generated by server boards itself to drive the cooling process. The two-phase working fluid absorbs heat at evaporators attached to server boards, undergoes phase change, and circulates through density-driven natural convection without requiring external power or active pumping components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical pumping systems with a passive thermodynamic system based on phase change and natural convection. The two-phase working fluid circulates through the cooling circuit driven by density differences between liquid and vapor phases, eliminating mechanical pumps and their power dependencies.
2Productivity
If liquid cooling systems are used, then cooling efficiency improves, but the system becomes prone to leakages and requires anticorrosion substances
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs a two-phase working fluid that alternates between liquid and vapor phases during circulation. The fluid evaporates at the evaporators attached to server boards, absorbing heat, then condenses in the condenser, releasing heat. This phase transition mechanism enables highly efficient heat transfer without requiring corrosive additives.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state parameters of the working fluid throughout the cooling circuit. The fluid transitions from liquid to vapor in evaporators and from vapor to liquid in the condenser, utilizing these parameter changes to achieve efficient heat transfer while maintaining system safety and environmental compatibility.
3Productivity
If two-phase cooling systems are used, then heat transfer efficiency improves, but the system complexity increases with multiple circuits
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple cooling functions into a single integrated two-phase circuit. The working fluid circulates through evaporators attached to multiple server boards, collecting heat from various sources, then transports all accumulated heat to a single condenser for dissipation, simplifying the overall system architecture while maintaining high heat transfer efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The two-phase working fluid performs multiple functions within a single circuit: it cools multiple server boards simultaneously through evaporators, transports heat efficiently through the circulation loop, and dissipates all heat through the condenser. This multi-functional approach reduces system complexity compared to multiple separate cooling circuits.
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 system provides robust, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly cooling with reduced thermal resistance, maintaining stable operating temperatures and preventing thermal overload during power outages, while being simple, cost-effective, and easy to maintain.
Implementation Method 1
One or several evaporator(s) is/are placed on the heating elements of the server boards, a condenser is placed at the rear of the server board, and the two-phase working fluid is circulated between the evaporator and the condenser
Implementation Method 2
a condenser is placed at the rear of the server board, and the two-phase working fluid is circulated between the evaporator and the condenser
Implementation Method 3
said upper portion being thermally coupled with at least one heat rendering exchanger located outside the enclosure
Implementation Method 4
said main two-phase fluid circuit generally operating according to the thermosiphon principle
Implementation Method 5
The system comprises no active pumping member, neither in the main circuit nor in the local circuits
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling system, for cooling a plurality of server boards, includes at least one main two-phase fluid circuit, with a descending pipe, an ascending pipe, a loop bottom connector and an upper portion thermally coupled with at least one heat rendering exchanger. The cooling system also includes at least one evaporator coupled to a hot source to be cooled down in the server boards, a plurality of local circuits respectively serving one of the server boards and operating in bypass with respect to the main circuit. Each local circuit includes, on the one hand, a first branch, forming a feed-in on the descending pipe and, on the other hand, a second branch forming a fluid return in the ascending pipe of the main circuit, as well as an auxiliary circuit internal to the server board connected to one or several evaporator(s).