Two-Phase Loop Recirculation for High-Density Chip Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cooling systems for high power density chips and servers face challenges in efficiently managing thermal loads, particularly in server PCB layouts with multiple chips, where existing single-phase and phase-changing liquid cooling solutions require more efficient design and management techniques.
Innovation Solution
A two-phase loop recirculation system is implemented, featuring cooling plates, vapor separators, and a return unit that separates vapor from liquid, allowing only vapor to be pumped out, and includes porous structures for vapor dissipation and fluid resistance to enhance separation and cooling efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If single-phase liquid cooling or phase-changing liquid cooling is used for high power density chips, then cooling capability is improved, but system complexity and management difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the cooling function into separate components: cooling plates for heat extraction, vapor separators for phase separation, and a return unit for fluid management. Each component performs a specific function, simplifying the overall system design and management while maintaining effective cooling capability for high power density chips.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and separates the vapor phase from the liquid phase using dedicated vapor separators. This extraction of vapor allows the liquid to be recirculated efficiently while vapor is dissipated separately, reducing system complexity by eliminating the need for complex two-phase flow management in a single loop.
2Power
If multiple high power density chips are placed on a server PCB, then computing power is improved, but thermal management difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is designed as a universal multi-functional platform that can accommodate multiple high power density chips on a server PCB simultaneously. The modular cooling plates and vapor separators can be configured to cool multiple chips with different thermal characteristics, providing a scalable solution that increases computing power without proportionally increasing thermal management complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Each chip is served by dedicated cooling plates and vapor separators, segmenting the thermal management for each chip individually. This segmentation allows independent optimization of cooling for each chip while maintaining overall system simplicity through standardized component designs.
3Productivity
If phase-changing liquid cooling is used, then heat extraction efficiency is improved, but fluid management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts vapor from the liquid-coolant mixture at each cooling plate using vapor separators. This extraction simplifies fluid management by separating the phase change function (heat extraction via evaporation) from the fluid circulation function, allowing each to be optimized independently while maintaining high heat extraction efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The phase change process is made self-regulating through the vapor separators and return unit design. As heat is extracted and vapor is generated, the system automatically separates and removes vapor, allowing the liquid to continue circulating and absorbing heat without requiring complex external control mechanisms for fluid management.
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 system effectively manages high power density chips by ensuring efficient heat extraction and fluid management, enabling reliable thermal management, ease of integration, and simplified control designs for high power density processors and servers.
Implementation Method 1
phase-changing liquid cooling is a promising technique for such challenges
Implementation Method 2
cooling plates...to extract heat from their respective heat sources
Implementation Method 3
one or more vapor separators. Each vapor separator may receive mixed phase liquid and separate the mixed phase liquid into vapor and cooling liquid
Implementation Method 4
The return unit may include one or more porous structures...for enhancing the separation of the liquid and vapor and ensure only vapor being pumped out
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic cooling system is disclosed. The system includes a plurality of cooling plates to extract heat from their respective heat sources. The system further includes one or more vapor separators for extracting vapor from the liquid, with each vapor separator to receive mixed phase liquid and separate the mixed phase liquid into vapor and cooling liquid. The system further includes a return unit to receive the vapors from the vapor separators through one or more vapor loops, and dissipate the received vapors to an external cooling loop. The cooling plates include a first cooling plate that receives liquid phase cooling liquid to extract heat from a first heat source and produces first mixed phase liquid. The cooling plates further include a second cooling plate that uses cooling liquid from a vapor separator to extract heat from a second heat source, produces second mixed phase liquid, and supplies the second mixed phase liquid to the return unit.