CN111642108B

CN111642108B - Liquid cooling module, control method thereof and liquid cooling system for data center

Info

Publication number: CN111642108B
Application number: CN202010480208.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 贾晖; 丁俊峰
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-05-30
Filing date: 2020-05-30
Publication date: 2021-07-16
Anticipated expiration: 2040-05-30
Also published as: CN111642108A

Abstract

The application provides a liquid cooling module and a control method thereof and a liquid cooling system applied to a data center, wherein the liquid cooling module comprises: a coolant line having a coolant line inlet and a coolant line outlet; the cooler, the pumping mechanism and the first one-way valve are sequentially connected between the inlet of the cooling liquid pipeline and the outlet of the cooling liquid pipeline in series; an inlet is arranged between an outlet of the pumping mechanism and an inlet of the first check valve, and an outlet is arranged in a bypass pipeline between the cooler and the inlet of the cooling liquid pipeline; and the opening of the bypass valve is adjustable. According to the liquid cooling module of the application, the problem that the pressure in the liquid cooling module is too large or the pump rotating speed is too low to cause downtime can be avoided under the condition that the heat load in the load loop is small, and the flow of the liquid cooling module is prevented from being mutually interfered in a system with a plurality of liquid cooling modules.

Description

Liquid cooling module, control method thereof and liquid cooling system for data center

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of heat dissipation of data center cabinets, in particular to a liquid cooling heat dissipation module, a control method of the liquid cooling heat dissipation module and a liquid cooling system for a data center.

Background

With the increasing power of ICT cabinets of computer clusters, the problem of deployment of data centers is gradually solved, and liquid cooling is deployed in part of the data centers, so that the problem is solved. In the liquid cooling system, a liquid cooling module (CDU) is a key component, and plays roles of heat dissipation, fluid circulation power, temperature control and the like, and for some services, the important level is higher, the fault influence range needs to be reduced in liquid cooling, accordingly, a liquid cooling pipeline is designed as a ring network, and the liquid cooling CDU is also an N +1 backup.

However, as shown in fig. 1, the existing liquid cooling module lacks a flow regulating pipeline such as a bypass pipeline and a bypass valve, and in a specific application scenario, for example, when the system is turned on when few nodes/cold plates or no nodes/cold plates are connected, it is easy to cause a downtime caused by an excessive pressure inside the liquid cooling module or a too low pump rotation speed, specifically, the present application is directed to a device such as a liquid cooling module, which usually has a large flow rate, for example, 300 nodes/cold plates can be cooled simultaneously, but the load-side device is not deployed in the system at one time, but may be deployed in batches, specifically, for example, the first batch only deploys 10 nodes/cold plates into the system, and the others are not in stock or are being installed; for another example, before the system is formally operated, the whole loop of the system needs to be debugged in advance, for example, whether the pipe system is smooth or not, whether a liquid leakage occurs or not, and the like, at this time, the node/cold plate serving as the load is not installed or is not operated, which easily causes a downtime caused by an excessive pressure inside the liquid cooling module or an excessively low pump rotation speed. Meanwhile, in a loop network with a plurality of liquid cooling modules, for example, two liquid cooling modules in the system are in inconsistent working states, and one of the liquid cooling modules has high pressure, so that the flow at the outlet of the liquid cooling module enters the other liquid cooling module and flows out reversely through a bypass, thereby easily causing mutual crosstalk between the flows of the liquid cooling modules, and causing the reduction of cooling efficiency and the increase of energy consumption.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a liquid cooling module for a computer cluster, which aims to solve the technical problem of breakdown caused by overlarge pressure in the liquid cooling module or overlow rotating speed of a pump under the condition that the heat load in a load loop is small; the technical problem that the flow of the liquid cooling modules is mutually interfered in a system with a plurality of liquid cooling modules is also solved.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a liquid cooling module, comprising a coolant line having a coolant line inlet and a coolant line outlet, a cooler, a pumping mechanism, and a first check valve connected in series in sequence between the coolant line inlet and the coolant line outlet; the liquid cooling module further comprises a bypass pipeline and a bypass valve, wherein an inlet of the bypass pipeline is arranged between an outlet of the pumping mechanism and an inlet of the first one-way valve, and an outlet of the bypass pipeline is arranged between the cooler and an inlet of the cooling liquid pipeline; the bypass valve is arranged on the bypass pipeline, and the opening degree of the bypass valve is adjustable.

When the number of the electronic devices connected into the load loop is small or the load loop is in a low-load running state, the pressure and the flow of the cooling liquid pumped by the pumping mechanism are too high, at the moment, the opening of the bypass valve is adjusted, so that the redundant cooling liquid flows into the bypass pipeline and flows back to the cooler, the normal running of the pumping mechanism is ensured, and the situation that the pumping mechanism runs at a low frequency until the pumping mechanism is shut down due to the fact that the connected load is very low is avoided.

Specifically, the method for adjusting the opening of the bypass valve may be to set a control system inside the liquid cooling module to drive the opening of the bypass valve, or to electrically connect the bypass valve to a control unit outside the liquid cooling module, for example, the opening of the bypass valve may be controlled by another control unit in the data center.

In addition, in the case where the cooling liquid flows back through the bypass line, the pressure on the liquid cooling module side decreases, and at this time, the pressure on the load circuit side may be higher than that on the liquid cooling module side, particularly in the case where there are a plurality of liquid cooling modules in the system. The first check valve can prevent cooling liquid with high load loop side pressure from entering the liquid cooling module, so that efficiency reduction and possible faults caused by crosstalk of cooling liquid flow are avoided.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the cooler comprises a plate heat exchanger, and the plate heat exchanger is connected to a cooling circuit (also called a primary circuit) through a heat exchange pipe inlet and a heat exchange pipe outlet for heat exchange. After the cooling liquid flows back to the liquid cooling module, the cooling liquid enters the cooler for cooling, in the embodiment of the application, the cooler is a plate type radiator connected to an inlet of the heat exchange pipeline and an outlet of the heat exchange pipeline, the heat exchange pipeline is connected to a cooling loop, and the cooling loop is auxiliary equipment of a machine room and provides a cold source for the whole system. After the cooling liquid flows into the plate heat exchanger, the cooling liquid exchanges heat with the cooling medium in the cooling loop, and the purpose of cooling is achieved.

In the embodiment of the application, a plate heat exchanger is taken as an example, but the cooler further comprises any equipment or machinery which can refrigerate, such as air cooling equipment, semiconductor refrigeration equipment, heat pump refrigeration equipment and the like, and a cold source connected with a cooling loop and the like is not needed, so that a proper cooler can be flexibly selected according to actual needs.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the pumping mechanism comprises a pump, an inlet of the pump is connected to an outlet of the cooler, and an outlet of the pump is connected to an inlet of the first one-way valve. In the present embodiment, the pumping mechanism is configured as one variable speed pump or one constant speed pump, and in this configuration, a backflow prevention device described later can be omitted, and the output of the variable speed pump can be adjusted or the start/stop of the constant speed pump can be controlled according to the actual state in the system.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the pumping mechanism includes a plurality of pump branches arranged in parallel, each pump branch includes a pump and a second check valve, and the second check valve is arranged downstream of the pump. The present invention provides a structure with better safety, wherein the pumping mechanism comprises a plurality of pump branches arranged in parallel, each pump branch comprises a variable speed pump or a constant speed pump, the pump branches are backup for each other, when one or more of the pump branches are shut down accidentally, the other pump branches can be used as backup to continue pumping cooling liquid into the system, thereby preventing the system from overheating and even shutting down as a whole. The pumping mechanism also comprises a second one-way valve serving as a backflow prevention device, the second one-way valve is arranged at the downstream of the pump branch, and when a pump in the pump branch is stopped, the cooling liquid pumped by other pump branches cannot flow back to the stopped pump branch, so that the flow waste is caused.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the liquid cooling module further includes a control system and a sensor, the sensor is disposed in the cooling liquid pipeline and used for acquiring parameters of fluid in the cooling liquid pipeline, and the control system is electrically connected with the sensor and the bypass valve and used for acquiring the parameters from the sensor and controlling the opening degree of the bypass valve.

The sensor monitors parameters of the cooling liquid in the pipeline in real time, wherein the parameters comprise the temperature, the flow and the pressure of the fluid, and the parameters are fed back to the control system.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the control system is electrically connected with the pumping mechanism to control the rotation speed or the switch of the pumping mechanism. According to the embodiment, the working condition of the pumping mechanism is adjusted according to the state of the system, so that the condition that the pumping mechanism runs at low frequency until the pumping mechanism is dead due to very low access load is avoided.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the number of the sensors is three, and the sensors are respectively located at the position of the inlet of the cooling liquid pipeline, the position of the inlet of the cooler and the position of the outlet of the pumping mechanism.

The sensors can be arranged at any position in the pipeline as required, in one example, three sensors are respectively arranged at the inlet of the cooling liquid pipeline, the cooler and the outlet of the pumping mechanism, parameters of the high-temperature cooling liquid flowing back to the liquid cooling module, the cooling liquid mixed with the cooling liquid from the bypass pipeline and the cooling liquid pumped by the pumping mechanism are respectively obtained, and parameters such as the heat dissipation load of the load loop, the heat exchange efficiency of the cooler, the pressure of the outlet of the pump and the like can be obtained through the parameters.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a method for controlling a liquid cooling module according to the embodiments of the first aspect, including the following steps:

setting a threshold value of fluid parameters in the cooling fluid pipeline; in particular, the fluid parameter comprises one or more of a temperature, a flow rate, and a pressure of the fluid;

continuously monitoring a fluid parameter by a sensor;

and judging whether the fluid parameter exceeds or is lower than a threshold value, and if the fluid parameter in the cooling liquid pipeline exceeds or is lower than the threshold value, adjusting the opening of the bypass valve.

In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the control system automatically adjusts the opening of the bypass valve based on an amount by which the fluid parameter exceeds or falls below a threshold value.

And in the process of setting the threshold value, setting the threshold value according to the relationship between the pre-calibrated pipeline fluid parameter and the opening degree of the bypass valve.

The control system continuously monitors the parameters of the fluid in the pipeline through a sensor arranged in the cooling liquid pipeline, judges whether the parameters of the fluid exceed or are lower than a set threshold value, and adjusts the opening of the bypass valve if the monitored parameters of the fluid in the cooling liquid pipeline exceed or are lower than the set threshold value. Specifically, the opening degree of the bypass valve to be opened is determined according to the preset relationship between the pipeline fluid parameter and the opening degree of the bypass valve; and if the monitored parameter of the fluid in the cooling liquid pipeline does not exceed or fall below the set threshold value, continuing monitoring.

The above adjustments may be done automatically by the control system without the need for human intervention. By executing the control method, the liquid cooling module in the aspect can effectively ensure the normal operation of the pumping mechanism and avoid the pumping mechanism from running at low frequency until being locked down due to the low load of the load loop.

In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the speed or the switch of the pumping mechanism is adjusted by a control system in response to an amount by which the fluid parameter exceeds or falls below a threshold value. Specifically, the rotating speed or the switch of the pumping mechanism and the opening of the bypass valve are adjusted or realized in the same implementation mode, namely the control system can adjust the opening of the bypass valve and adjust the rotating speed or the switch of the pumping mechanism, the control system can balance the adjustment of the bypass valve and the adjustment of the pumping mechanism, the safe and stable operation of the system is ensured together, and the condition that the pumping mechanism runs at low frequency until the pumping mechanism is shut down due to the fact that the access load is very low is avoided. It will be appreciated that the adjustment of the bypass valve and the adjustment of the pumping mechanism may also be performed separately.

In the case where the pumping mechanism is a variable speed pump or a constant speed pump, the control system automatically adjusts the opening of the bypass valve and the rotational speed of the variable speed pump or the switching of the constant speed pump in accordance with the amount by which the fluid parameter exceeds or falls below the threshold value. Furthermore, the relationship between the speed or switch of the pumping mechanism and the fluid parameter of the pipeline, as well as the threshold values for the fluid parameter of the pipeline may be preset.

In the case where the pumping mechanism includes a plurality of pump branches arranged in parallel, and each pump branch includes a variable speed pump or a constant speed pump, the control system automatically adjusts the opening of the bypass valve and the rotational speed or the switch of the variable speed pump or the constant speed pump according to the amount by which the fluid parameter exceeds or falls below the threshold value. Furthermore, the relationship between the rotational speed or the switch of the pump in each pump branch of the pumping mechanism and the pipeline fluid parameter, as well as the threshold values of the above pipeline fluid parameter, may also be preset.

In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the fluid parameter is a pressure value of the fluid in the cooling fluid pipeline, and when the fluid parameter exceeds a threshold value, the control system increases the opening degree of the bypass valve; when the fluid parameter is below the threshold, the control system decreases the opening of the bypass valve. For example: when the pressure of the cooling liquid in the pipeline exceeds 10% of the maximum value capable of being borne, opening the opening of the bypass valve to 20% so that part of the cooling liquid pumped out by the pumping mechanism enters the bypass pipeline and circulates in the liquid cooling module; when the coolant pressure in the pipeline is less than the minimum required by the load circuit, the bypass valve is closed, so that all the coolant pumped by the pumping mechanism enters the load circuit.

In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the fluid parameter is a pressure value of the fluid in the cooling fluid pipeline, and when the fluid parameter exceeds a threshold value, the control system reduces the rotation speed of the pumping mechanism or turns off the pumping mechanism; when the fluid parameter is lower than the threshold value, the control system increases the rotating speed of the pumping mechanism or starts a pump in the pumping mechanism in a closed state. For example: when the pressure of the cooling liquid in the pipeline exceeds 10% of the maximum value which can be borne, the output power of the variable speed pump is adjusted to be 30% of the maximum output power, so that the pressure and the flow rate of the cooling liquid in the pipeline of the liquid cooling module are reduced; when the pressure of the cooling fluid in the pipeline is less than the minimum value required by the load circuit, the output power of the variable speed pump is adjusted to 100% of the maximum output power. Therefore, the efficiency of the liquid cooling module can be further optimized by matching and adjusting the opening of the bypass valve and the rotating speed of the variable speed pump or the switch of the constant speed pump.

Another example is: when the pressure of the cooling liquid in the pipeline exceeds 10% of the maximum value capable of being borne, closing half of pump branches in the pumping mechanism, so that the pressure and the flow rate of the cooling liquid in the pipeline of the liquid cooling module are reduced; when the in-line cooling fluid pressure is less than the minimum required for the load circuit, the pumps in all pump legs are activated and the output power is adjusted to the maximum output power. Therefore, the efficiency of the liquid cooling module can be further optimized by adjusting the opening of the bypass valve and controlling the rotating speed of the variable speed pump or the switch of the constant speed pump in each pump branch.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a liquid cooling system, including one or more liquid cooling modules as described in the first aspect, and further including a load loop of a liquid supply loop for supplying low-temperature cooling liquid and a liquid return loop for returning high-temperature cooling liquid; a load cabinet for housing electronic equipment and a cold plate for heat exchange with the electronic equipment. The liquid cooling module pumps low-temperature cooling liquid to the liquid supply loop, the low-temperature cooling liquid enters the load cabinet and exchanges heat with the cold plate in the load cabinet to become high-temperature cooling liquid and flow out to the liquid return loop, and flow back to the liquid cooling module, and the high-temperature cooling liquid is cooled to be low-temperature cooling liquid in the liquid cooling module and pumped out again.

Through implementing this application embodiment, can reach following technological effect: (1) under the condition that the heat load in the load loop is small, the breakdown caused by overlarge pressure in the liquid cooling module or overlow rotating speed of the pump is avoided; (2) the mutual crosstalk of the flow among the plurality of liquid cooling modules is avoided; (3) the flow of the internal circulation of the liquid cooling module and the working condition of the pump are automatically adjusted.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a liquid cooling module of the prior art.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid cooling module according to a first embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid cooling module according to a second embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a method for controlling a liquid cooling module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a system configuration using a liquid cooling module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in fig. 2, the liquid cooling module 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes a cooling liquid pipeline 8, and a pumping mechanism 1, a cooler 2, a bypass valve 4 disposed on the bypass pipeline 3, and a first check valve 5 are disposed on the cooling liquid pipeline 8.

The cooling liquid pipeline 8 is provided with a cooling liquid pipeline inlet 10 and a cooling liquid pipeline outlet 20, the cooler 2, the pumping mechanism 1 and the first check valve 5 are sequentially connected in series between the cooling liquid pipeline inlet 10 and the cooling liquid pipeline outlet 20, one end of the bypass pipeline 3 is connected between the cooling liquid pipeline inlet 10 and the cooler 2, the other end of the bypass pipeline 3 is connected between the pumping mechanism 1 and the first check valve 5, namely, a branch formed by the pumping mechanism 1 and the cooler 2 is connected with the bypass pipeline 3 in parallel.

Specifically, an inlet of the bypass pipe 3 is disposed between an outlet of the pumping mechanism 1 and an inlet of the first check valve 5, and an outlet of the bypass pipe 3 is disposed between the cooler 2 and an inlet of the coolant pipe 10. The bypass valve 4 with the adjustable opening degree is arranged on the bypass pipeline 3. A first non return valve 5 is arranged between the inlet of the bypass line 3 and the coolant line outlet 20.

The coolant line inlet 10 and the coolant line outlet 20 are connected to a load circuit (also called a secondary circuit), and low-temperature coolant is pumped into the load circuit from the coolant line outlet 20 and exchanges heat with electronic equipment in the load circuit to become high-temperature coolant, which flows back into the liquid cooling module 100 from the coolant line inlet 10. Specifically, the pumping mechanism 1 in the liquid cooling module 100 pumps the cooling liquid to the load circuit, and applies a certain flow rate and pressure to the cooling liquid, so that the cooling liquid can flow in the load circuit and can flow back to the liquid cooling module 100.

After the high-temperature coolant flows back to the liquid cooling module 100 from the coolant pipe inlet 10, the high-temperature coolant enters the cooler 2 for cooling, the cooler 2 in the embodiment of the present application is a plate radiator connected to the heat exchange pipe inlet 30 and the heat exchange pipe outlet 40, the heat exchange pipe is connected to a cooling circuit (also called a primary circuit), and the cooling circuit is an accessory device of a machine room, and provides a cold source for the whole system. After the cooling liquid flows into the plate heat exchanger, the cooling liquid exchanges heat with the cooling medium in the cooling loop, and the purpose of cooling is achieved. In the embodiment of the present application, a plate heat exchanger is taken as an example, but the cooler 2 may also include any device or machinery capable of cooling, such as an air cooling device, a semiconductor cooling device, and a heat pump cooling device, and does not need to be connected with a cold source such as a cooling circuit.

The cooled low-temperature cooling liquid flows out of the cooler 2 and enters the inlet of the pumping mechanism 1, and the low-temperature cooling liquid is pumped into the load loop again under a certain pressure and flow rate given by the pumping mechanism 1.

The liquid cooling module 100 includes a control system 7 and a sensor 6. One or more sensors 6 are disposed in the coolant line 8 and electrically connected to the control system 7, and the sensors 6 monitor parameters of the fluid in the coolant line 8 in real time, wherein the parameters include one or more of temperature, flow rate and pressure of the fluid in one embodiment, and the parameters may be other fluid parameters in other embodiments, which is not limited in this application. The sensor 6 feeds back the above parameters to the control system 7. Sensor 6 can set up the optional position at coolant liquid pipeline 8 as required, in the embodiment of this application, liquid cooling module 100 includes three sensor 6, these three sensor 6 are respectively in the position of coolant liquid pipeline entry 10, the entry position of cooler 2, the position of pumping mechanism 1, acquire the high temperature coolant liquid that flows back to the liquid cooling module respectively, the low temperature coolant liquid after the cooler cooling and the parameter of the coolant liquid by pumping mechanism pump sending, through above-mentioned parameter, can learn the heat dissipation load of load circuit, the heat exchange efficiency of cooler, the pressure isoparametric of pump outlet.

As shown in fig. 2, in one embodiment of the present application, the pumping mechanism 1 is constituted by a single pump electrically connected to the control system 7 and powered and controlled by the control system 7. The single pump may be a fixed speed pump or a variable speed pump and conditions are adjusted depending on conditions in the load circuit. For example: when the pressure of the cooling liquid in the pipeline exceeds 10% of the maximum value which can be borne, the output power of the variable speed pump is adjusted to be 30% of the maximum output power, so that the pressure and the flow rate of the cooling liquid in the pipeline of the liquid cooling module are reduced; when the pressure of the cooling fluid in the pipeline is less than the minimum value required by the load circuit, the output power of the variable speed pump is adjusted to 100% of the maximum output power. Therefore, the efficiency of the liquid cooling module can be further optimized by matching and adjusting the opening of the bypass valve and the rotating speed of the variable speed pump or the switch of the constant speed pump. In another embodiment of the present application, shown in fig. 3, the pumping mechanism 1 is composed of a plurality of pump branches arranged in parallel (fig. 3 only schematically depicts two pump branches arranged in parallel, the number of pump branches is not limited in the present application), each pump branch comprises a pump 11, and at a position downstream of the pump branch, a second check valve 12 for preventing the backflow of the cooling liquid is arranged. The pumps 11 of each pump branch can be flexibly matched, for example, all the pumps 11 are constant speed pumps, all the pumps 11 are variable speed pumps, the constant speed pumps and the variable speed pumps are matched in proportion, and the pumps with different matched powers and flows are used. All the pumps 11 in the pumping mechanism 1 are connected to the control system 7 and are powered and controlled by the control system 7 and adjust the operating conditions according to the conditions in the load circuit. For example: when the cooling liquid pressure in the pipeline exceeds 10% of the maximum value capable of being borne, closing half of pump branches in the pumping mechanism 1, so that the cooling liquid pressure and the flow rate in the pipeline of the liquid cooling module are reduced; when the in-line cooling fluid pressure is less than the minimum required for the load circuit, the pumps in all pump legs are activated and the output power is adjusted to the maximum output power. Therefore, the efficiency of the liquid cooling module can be further optimized by adjusting the opening of the bypass valve and controlling the rotating speed of the variable speed pump or the switch of the constant speed pump in each pump branch.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the bypass valve 4 is electrically connected to the control system 7, and the opening degree thereof is controlled by the control system 7. When the number of electronic devices connected to the load circuit is small or the load circuit is in a low-load operation state, the pressure of the cooling liquid pumped by the pumping mechanism 1 may be too high, which may cause the pressure in the pipes and the load circuit in the liquid cooling module 100 to be too high, and at this time, the control system 7 senses that the pressure in the pipes is abnormal through the sensor 6 at the outlet of the pumping mechanism 1, and opens the bypass valve 4, so that the redundant cooling liquid flows into the bypass pipe 3 and flows back to the cooler 2, thereby ensuring the normal operation of the pumping mechanism 1, and avoiding the low-frequency operation until the shutdown is suppressed due to the low load. The control system 7 can adjust the opening of the bypass valve 4 in real time according to the fluid parameters of the pipeline in the liquid cooling module 100 sensed by the sensor 6.

When the control system 7 senses that the pressure in the pipeline is too high through the sensor 6 in the pipeline, the control system 7 can also control the pumping mechanism 1, so that the pumping mechanism 1 is turned off or the output power is reduced, and the like.

In addition, in the case where the cooling liquid flows back through the bypass pipe 3, the pressure on the liquid cooling module 100 side is reduced, and at this time, the pressure on the load circuit side may be higher than that on the liquid cooling module 100 side, particularly in the case where there are a plurality of liquid cooling modules 100 in the system. The first check valve 5 can prevent the cooling liquid with high load circuit side pressure from entering the liquid cooling module 100, thereby causing crosstalk of the cooling liquid flow.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a control method for controlling the liquid cooling module 100, which is shown in fig. 4, and includes the following steps:

s1: setting a threshold for a fluid parameter in the cooling fluid conduit, the fluid parameter comprising one or more of a temperature, a flow rate, and a pressure of the fluid;

s2: continuously monitoring the fluid parameter with one or more sensors;

s3: judging whether the fluid parameter exceeds or is lower than a set threshold value, and if the fluid parameter exceeds or is lower than the set threshold value, entering S4;

s4: and adjusting the opening degree of the bypass valve according to the amount of the fluid parameter exceeding or falling below the threshold value so as to adjust the fluid flow in the bypass pipeline.

In step S1, a threshold value may be set according to a pre-calibrated relationship between the duct fluid parameter and the opening of the bypass valve 4, such as: when the pressure of the cooling liquid in the pipeline exceeds 10% of the maximum value capable of being borne, opening the bypass valve 4 to 20% so that part of the cooling liquid pumped out by the pumping mechanism 1 enters the bypass pipeline and circulates in the liquid cooling module 100; when the coolant pressure in the pipe is less than the minimum required for the load circuit, the bypass valve 4 is closed so that all of the coolant pumped by the pumping mechanism 1 enters the load circuit.

In step S2, the control system 7 continuously monitors the parameter of the fluid in the coolant line 8 by the sensor 6 disposed in the coolant line 8, and determines whether the parameter of the fluid exceeds or falls below a set threshold value in step S3, and if the monitored parameter of the fluid in the coolant line 8 exceeds or falls below the set threshold value, the control system proceeds to step S4, and determines the opening degree of the bypass valve 4 to be opened according to the relationship between the parameter of the fluid in the line and the opening degree of the bypass valve 4, which is set in advance in step S1; if the monitored parameter of the fluid in the coolant line 8 does not exceed or fall below the set threshold value, the flow returns to step S2 to continue monitoring. The above-mentioned adjustment can be done automatically by the control system 7 without intervention of a staff.

In addition, the control system 7 can control the flow rate of the cooling liquid entering the bypass pipe 3 through the opening degree of the bypass valve 3 to ensure the normal operation of the pumping mechanism 1, and can also maintain the normal operation state of the liquid cooling module 100 by controlling the pumping mechanism 1 itself. As described above, the control system 7 is electrically connected to the pumping mechanism 1 to supply power to the pumping mechanism 1 and to control the power and the switches of the pumping mechanism 1. When the pressure in the coolant pipeline 8 and the load loop in the liquid cooling module 100 is too high, the control system 7 senses that the pressure in the pipeline is abnormal through the sensor 6 in the coolant pipeline 8, and besides the opening of the bypass valve 3 can be controlled to control the flow of the coolant entering the bypass pipeline 3, the pumping mechanism 1 can be controlled, and the method specifically comprises the following steps:

(1) as shown in fig. 2, when the pumping mechanism 1 is a variable speed pump, the control system 7 automatically adjusts the opening degree of the bypass valve 4 and the rotation speed or the switch of the variable speed pump in accordance with the amount by which the fluid parameter exceeds or falls below the threshold value in step S4. Furthermore, in step S1, the relationship between the rotation speed or switch of the pumping mechanism 1 and the pipeline fluid parameter, and the threshold value of the pipeline fluid parameter, such as: when the pressure of the cooling liquid in the pipeline exceeds 10% of the maximum value which can be borne, the output power of the variable speed pump is adjusted to be 30% of the maximum output power, so that the pressure and the flow rate of the cooling liquid in the pipeline of the liquid cooling module 100 are reduced; when the pressure of the cooling fluid in the pipeline is less than the minimum value required by the load circuit, the output power of the variable speed pump is adjusted to 100% of the maximum output power.

(2) As shown in fig. 3, the pumping mechanism 1 includes a plurality of pump branches arranged in parallel, and each pump branch includes a variable speed pump 11 or a constant speed pump 11, and in step S4, the control system 7 automatically adjusts the opening degree of the bypass valve 3 and the rotation speed or switch of the variable speed pump or the constant speed pump 11 according to the amount of the fluid parameter exceeding or falling below the threshold value. Furthermore, in step S1, the relationship between the rotational speed or the switch of the pump in each pump branch of the pumping mechanism 1 and the pipeline fluid parameter, and the threshold value of the pipeline fluid parameter, such as: when the pressure of the cooling liquid in the pipeline exceeds 10% of the maximum value capable of being borne, closing half of the pump branches in the pumping mechanism 1, so that the pressure and the flow rate of the cooling liquid in the pipeline of the liquid cooling module 100 are reduced; when the in-line cooling fluid pressure is less than the minimum required for the load circuit, the pumps in all pump legs are activated and the output power is adjusted to the maximum output power.

The liquid cooling module without the bypass branch 3 is started in a specific application scenario, for example, when few nodes/cold plates or no nodes/cold plates are connected, a shutdown caused by an excessive pressure in the liquid cooling module or an excessively low pump rotation speed is easily caused, specifically, the present application is directed to a device of the liquid cooling module, which is generally large in flow rate, for example, 300 nodes/cold plates can be cooled at the same time, but a load-side device is not deployed in a system at one time, but may be deployed in batches, specifically, for example, only 10 nodes/cold plates are deployed in a first batch to the system, and other nodes are not in stock or are being installed; for another example, before the system is in normal operation, the whole loop of the system needs to be debugged, for example, whether the pipe system is smooth or not, whether a liquid leakage occurs or not, and the like, at this time, the node/cold plate serving as the load is not installed or not yet operated, and the problem of low-frequency operation until the system is shut down is easily caused.

In addition, in a loop network with a plurality of liquid cooling modules, for example, two liquid cooling modules in the system are in inconsistent working states, and one of the liquid cooling modules has high pressure, so that the flow at the outlet of the liquid cooling module enters the other liquid cooling module and flows out reversely through a bypass, thereby easily causing mutual crosstalk between the flows of the liquid cooling modules, and causing the reduction of cooling efficiency and the increase of energy consumption.

The liquid cooling module 100 provided by the application solves the problem that when the system flow demand is small, the low-frequency operation is easy to occur when the difference between the system flow and the minimum flow of a pump is large until the downtime is suppressed through the bypass branch 3, and the crosstalk failure problem when a plurality of liquid cooling modules operate simultaneously is solved through the arrangement position of the first check valve 5, the arrangement position of the first check valve 5 is located at the downstream of the parallel position of the pumping mechanism 1 and the bypass branch, namely, between the inlet position of the bypass branch and the outlet 20 of the cooling liquid pipeline, the position of the first check valve 5 is connected with the position of the bypass branch, and the actual measurement shows that the crosstalk failure problem when the plurality of data center liquid cooling modules 100 operate simultaneously can only be ensured at the position of the first check valve 5. The first non return valve 5 cannot be arranged inside the bypass branch 3 nor at a position between the outlet of the pump and the inlet of the bypass branch 3. The first check valve needs to be arranged inside the liquid cooling module and cannot be arranged on a connecting pipeline between the liquid cooling module and the liquid cooling module.

Embodiments of the present application will be specifically described below in conjunction with specific application scenarios.

As shown in fig. 5, the liquid cooling system of the data center provided by the present application includes a liquid cooling module 100, a load cabinet 200, a liquid supply loop 300, and a liquid return loop 400, wherein the liquid supply loop 300 and the liquid return loop 400 form the load loop; liquid cooling module 100, load cabinet 200 are connected with the load circuit with the pipeline respectively, include: a liquid supply pipeline 500 of the liquid cooling system, a liquid return pipeline 600 of the liquid cooling system, a liquid supply pipeline 700 of the load cabinet, and a liquid return pipeline 800 of the load cabinet, wherein a cold plate 201 attached to each heating veneer is arranged in the load cabinet 200. The specific networking number is variable, for example, the number of the liquid cooling modules 100 can be 2-4, the number of the load cabinets 200 can be 10-40, the number of the cold plates 201 in the load cabinets 200 can be 1-100, and different networking modes can be provided according to different load cabinets 200.

The control system 7 controls the bypass valve 3 in the following specific manner:

(1) a first stage of supplying liquid: the pumping mechanism 1 in the liquid cooling module 100 works, operates at a certain frequency, such as 45Hz, provides a flow of 300L/min, and has an outlet temperature of 45 ℃; at the moment, the system is only connected to one cabinet, 20 cold plates are arranged in the cabinet, the flow requirement of each cold plate is 1L/min, and the flow required by the cabinet is 20L/min; when the flow rate of 300L/min reaches the bypass pipeline 3 in the liquid cooling module 100, the bypass valve 4 on the bypass pipeline is automatically adjusted to a certain opening degree, for example, 80%, under the preset pressure difference, the flow rate of the cooling liquid of 280L/min passes through the opening degree, and at this time, only 20L/min of flow rate enters the cold plate 201 of the load cabinet 200; under the action of a flow distribution manifold in the load cabinet 200, 20L/min of flow enters the cold plates 201 of the 20 single plates, and each cold plate 201 obtains 1L/min of flow; at the temperature of 45 ℃ for liquid inlet and the flow rate of 1L/min, the temperature of the cooling liquid is raised to 60 ℃ through heat exchange between the cold plate 201 and the chip, and meanwhile, the heat emitted by the chip is taken away.

(2) Second stage, liquid returning: the cooling liquid which takes heat away from the load cabinet 200 enters the cooling liquid pipeline inlet 10 of the liquid cooling module 100 from the liquid return loop 400, and the flow rate and the temperature are respectively 20L/min and 60 ℃; the mixture passes through a bypass pipeline 3 and is mixed with water at the temperature of 280L/min and 45 ℃, the flow rate after mixing is 300L/min, the temperature is changed to a certain value between 45 ℃ and 60 ℃, and if the mixture is uniformly mixed, the temperature can reach 46 ℃ theoretically; the fluid enters a plate heat exchanger 2 in the liquid cooling module 100, a plurality of plates, for example 100 plates, are arranged in the plate heat exchanger 2, and two strands of water with different temperatures are respectively led between the plates; the heat exchange pipe inlet 30 from the cooling loop provides a certain flow rate and a certain temperature, for example, 300L/min, 35 ℃ of cooling water, passes through the plate heat exchanger 2, and exchanges heat with the heat load of 300L/min, 46 ℃ from the load cabinet 200, so that the water temperature in the pipe of the liquid cooling module 100 returns to 45 ℃ again, and the water temperature at the heat exchange pipe outlet 30 of the liquid cooling module 100 at this time becomes 36 ℃, and returns to the corresponding place respectively with the corresponding original flow rate, for example, the water cooled to 45 ℃ after the cooling water in the liquid cooling module 100 passes through the plate heat exchanger 2 returns to the inlet of the pumping mechanism 1 again, and the cooling water in the cooling loop returns to the inlet of the cooling tower, becomes 35 ℃ again after exchanging heat with the environment, and is sent to the heat exchange pipe inlet 30 of the liquid cooling module 100 again. By circulating the above steps, heat is continuously dissipated from the heat-generating chip on the cold plate 201 in the load cabinet 200.

It can be found that the bypass pipeline 3 and the bypass valve 4 inside the liquid cooling module 100 provide a dredging path for the redundant flow pumped by the pumping mechanism 1, so that the normal operation of the pump in the liquid cooling module 100 is ensured, and the phenomenon that the low-frequency operation is carried out until the machine is stopped due to the small number of the single boards connected to the cabinet is avoided.

The working mode of the first check valve 5 when the plurality of liquid cooling modules 100 are applied in parallel is as follows:

(1) networking: assuming that 2 liquid cooling modules 100 are simultaneously operated at the same time and are provided for 15 load cabinets 200, each load cabinet 200 has 30 cold plates 201 inside, the required flow rate of each cold plate 201 is 1L/min, the total flow rate of the 15 load cabinets 200 is 450L/min, and the two liquid cooling modules 100 respectively provide certain flow rates to supply the whole load circuit.

(2) Because the positions of the two liquid cooling modules 100 are different and the distances for conveying the cooling liquid to all the load cabinets 200 in the system are different, the two liquid cooling modules 100 do not provide the same flow rate, but are high and low, for example, the pump frequency of the liquid cooling module 100A is 60Hz, the corresponding flow rate is 300L/min, the pump frequency of the liquid cooling module 100B is 45Hz, and the corresponding flow rate is 150L/min.

(3) The temperatures provided by the two liquid cooling modules 100 are the same and are both at a set value of 45 ℃, and due to the existence of the first one-way valve 5 at the outlet of the liquid cooling module 100, two streams of fluid with the same temperature can only enter the liquid supply loop of the load loop together at the moment, and finally enter 450 cold plates 201 in total of 15 load cabinets 200 through the connecting pipeline of each load cabinet 200 and the shunt pipeline arranged in each load cabinet 200.

(4) After passing through all the cold plates 201, assuming that all the loads are the same, the temperature of the cooling liquid is raised to 60 ℃ after taking away the heat of the heating device, the cooling liquid enters the liquid return loop 400 through the outlet pipelines of the 15 load cabinets 200, and then enters the two liquid cooling modules 100 through the liquid return pipelines 600 of the liquid cooling modules 100, and the flow is still kept at 300L/min and 150L/min.

(5) The plate heat exchangers 2 in the two liquid cooling modules 100 exchange heat with cooling water from the cooling circuit, for example, at 35 ℃, and respectively cool the cooling liquid at 60 ℃ to 45 ℃ for the next cycle.

The existence of the first check valve 5 ensures that even though the pumps of the two liquid cooling modules 100 are at different working frequencies and respectively provide pressure heads with different capacities, the fluid output by the high-frequency high-pressure liquid cooling module 100A can not enter the other liquid cooling module 100B with relatively low frequency and relatively low pressure, thereby ensuring the normal heat dissipation of the load.

The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the application. Thus, the present application is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown above but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. The liquid cooling module, wherein the liquid cooling module comprises:

the cooling liquid pipeline comprises a cooling liquid pipeline inlet and a cooling liquid pipeline outlet, and the cooling liquid pipeline inlet and the cooling liquid pipeline outlet are used for being connected with a load loop;

the cooler, the pumping mechanism and the first one-way valve are sequentially connected between the inlet of the cooling liquid pipeline and the outlet of the cooling liquid pipeline in series;

the inlet of the bypass pipeline is arranged between the outlet of the pumping mechanism and the inlet of the first one-way valve, the outlet of the bypass pipeline is arranged between the cooler and the inlet of the cooling liquid pipeline, the first one-way valve is arranged between the inlet of the bypass pipeline and the outlet of the cooling liquid pipeline, and the first one-way valve is used for preventing the cooling liquid in the load loop from flowing back to the liquid cooling module; and

the bypass valve is arranged on the bypass pipeline, and the opening degree of the bypass valve is adjustable.

2. The liquid cooling module of claim 1, wherein:

the pumping mechanism comprises a pump, an inlet of the pump is connected to an outlet of the cooler, and an outlet of the pump is connected to an inlet of the first one-way valve.

3. The liquid cooling module of claim 1, wherein:

the pumping mechanism comprises a plurality of pump branches arranged in parallel, each pump branch comprises a pump and a second one-way valve, and the second one-way valve is arranged at the downstream of the pump.

4. The liquid cooling module of any of claims 1-3, further comprising a control system and a sensor, wherein the sensor is disposed within the coolant line for obtaining a parameter of the fluid within the coolant line, and wherein the control system is electrically connected to the sensor and the bypass valve for obtaining the parameter from the sensor and controlling an opening of the bypass valve.

5. The liquid cooling module of claim 4, wherein the control system is electrically connected to the pumping mechanism to control a speed or a switch of the pumping mechanism.

6. The liquid cooling module of claim 4, wherein the number of sensors is three, and the sensors are located at a position of an inlet of the cooling liquid pipe, a position of an inlet of the cooler, and a position of an outlet of the pumping mechanism, respectively.

7. A control method for controlling a liquid cooling module according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising the steps of:

setting a threshold value of fluid parameters in the cooling fluid pipeline;

monitoring the fluid parameter by a sensor;

judging whether the fluid parameter exceeds or is lower than the threshold value, and if the fluid parameter exceeds or is lower than the threshold value, adjusting the opening of the bypass valve;

when the liquid pressure in the load loop is greater than the liquid pressure in the cooling liquid pipeline of the liquid cooling module, the first check valve prevents the cooling liquid in the load loop from flowing back to the liquid cooling module.

8. The control method according to claim 7, characterized in that:

adjusting, by a control system, an opening of the bypass valve based on the amount exceeding or falling below the threshold.

9. The control method according to claim 8, characterized in that:

the fluid parameter is a pressure value of the fluid in the cooling fluid pipeline,

when the fluid parameter exceeds the threshold, the control system increases the opening of the bypass valve;

the control system reduces the opening of the bypass valve when the fluid parameter is below the threshold.

10. The control method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that:

adjusting, by the control system, a rotational speed or a switch of the pumping mechanism based on an amount by which the fluid parameter exceeds or falls below a threshold value.

11. The control method according to claim 10, characterized in that:

when the fluid parameter exceeds the threshold value, the control system reduces the rotating speed of the pumping mechanism or closes the pumping mechanism;

when the fluid parameter is lower than the threshold value, the control system increases the rotating speed of the pumping mechanism or starts a pump in a closed state in the pumping mechanism.

12. A liquid cooling system for a data center, characterized in that:

the liquid cooling system comprising one or more liquid cooling modules of any of claims 1-6;

the load circuit comprises a liquid supply loop for supplying low-temperature cooling liquid and a liquid return loop for returning high-temperature cooling liquid; and

a load cabinet for housing electronic equipment and a cold plate for heat exchange with the electronic equipment;

the liquid cooling module pumps low-temperature cooling liquid to the liquid supply loop, the low-temperature cooling liquid enters the load cabinet and exchanges heat with the cold plate in the load cabinet to become high-temperature cooling liquid and flow out to the liquid return loop, and flow back to the liquid cooling module, and the high-temperature cooling liquid is cooled to be low-temperature cooling liquid in the liquid cooling module and pumped out again.