CN217608200U - Immersed liquid cooling device and liquid cooling system - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiment of the disclosure provides an immersed liquid cooling device and a liquid cooling system. The liquid cooling device includes: the equipment cabinet comprises a first cavity and a second cavity integrated on the side wall of the first cavity, wherein a through hole for circulating first cooling liquid between the two cavities is formed in the side wall; and a heat exchange module adapted to be inserted into the second cavity via an opening on the second cavity, and including a heat exchanger for cooling the first coolant with the second coolant, a coolant drive device for driving the first coolant to circulate between the two cavities, and a guide assembly including a liquid flow passage for guiding the first coolant from the coolant drive device to the heat exchanger, wherein in a case where the heat exchange module is inserted into the second cavity, the coolant drive device is closer to the opening of the second cavity than the heat exchanger and can be withdrawn from the second cavity in a case where the heat exchanger and the guide assembly are held in the second cavity.

Description

Immersed liquid cooling device and liquid cooling system

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of electronic equipment cooling technology and, more particularly, to an immersion liquid cooling apparatus and a liquid cooling system including the same.

Background

With the development of the integration of 5G, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence and other new-generation information communication technologies and the entity economy, a data center is gradually expanding from a service part enterprise to a service whole society and becomes a new infrastructure.

This new infrastructure places higher demands on the thermal solution of the data center and overall energy efficiency. On one hand, with the advent of the big data era, data is growing beyond imagination, and the power consumption of IT equipment is required to be doubled for processing, storing and transmitting mass data, so that the heat dissipation of a chip becomes a huge challenge. The traditional air-cooled heat dissipation scheme is difficult to meet the requirement of high-efficiency heat dissipation of electronic information equipment.

In order to solve the problem of heat dissipation of high-power-consumption IT equipment, a data center begins to adopt a liquid cooling technology, and uses working fluid as a medium for intermediate heat transmission to transfer heat from a heating area to a cooling tower for cooling. The cooling efficiency of the liquid cooling technology is obviously higher than that of air cooling heat dissipation, the heat dissipation problem of high-power-consumption IT equipment can be effectively solved, and the energy consumption and noise of a cooling system are reduced.

In the current data center adopting a liquid cooling scheme, a conventional immersed liquid cooling system is generally formed by equipping one or more sets of cold liquid distribution units (CDUs) on a large cabinet (generally having a length of about 3 meters). However, such conventional immersion liquid cooling systems are bulky, complex in structure, and inconvenient to assemble. In addition, the liquid cooling system is difficult to operate and maintain and poor in reliability.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved data center liquid cooling scheme.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide an immersion liquid cooling apparatus and a liquid cooling system including the same to at least partially solve the above problems.

In a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided an immersion liquid cooling apparatus comprising: the cooling system comprises a cabinet and a cooling device, wherein the cabinet comprises a first cavity and a second cavity integrated on the side wall of the first cavity, the first cavity is used for accommodating electronic equipment to be cooled, and a through hole for circulating first cooling liquid between the first cavity and the second cavity is formed in the side wall; and a heat exchange module adapted to be inserted into the second cavity via an opening on the second cavity, the heat exchange module including a heat exchanger for receiving a second cooling liquid via a liquid circulation line and cooling the first cooling liquid with the second cooling liquid, a cooling liquid driving device for driving the first cooling liquid to circulate between the second cavity and the first cavity, and a guide assembly including a liquid flow passage for guiding the first cooling liquid from the cooling liquid driving device to the heat exchanger, wherein the cooling liquid driving device is closer to the opening of the second cavity than the heat exchanger in a case where the heat exchange module is inserted into the second cavity, and the cooling liquid driving device is withdrawable from the second cavity in a case where the heat exchanger and the guide assembly are held in the second cavity.

In the embodiment according to the disclosure, because the cabinet and the heat exchange module are integrated together, the whole system does not need to additionally carry a cold liquid distribution unit for use, and is very flexible and convenient. In addition, the heat exchange module adopts a modular design, so that the assembly and the maintenance are convenient. In addition, compare with heat exchanger, the fortune dimension requirement of coolant liquid drive arrangement in the heat exchange module is higher, consequently through setting up coolant liquid drive arrangement in heat exchanger top for coolant liquid drive arrangement can be taken out in the rack alone, and this is convenient for maintain coolant liquid drive arrangement, has shortened coolant liquid drive arrangement's maintenance time.

In some embodiments, the heat exchange module further comprises a first bracket, the heat exchanger and the guide assembly are supported by the first bracket, and the coolant drive device comprises a first drive assembly comprising a second bracket and a first circulation pump supported by the second bracket, the second bracket being detachably connected to the first bracket, wherein with the second bracket connected to the first bracket, a circulation pump outlet of the first circulation pump is in communication with the liquid flow passage in the guide assembly. In such an embodiment, through the cooperation between the first bracket and the second bracket, the first driving assembly can be conveniently drawn out of the cabinet independently or together with other components in the heat exchange module.

In some embodiments, the first bracket includes a first support portion and a second support portion, the second bracket is detachably connected to the first support portion, and the heat exchanger and the guide assembly are supported by the second support portion, wherein the first support portion is located outside the second chamber in a state where the heat exchange module is inserted into the second chamber. In such an embodiment, the cabinet can reliably support the heat exchange module through the first supporting part, and the first supporting part can prevent leakage of the first cooling liquid in the second cavity.

In some embodiments, a side of the first supporting portion facing the second cavity is provided with a sealing ring, wherein the first supporting portion and the second cavity are sealed by the sealing ring when the heat exchange module is inserted into the second cavity. In such an embodiment, the sealing performance between the first supporting portion and the second cavity can be improved by using the sealing ring, and the leakage of the first cooling liquid in the second cavity is further reduced.

In some embodiments, a display screen for displaying an operation state of the coolant driving device is disposed on a side of the first supporting portion facing away from the second cavity. In such an embodiment, the operation state of the cooling liquid driving device can be observed in real time through the display screen, so that the cooling liquid driving device is maintained when the cooling liquid driving device is abnormally operated.

In some embodiments, the heat exchanger and the guide assembly are secured to the second support portion by fasteners. In such an embodiment, the heat exchanger and the guide assembly may be reliably fixed to the second support portion using the fastener.

In some embodiments, the second bracket includes a third support portion and a fourth support portion, the third support portion is detachably connected to the first support portion, and the first circulation pump is supported by the fourth support portion. In such an embodiment, the assembly and disassembly between the first drive assembly and the first support may be conveniently achieved by cooperation between the third support and the first support.

In some embodiments, a handle is disposed on a side of the third support portion facing away from the first circulation pump. In such an embodiment, the handle can be used to conveniently extract the first driving assembly from the second cavity body independently or extract the heat exchange module integrally.

In some embodiments, the fourth support portion includes a first inclined portion inclined with respect to a pumping-out direction of the first driving assembly, the circulation pump outlet of the first circulation pump is disposed at the first inclined portion, and the guide assembly includes a second inclined portion inclined with respect to the pumping-out direction, wherein the second inclined portion abuts the first inclined portion with the third support portion connected to the first support portion. In such an embodiment, the cooperation of the first and second inclined portions can ensure, on the one hand, a precise positioning of the first drive assembly upon insertion and, on the other hand, a reliable communication of the circulation pump outlet of the first circulation pump with the liquid flow passage in the guide assembly.

In some embodiments, the first drive assembly further comprises a filter disposed at a circulation pump inlet of the first circulation pump. In such an embodiment, the first cooling liquid entering the first circulation pump may be filtered to prevent impurities from entering the pump body to damage the first circulation pump.

In some embodiments, the coolant drive apparatus further comprises a second drive assembly including a third bracket and a second circulation pump supported by the third bracket, the third bracket being detachably connected to the first bracket. In such an embodiment, by providing the redundant second driving assembly, in case of a problem in one of the first driving assembly and the second driving assembly, the other driving assembly can still operate normally, so that the reliability of the liquid cooling apparatus can be improved.

In some embodiments, the guide assembly includes a first guide member, and a second guide member and a third guide member disposed above the first guide member, the liquid flow passage in the second guide member communicating with the circulating pump outlet of the first circulating pump, the liquid flow passage in the third guide member communicating with the circulating pump outlet of the second circulating pump, the liquid flow passage in the first guide member being connected to the heat exchanger. In such an embodiment, the first guide member, the second guide member and the third guide member can reliably guide the first cooling liquid from the cooling liquid driving device to the heat exchanger, and can exhaust the volume of the first cooling liquid in the second cavity, so that the liquid level of the first cooling liquid in the second cavity is increased, the amount of the first cooling liquid required in the cabinet is reduced, and the overall cost is reduced.

In some embodiments, the heat exchanger is a plate heat exchanger comprising an outer chamber and an inner chamber surrounded by the outer chamber, the outer chamber comprising a first inlet port connected to the liquid flow passage in the directing assembly to receive the first cooling liquid and a first outlet port for releasing the first cooling liquid from the outer chamber into the second chamber, and the inner chamber comprising a second inlet port connected to a liquid inlet tube in the liquid circulation line to receive the second cooling liquid and a second outlet port connected to a liquid return tube in the liquid circulation line. In such an embodiment, the first cooling liquid in the outer cavity and the second cooling liquid in the inner cavity can form heat exchange in a cross flow mode, and the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger is enhanced.

In some embodiments, the through holes include a first set of through holes and a second set of through holes, the second set of through holes being closer to the opening of the second cavity than the first set of through holes, wherein the coolant driving device is adjacent to the second set of through holes and the heat exchanger is adjacent to the first set of through holes with the heat exchange module inserted into the second cavity. In such an embodiment, by arranging the coolant drive means adjacent to the second set of through holes, a fast circulation of the first coolant liquid between the second cavity and the first cavity can be achieved. Furthermore, by arranging the heat exchanger adjacent to the first set of through holes, the first cooling liquid cooled by the heat exchanger can be made to flow into the first cavity via the first set of through holes in time.

In some embodiments, the heat exchange module further comprises a liquid occupying block, wherein the liquid occupying block is at least partially submersible in the first cooling liquid in the second cavity with the heat exchange module inserted into the second cavity. In such an embodiment, under the condition that the heat exchange module is inserted into the second cavity, the occupied liquid block can exhaust the volume of the first cooling liquid, so that the amount of the first cooling liquid required in the cabinet can be reduced, and the overall cost is reduced.

In some embodiments, the cabinet further includes an outer frame disposed around the first cavity and the second cavity, and a top cover rotatably connected to the outer frame and switchable between a closed state closing the first cavity and an open state opening the first cavity. In such an embodiment, by closing the first cavity with the top cover, leakage of the first cooling liquid in the first cavity can be reduced, and external contaminants can be prevented from entering the first cavity.

In some embodiments, a side of the top cover facing the first cavity is provided with a sealing ring, wherein the top cover and the first cavity are sealed by the sealing ring when the top cover is in the closed state. In such an embodiment, the sealing performance between the top cover and the first cavity can be improved by using the sealing ring, and the leakage of the first cooling liquid in the first cavity is further reduced.

In some embodiments, the cabinet further comprises a hydraulic drive connected between the outer frame and the top cover for driving the top cover to switch between the closed state and the open state. In such an embodiment, the top cover can be conveniently opened or closed using a hydraulic drive.

In some embodiments, the first cooling liquid comprises a fluorinated liquid or a mineral oil, and/or the second cooling liquid comprises deionized water.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a liquid cooling system comprising a plurality of submerged liquid cooling devices arranged side by side, wherein each submerged liquid cooling device of the plurality of submerged liquid cooling devices is any one of the submerged liquid cooling devices according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

It should be understood that what is described in this section is not intended to limit key or critical features of the embodiments of the disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description.

Drawings

The above and other features, advantages and aspects of various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent by referring to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like or similar reference characters designate like or similar elements, and wherein:

fig. 1 and 2 show schematic structural views of an immersion liquid cooling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein in fig. 1 the heat exchange module is in a state of being inserted into the second cavity, and in fig. 2 the heat exchange module is in a state of being extracted from the second cavity;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic structural view of a sidewall of a first cavity for integrating a second cavity according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic structural diagram of a heat exchange module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows a front view of the heat exchange module shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic structural diagram of a first drive assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates the submerged liquid cooling apparatus of FIG. 1 with the first drive assembly withdrawn;

FIG. 8 shows a schematic structural diagram of a heat exchanger according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; and

fig. 9 shows a schematic structural diagram of a liquid cooling system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

The term "including" and variations thereof as used herein is intended to be open-ended, i.e., "including but not limited to". Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term "or" means "and/or". The term "based on" means "based at least in part on". The terms "one example embodiment" and "one embodiment" mean "at least one example embodiment". The term "another embodiment" means "at least one additional embodiment". The terms "first," "second," and the like may refer to different or the same object.

As described above, the conventional immersion type liquid cooling system has various problems such as large volume, complicated structure, inconvenient assembly, difficult operation and maintenance, poor reliability, etc. The embodiment of the disclosure provides an immersed liquid cooling device with an internally integrated heat exchanger and a liquid cooling system comprising the immersed liquid cooling device, so that the operation and maintenance difficulty is reduced, the complexity of the structure is reduced, the adaptability is enhanced, and the reliability is improved. Hereinafter, the principle of the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 9.

Fig. 1 and 2 show a schematic structural view of an immersion liquid cooling apparatus 100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the heat exchange module 3 is inserted into the second cavity 22 in fig. 1, and the heat exchange module 3 is extracted from the second cavity 22 in fig. 2. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, in general, the immersion liquid cooling apparatus 100 described herein includes a cabinet 2 and a heat exchange module 3. The cabinet 2 includes an outer frame 23, a first cavity 21, a second cavity 22 integrated on a side wall 211 of the first cavity 21, and a top cover 24. The first cavity 21 is used to accommodate an electronic device to be cooled and a first cooling liquid (not shown). The second cavity 22 is used for accommodating the heat exchange module 3 and the first cooling liquid. The first cavity 21 and the second cavity 22 are in fluid communication via through holes 6 (see fig. 3) provided on the side wall 211, and the first coolant can circulate between the first cavity 21 and the second cavity 22 via the through holes 6. The heat exchanging module 3 is adapted to be inserted into the second cavity 22 via the opening 221 on the second cavity 22.

In some embodiments, the electronic device housed in the first cavity 21 comprises a server or a switch. In other embodiments, the electronic device may also be of other types, and embodiments of the disclosure are not limited in this respect.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the outer frame 23 generally surrounds the first and second cavities 21 and 22 to provide mechanical support to the first and second cavities 21 and 22 to some extent. The first and second cavities 21, 22 may be welded or otherwise attached to the outer frame 23. In some embodiments, the outer frame 23 may be formed from profiled square steel by welding. In other embodiments, the outer frame 23 may be formed by other processes or by other materials, and the embodiments of the disclosure are not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the first cavity 21 and the second cavity 22 may be welded by using stainless steel plates. In other embodiments, the first cavity 21 and the second cavity 22 may be formed by other processes or by using other materials, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the top cover 24 is rotatably connected to the outer frame 23 and is switchable between a closed state closing the first cavity 21 and an open state opening the first cavity 21. The cover 24 is shown in a closed position in fig. 1 and 2. The top cover 24 can reduce leakage of the first cooling liquid in the first cavity 21 in the closed state and can prevent external contaminants from entering the first cavity 21. With the top cover 24 in the open state, an operator can perform installation or maintenance of the electronic equipment in the first cavity 21 and inject the first cooling liquid into the first cavity 21.

In some embodiments, the first cooling liquid comprises a fluorinated liquid or a mineral oil. In other embodiments, the first cooling fluid may also be of other types, and embodiments of the present disclosure are not strictly limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the top cover 24 may be opened more than 90 degrees relative to the outer frame 23. At the maximum opening angle, a stopper (not shown) may be provided to limit the position of the top cover 24.

In some embodiments, the top cover 24 may be connected to one side of the outer frame 23 by a hinge. In other embodiments, the top cover 24 may be connected to the outer frame 23 by other means, such as by a shaft hole fit, etc., and embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the top cover 24 includes a bezel 241 and a viewing window 242 surrounded by the bezel 241. The bezel 241 is connected to the outer frame 23 and is rotatable with respect to the outer frame 23. The frame 241 may be made of aluminum alloy or other types of metal or non-metal materials. The viewing window 242 may be made of a transparent Polycarbonate (PC) material or other type of transparent material. Through setting up observation window 242, even under the circumstances that top cap 24 is in the closed condition, operating personnel also can be through the electronic equipment of observation window 242 observation in first cavity 21, in time knows the running state of electronic equipment.

In some embodiments, the side of the cap 24 facing the first cavity 21 is provided with a sealing ring (not shown). When the top cover 24 is in the closed state, the top cover 24 and the first cavity 21 are sealed by a seal ring. The seal ring may comprise, for example, ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) rubber or other types of sealing materials. By adopting the sealing ring, the sealing performance between the top cover 24 and the first cavity 21 can be improved, and the leakage of the first cooling liquid in the first cavity 24 is further reduced.

In some embodiments, to enable opening and closing of the top cover 24, the cabinet 2 further includes a hydraulic drive device (not shown). A hydraulic drive is connected between the outer frame 23 and the top cover 24 for driving the top cover 24 to switch between the closed state and the open state. The opening and closing of the top cover 24 can be conveniently achieved by a hydraulic drive.

In some embodiments, the hydraulic drive includes a pair of hydraulic levers (not shown). One of a pair of hydraulic rods is connected between one side of the top cover 24 and a corresponding side of the outer frame 23. The other of the pair of hydraulic rods is connected between the other side of the top cover 24 and the corresponding side of the outer frame 23. The state switching of the top cover 24 can be realized quickly and reliably by the pair of oppositely arranged hydraulic rods.

It should be understood that in other embodiments, the top cover 24 may be switched between the closed state and the open state in other ways, and embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, a handle (not shown) may also be provided on a side of the top cover 24 facing away from the first cavity 21. With this arrangement, an operator can open and close the top cover 24 by grasping the handle.

As described above, the first cavity 21 and the second cavity 22 are in fluid communication via the through-holes 6 provided on the side wall 211. Fig. 3 shows an exemplary arrangement of through holes 6 on the side wall 211 of the first cavity 21. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 3, the vias 6 include a first set of vias 61 and a second set of vias 62. The first cooling fluid in the second cavity 22 may flow into the first cavity 21 via the first set of through holes 61, and the first cooling fluid in the first cavity 21 may flow into the second cavity 22 via the second set of through holes 62.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 3, each through-hole of the first set of through-holes 61 may be oval in shape. It should be understood that in other embodiments, each through-hole of the first set of through-holes 61 may be other shapes, such as circular, rectangular, square, bar, etc., and embodiments of the present disclosure are not strictly limited in this respect.

Similarly, as shown in fig. 3, each through-hole of the second set of through-holes 62 may be oval in shape. In other embodiments, each via in the second set of vias 62 may be other shapes, such as circular, rectangular, square, strip, etc., and embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, with reference to fig. 1-3, the first set of through-holes 61 is disposed adjacent a bottom side of the second cavity 22 and the second set of through-holes 62 is disposed adjacent a top side of the second cavity 22. With such an arrangement, it is possible to enable a large part of the first coolant in the second cavity 22 to participate in the coolant circulation between the first cavity 21 and the second cavity 22.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment according to the present disclosure, the through hole 6 on the side wall 211 may also be in other forms as long as the cooling liquid circulation path between the first cavity 21 and the second cavity 22 can be provided. For example, the first set of through holes 61 may be replaced by a single or a plurality of elongated strip-shaped holes, and the second set of through holes 62 may also be replaced by a single or a plurality of elongated strip-shaped holes.

As mentioned hereinbefore, the first cavity 21 and the second cavity 22 are both used for containing the first cooling liquid. In the first cavity 21, the first cooling liquid may immerse the electronic device for cooling the electronic device. In the second cavity 22, the heat exchange module 3 may be at least partially submerged by the first cooling liquid. The heat exchange module 3 may be connected with an external cooling device (e.g. a cooling tower) to receive the second cooling liquid provided by the external cooling device. The temperature of the second cooling liquid in the heat exchange module 3 is lower than that of the first cooling liquid in the second cavity 22, so that the first cooling liquid in the second cavity 22 can be cooled.

In some embodiments, the second cooling liquid in the heat exchange module 3 may include deionized water. In other embodiments, the second cooling fluid may also be of other types, and embodiments of the present disclosure are not strictly limited in this respect.

An exemplary structure of the heat exchange module 3 will be described below with reference to fig. 4 to 8. Referring first to fig. 4 and 5, fig. 4 shows a schematic structural view of a heat exchange module 3 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, and fig. 5 shows a front view of the heat exchange module 3 shown in fig. 4. In order to show the structure of the heat exchange module 3 more clearly, a part of the liquid circulation line 31 is omitted in fig. 5. As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the heat exchange module 3 includes a heat exchanger 32, a coolant driving device 33, and a guide assembly 34. The heat exchanger 32 is in fluid communication with a liquid circulation line 31, the liquid circulation line 31 being used to circulate the second cooling liquid between the heat exchanger 32 and an external cooling device, such as a cooling tower. With this arrangement, the second coolant having a lower temperature can be supplied to the heat exchanger 32. The heat exchanger 32 is capable of cooling the first cooling fluid in the second cavity 22 with the second cooling fluid. The coolant driving device 33 is used to circulate the first coolant between the second cavity 22 and the first cavity 21. The guide assembly 34 includes a liquid flow passage (not shown) for guiding the first coolant from the coolant drive device 33 to the heat exchanger 32. With this arrangement, the first cooling liquid with low temperature can enter the first cavity 21 from the second cavity 22 via the first set of through holes 61 shown in fig. 3 to absorb heat from the electronic device, and the first cooling liquid with high temperature after absorbing heat can enter the second cavity 22 from the first cavity 21 via the second set of through holes 62, and is driven into the liquid flow channel of the guiding assembly 34 by the cooling liquid driving device 33, and then reaches the heat exchanger 32 along the liquid flow channel to be cooled again for the next circulation.

As shown in fig. 5, the cooling liquid driving device 33 is disposed above the heat exchanger 32, wherein the cooling liquid driving device 33 is near the top side of the heat exchange module 3, and the heat exchanger 32 is near the bottom side of the heat exchange module 3. In conjunction with fig. 1 and 2, in the case where the heat exchange module 3 is inserted into the second cavity 22, the cooling liquid driving device 33 will be closer to the opening 221 of the second cavity 22 than the heat exchanger 32. In some embodiments, the coolant drive 33 may be adjacent to the second set of through-holes 62 shown in FIG. 3, and the heat exchanger 32 may be adjacent to the first set of through-holes 61 shown in FIG. 3.

In the embodiment according to the present disclosure, the coolant driving device 33 is detachably installed in the heat exchange module 3. Therefore, the coolant driving device 33 can be drawn out of the second chamber 22 with the heat exchanger 32 and the guide assembly 34 held in the second chamber 22. Since the operation and maintenance requirements of the coolant driving device 33 in the heat exchange module 3 are higher than those of the heat exchanger 32, the coolant driving device 33 can be separately drawn out from the cabinet 2 by disposing the coolant driving device 33 above the heat exchanger 32, which facilitates the maintenance of the coolant driving device 33 and shortens the maintenance time of the coolant driving device 33.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, the heat exchange module 3 further comprises a first bracket 30, and the first bracket 30 comprises a first support part 301 and a second support part 302. The first support part 301 and the second support part 302 may be assembled or connected together by welding, bolts or other means for supporting other components of the heat exchange module 3. With the heat exchange module 3 inserted into the second cavity 22, the first support part 301 is located outside the second cavity 22 and supported by the outer frame 23. In this way, the entire weight of the heat exchange module 3 can be reliably supported on the outer frame 23 by the first support portion 301. The second support 302 is used to support some other components of the heat exchange module 3. For example, the heat exchanger 32 and the guide assembly 34 may be disposed on the second support 302.

In one example implementation, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, the heat exchanger 32 and the guide assembly 34 are secured to the second support 302 by fasteners 37. The fastener 37 may be, for example, a U-shaped bead that may utilize bolts to secure the heat exchanger 32 and the guide assembly 34 to the second support 302. It should be understood that the fastener 37 is merely exemplary, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. In other example implementations, the heat exchanger 32 and the guide assembly 34 may be secured to the second support 302 in other ways.

In some embodiments, a side (i.e., a bottom side) of the first support part 301 facing the second cavity 22 is provided with a sealing ring (not shown). In a state where the heat exchange module 3 is inserted into the second cavity 22, the first support portion 301 and the second cavity 22 are sealed by a sealing ring. The sealing ring may comprise, for example, EPDM rubber or other types of sealing materials. Adopt the sealing washer can promote the sealing performance between first supporting part 301 and the second cavity 22, reduce revealing of the first coolant in the second cavity 22.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, a side (i.e., a top side) of the first support part 301 facing away from the second cavity 22 is provided with a display screen 35 for displaying an operation state of the coolant driving device 33. The operating state of the coolant drive device 33 can be observed in real time through the display screen 35, so that the coolant drive device 33 is maintained when the coolant drive device 33 is abnormally operated.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, the heat exchange module 3 further includes a logic control assembly 36 for monitoring and/or controlling the operation state of the coolant driving device 33. The logic control assembly 36 may be supported by the first support part 301, disposed at a side of the first support part 301 facing the second cavity 22. The logic control assembly 36 may be disposed in other locations as well, as embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited in this regard.

In some embodiments, the heat exchange module 3 further comprises one or more sensors (not shown) for detecting the state of the first cooling liquid in the second cavity 22. For example, a conductivity sensor may be used to detect the conductivity of the first cooling liquid, and a temperature sensor may be used to detect the temperature of the first electrolyte. The signals detected by the sensors may be transmitted to the logic control unit 36 to control the operational state of the refrigerant coolant drive 33.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, the heat exchange module 3 further comprises one or more liquid-occupying blocks 38. With the heat exchange module 3 inserted into the second cavity 22, the liquid occupying block 38 can be at least partially immersed in the first cooling liquid in the second cavity 22. In this way, the liquid occupying block 38 can drain the volume of the first cooling liquid in the second cavity 22, so that the liquid level of the first cooling liquid in the second cavity 22 rises, the amount of the first cooling liquid required in the cabinet 2 is reduced, and the overall cost is reduced.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, the coolant drive 33 includes a first drive assembly 331. Fig. 6 shows an exemplary structure of the first driving assembly 331. As shown in fig. 6, the first driving assembly 331 includes a second support 330 and a first circulation pump 333 supported by the second support 330. Referring to fig. 4 to 6, the second bracket 330 is detachably coupled to the first bracket 30. In one example implementation, the second bracket 330 may be fixed to the first bracket 30 by bolts. In another example implementation, the second bracket 330 may be snapped to the first bracket 30 by a snap. In other implementations, the second bracket 330 may be detachably connected to the first bracket 30 in other manners, which are not strictly limited by embodiments of the present disclosure. With this arrangement, with the heat exchange module 3 inserted into the second cavity 22, the first driving assembly 331 can be separately withdrawn from the second cavity 22 for maintenance, as shown in fig. 7.

Referring to fig. 4 to 6, the first circulation pump 333 includes a circulation pump inlet 3331 and a circulation pump outlet 3332. With the second bracket 330 connected to the first bracket 30, the circulation pump outlet 3332 of the first circulation pump 333 will be in communication with the fluid flow passages in the guide assembly 34. Thus, the first circulation pump 333 can drive the first cooling liquid into the liquid flow passage of the guide assembly 34.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 6, the first drive assembly 331 further comprises a filter 334 disposed at the circulation pump inlet 3331 of the first circulation pump 333. The filter 334 may filter the first cooling liquid entering the first circulation pump 333 to prevent impurities from entering the inside of the pump body to damage the first circulation pump 333.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 6, the second bracket 330 includes a third support portion 3301 and a fourth support portion 3302. Referring to fig. 4 to 6, the third support part 3301 is detachably coupled to the first support part 301, and the first circulation pump 333 is supported by the fourth support part 3302. The third support part 3301 may be connected to the first support part 301 by a bolt, a snap, or other structure.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 6, a side (top side) of the third support part 3301 facing away from the first circulation pump 333 is provided with a handle 335. In the case that the third supporting part 3301 is not connected to the first connecting part 301, the first driving assembly 331 can be easily separately withdrawn from the second cavity 22 by the handle 335, as shown in fig. 7. In the case that the third support part 3301 is connected to the first connection part 301, the heat exchange module 3 can be easily integrally withdrawn from the second cavity 22 by the handle 335, as shown in fig. 2.

As shown in fig. 6, one or more electrical connectors 336 may be further disposed on a side of the third supporting portion 3301 facing away from the first circulation pump 333, and power supply and control to the first circulation pump 333 may be realized through the electrical connectors 336.

In some embodiments, in conjunction with fig. 4 to 6, the fourth support part 3302 includes a first inclined portion 3303 inclined with respect to the drawing direction X (e.g., a vertical direction in fig. 5) of the first driving assembly 331, and the circulation pump outlet 3332 of the first circulation pump 333 is disposed at the first inclined portion 3303. Accordingly, the guide assembly 34 comprises a second inclined portion 3411 inclined with respect to the extraction direction X. In the state where the third support part 3301 is coupled to the first support part 301, the second inclined portion 3411 abuts the first inclined portion 3303, thereby achieving communication of the circulation pump outlet 3332 of the first circulation pump 333 with the liquid flow passage in the guide assembly 34. By providing the first 3303 and second 3411 inclined portions, on the one hand, a precise positioning of the first drive component 331 upon insertion can be ensured and, on the other hand, a reliable communication of the circulation pump outlet 3332 of the first circulation pump 333 with the liquid flow path in the guide component 34 can be ensured.

In some embodiments, sealing rings may be provided at the circulation pump outlet 3332 of the first circulation pump 333 and at the inlet of the liquid flow passage in the guide assembly 34 to promote sealing therebetween to ensure that the first circulation pump 333 can reliably drive the first cooling liquid into the heat exchanger 32.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, the coolant drive 33 further includes a second drive assembly 332. The second driving unit 332 is disposed side by side with the first driving unit 331, and has a similar structure to the first driving unit 331. For example, the second drive assembly 332 may include a third support and a second circulation pump supported by the third support. The structure of the third bracket is similar to that of the second bracket 330, and the structure of the second circulating pump is similar to that of the first circulating pump 333, which will not be described again. The third bracket is detachably connected to the first bracket 30. Thus, similar to the first drive assembly 331, the second drive assembly 332 may also be withdrawn from the second chamber 22 alone or in conjunction with the heat exchanger 32. By providing the redundant second driving assembly 332, in case of a problem in one of the first driving assembly 331 and the second driving assembly 332, the other driving assembly can still operate normally, so as to improve the reliability of the liquid cooling apparatus 100. It should be understood that in other embodiments, the cooling liquid drive 33 may also include more drive components to further alert the liquid-cooled apparatus 100 of redundant performance.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, the guide assembly 34 includes a first guide 341 and second and third guides 342 and 343 disposed above the first guide 341. The liquid flow passage in the second guide 342 communicates with the circulation pump outlet 3332 of the first circulation pump 333. The liquid flow passage in the third guide 343 communicates with the circulating pump outlet of the second circulating pump. The liquid flow passage in the first guide 341 is connected to the heat exchanger 32. The liquid flow passages in the second and third guides 342 and 343 communicate with the liquid flow passages in the first guide 341, respectively. By providing the first guide 341, the second guide 342, and the third guide 343, on the one hand, the first coolant can be reliably guided from the coolant drive device 33 to the heat exchanger 32, and on the other hand, the volume of the first coolant in the second cavity 22 can be drained, so that the liquid level of the first coolant in the second cavity 22 rises, the amount of the first coolant required in the cabinet 2 is reduced, and the overall cost is reduced.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the second inclined portion 3411 described above may be provided on the second and third guides 342 and 343 to be positioned corresponding to the first inclined portions 3303 on the first and second driving assemblies 331 and 332, respectively.

In other embodiments, the guide assembly 34 may have other structures to guide the first cooling liquid from the cooling liquid driving apparatus 33 to the heat exchanger 32, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

As described above, the heat exchanger 32 can cool the first coolant using the second coolant. An exemplary structure of the heat exchanger 32 will be described below with reference to fig. 8. As shown in fig. 8, the heat exchanger 32 is a plate heat exchanger that includes an outer chamber 320 and an inner chamber (not shown) surrounded by the outer chamber 320. The outer chamber 320 comprises a first inlet port 321 for connecting to the liquid flow channel in the guide assembly 34 for receiving the first cooling liquid and a first outlet port 322 for releasing the first cooling liquid from the outer chamber 320 into the second chamber 22. The inner chamber includes a second inlet port 323 and a second outlet port 324, the second inlet port 323 being connected to the inlet pipe 311 in the liquid circulation line 31 to receive the second cooling liquid from the cooling tower, and the second outlet port 324 being connected to the return pipe 312 in the liquid circulation line 31 to return the second cooling liquid to the cooling tower. The first cooling fluid in the outer chamber 320 and the second cooling fluid in the inner chamber are capable of providing cross-flow heat exchange, thereby enhancing the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger 32.

In other embodiments, heat exchanger 32 may be another type of heat exchanger, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the immersion liquid cooling apparatus 100 further includes an elevated support (not shown) disposed below the first chamber 21 and supporting the first chamber 21. By means of the arrangement, a user can match the liquid cooling device with different height-matching supports according to the actual depth requirement of the electronic equipment, so that the using amount of the first cooling liquid can be saved, and the total cost of the liquid cooling device is reduced. In some cases, the elevated support may also support the second cavity 22.

Fig. 9 shows a schematic structural diagram of a liquid cooling system 900 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in fig. 9, the liquid cooling system 900 includes a plurality of submerged liquid cooling devices 100 arranged side by side. Each of the plurality of immersion liquid cooling devices 100 can be any of the immersion liquid cooling devices 100 described in conjunction with fig. 1-8.

No matter in the small, medium or large data center deployment, the user can set the number of the immersion liquid cooling devices 100 according to the business needs, thereby forming business systems of different scales, and bringing a more flexible and efficient immersion liquid cooling system deployment mode for the data center. This also solves the problem of excessive single-fault losses due to the large number of IT devices in a single cabinet. For example, in some usage scenarios of edge computing, the small-sized immersion type liquid cooling apparatus 100 can be deployed in a small amount independently, which brings more application scenarios of miniaturization and flexible deployment.

In addition, when large-scale cluster deployment is performed, the immersed liquid cooling device 100 can be arranged in the data center machine room in advance by presetting the cabinet 2 and the heat exchange module 3 in the data center in advance, and the liquid circulation pipeline 31 is connected with the primary side cooling liquid supply system (such as a cooling tower) and is debugged. Subsequently, when there is a business demand, the user can purchase the IT equipment again, deploy the IT equipment into the first cavity 21 of the cabinet 2, and finally add the first cooling liquid into the first cavity 21, thereby completing the deployment of the whole system. In this way, the deployment time of the data center can be greatly reduced.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a data center deployed in a large-scale cluster, including: a plurality of submerged liquid cooling devices 100, which are pre-arranged in a data center room, wherein each submerged liquid cooling device 100 is not provided with electronic equipment and is not injected with first cooling liquid; and a primary side cooling liquid supply system (e.g., a cooling tower) connected to the liquid circulation line 31 in the heat exchange module 3 of each of the submerged liquid-cooling apparatuses 100 through a liquid delivery line. With this arrangement, the immersion type liquid cooling device 100 and the primary side cooling liquid supply system can be connected and debugged in advance, which facilitates rapid large-scale cluster deployment.

In embodiments according to the present disclosure, the first cavity 21 of the cabinet 2 in the submerged liquid cooling apparatus 100 may be designed with different dimensions, e.g., different depths, for accommodating different sizes of IT equipment, e.g., 4U,8U,12u, etc., where U represents the height unit of IT equipment, 1u =1.75 inch =4.445 cm, 4U =7 inch =17.78 cm, 8U =14 inch =35.56 cm, and 12u =21 inch =53.34 cm. Accordingly, the raised supports may have different dimensions, so that the same set of outer frames 23 may accommodate different first cavities 21. In some embodiments, the height-adjustable bracket may also be a height-adjustable bracket.

For example, the depth of a general computing server is 600mm, the depth of a storage server is 800mm, and the depth of the first cavity 21 can be adjusted by the cabinet 2 through a height-matching bracket at the bottom; by designing the first cavity 21 with different depths, the amount of the first cooling liquid used can be significantly reduced.

The embodiment of the disclosure provides a liquid cooling system design of an internal integrated heat exchanger, which efficiently realizes self-circulation cooling of IT equipment such as servers and switches arranged in the liquid cooling system design, reduces investment and overall operation cost of a data center, enables the overall power supply use efficiency (PUE) of the data center to be controlled below 1.1, and can save energy. In addition, the cooling liquid driving device is arranged above the heat exchanger, so that the cooling liquid driving device can be independently drawn out of the cabinet, the maintenance of the cooling liquid driving device is facilitated, and the maintenance time of the cooling liquid driving device is shortened.

The foregoing description of the embodiments of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein is chosen in order to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application, or improvements made to the technology in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims (20)

1. An immersion liquid cooling apparatus (100), comprising:

the cooling system comprises a cabinet (2), wherein the cabinet (2) comprises a first cavity (21) and a second cavity (22) integrated on a side wall (211) of the first cavity (21), the first cavity (21) is used for accommodating electronic equipment to be cooled, and a through hole (6) for circulating first cooling liquid between the first cavity (21) and the second cavity (22) is formed in the side wall (211); and

-a heat exchange module (3) adapted to be inserted into the second cavity (22) via an opening (221) in the second cavity (22), the heat exchange module (3) comprising a heat exchanger (32) for receiving a second cooling liquid via a liquid circulation line (31) and cooling the first cooling liquid with the second cooling liquid, a cooling liquid driving device (33) for driving the first cooling liquid to circulate between the second cavity (22) and the first cavity (21), and a guiding assembly (34) comprising a liquid flow passage for guiding the first cooling liquid from the cooling liquid driving device (33) to the heat exchanger (32), wherein in case the heat exchange module (3) is inserted into the second cavity (22), the cooling liquid driving device (33) is closer to the opening (221) of the second cavity (22) than the heat exchanger (32), and the cooling liquid driving device (33) is able to be withdrawn from the second cavity (22) in case the heat exchanger (32) and the guiding assembly (34).

2. The immersion liquid cooling device (100) of claim 1, wherein the heat exchange module (3) further comprises a first bracket (30), the heat exchanger (32) and the guide assembly (34) being supported by the first bracket (30), and wherein

The cooling liquid driving apparatus (33) includes a first driving assembly (331), the first driving assembly (331) including a second bracket (330) and a first circulation pump (333) supported by the second bracket (330), the second bracket (330) being detachably connected to the first bracket (30), wherein a circulation pump outlet (3332) of the first circulation pump (333) communicates with a liquid flow passage in the guide assembly (34) in a state where the second bracket (330) is connected to the first bracket (30).

3. The immersion liquid cooling apparatus (100) of claim 2, wherein the first support (30) comprises a first support (301) and a second support (302), the second support (330) is detachably connected to the first support (301), the heat exchanger (32) and the guide assembly (34) are supported by the second support (302), and wherein the first support (301) is located outside the second chamber (22) with the heat exchange module (3) inserted into the second chamber (22).

4. The immersion liquid cooling device (100) of claim 3, wherein a side of the first support (301) facing the second chamber (22) is provided with a sealing ring, wherein the first support (301) and the second chamber (22) are sealed by the sealing ring when the heat exchange module (3) is inserted into the second chamber (22).

5. The immersion liquid cooling apparatus (100) of claim 3, wherein a display screen (35) is provided on a side of the first support (301) facing away from the second chamber (22) for displaying an operating state of the coolant drive (33).

6. The immersion liquid cooling device (100) of claim 3, wherein the heat exchanger (32) and the guide assembly (34) are secured to the second support portion (302) by fasteners (37).

7. The immersion liquid cooling apparatus (100) of claim 3, wherein the second bracket (330) includes a third support (3301) and a fourth support (3302), the third support (3301) being detachably connected to the first support (301), and the first circulation pump (333) being supported by the fourth support (3302).

8. The immersion liquid cooling device (100) of claim 7, wherein a handle (335) is provided on a side of the third support portion (3301) facing away from the first circulation pump (333).

9. The immersion liquid cooling device (100) of claim 7, wherein the fourth support portion (3302) includes a first inclined portion (3303) that is inclined with respect to a withdrawal direction of the first drive assembly (331), a circulation pump outlet (3332) of the first circulation pump (333) is disposed at the first inclined portion (3303), and

the guide assembly (34) includes a second inclined portion (3411) inclined with respect to the withdrawal direction, wherein the second inclined portion (3411) abuts the first inclined portion (3303) in a state where the third support portion (3301) is coupled to the first support portion (301).

10. The immersion liquid cooling device (100) of claim 2, wherein the first drive assembly (331) further comprises a filter (334) disposed at a circulation pump inlet (3331) of the first circulation pump (333).

11. The immersion liquid cooling apparatus (100) of claim 2, wherein the coolant drive (33) further comprises a second drive assembly (332), the second drive assembly (332) comprising a third bracket and a second circulation pump supported by the third bracket, the third bracket being removably connected to the first bracket (30).

12. The immersion liquid cooling device (100) of claim 11, wherein the guide assembly (34) includes a first guide (341) and second (342) and third (343) guides disposed above the first guide (341), a liquid flow passage in the second guide (342) communicating with a circulation pump outlet (3332) of the first circulation pump (333), a liquid flow passage in the third guide (343) communicating with a circulation pump outlet of the second circulation pump, the liquid flow passage in the first guide (341) being connected to the heat exchanger (32).

13. The submerged liquid cooling apparatus (100) of claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger (32) is a plate heat exchanger comprising an outer chamber (320) and an inner chamber surrounded by the outer chamber (320),

the outer chamber (320) comprises a first inlet port (321) and a first outlet port (322), the first inlet port (321) being connected to a liquid flow passage in the guide assembly (34) for receiving the first cooling liquid, the first outlet port (322) being for releasing the first cooling liquid from the outer chamber (320) into the second chamber (22), and

the inner cavity comprises a second liquid inlet (323) and a second liquid outlet (324), the second liquid inlet (323) is connected to a liquid inlet pipe (311) in the liquid circulation pipeline (31) to receive the second cooling liquid, and the second liquid outlet (324) is connected to a liquid return pipe (312) in the liquid circulation pipeline (31).

14. The immersion liquid cooling device (100) of claim 1, wherein the through-holes (6) comprise a first set of through-holes (61) and a second set of through-holes (62), the second set of through-holes (62) being closer to the opening (221) of the second cavity (22) than the first set of through-holes (61), wherein the coolant driving device (33) is closer to the second set of through-holes (62) and the heat exchanger (32) is closer to the first set of through-holes (61) with the heat exchange module (3) inserted into the second cavity (22).

15. The immersion liquid cooling device (100) of claim 1, wherein the heat exchange module (3) further comprises a liquid occupying block (38), wherein the liquid occupying block (38) is at least partially submersible in the first cooling liquid in the second cavity (22) with the heat exchange module (3) inserted into the second cavity (22).

16. The immersion liquid cooling device (100) of claim 1, wherein the cabinet (2) further comprises an outer frame (23) and a top cover (24), the outer frame (23) being disposed around the first cavity (21) and the second cavity (22), the top cover (24) being rotatably connected to the outer frame (23) and being switchable between a closed state closing the first cavity (21) and an open state opening the first cavity (21).

17. The immersion liquid cooling device (100) of claim 16, wherein a side of the top cover (24) facing the first chamber (21) is provided with a sealing ring, wherein the top cover (24) is sealed from the first chamber (21) by the sealing ring when the top cover (24) is in the closed state.

18. The immersion liquid cooling device (100) of claim 16, wherein the cabinet (2) further comprises a hydraulic drive connected between the outer frame (23) and the top cover (24) for driving the top cover (24) between the closed state and the open state.

19. The immersion liquid cooling device (100) of claim 1, wherein the first cooling liquid comprises a fluorinated liquid or a mineral oil and/or the second cooling liquid comprises deionized water.

20. A liquid cooling system (900) comprising a plurality of submerged liquid cooling devices (100) arranged side by side, wherein each submerged liquid cooling device (100) of the plurality of submerged liquid cooling devices (100) is a submerged liquid cooling device (100) according to any of claims 1 to 19.

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