Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
  • H05K7/00—Constructional details common to different types of electric apparatus
  • H05K7/20—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating
  • H05K7/20709—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating for server racks or cabinets; for data centers, e.g. 19-inch computer racks
  • H05K7/208—Liquid cooling with phase change
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
  • H05K7/00—Constructional details common to different types of electric apparatus
  • H05K7/20—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating
  • H05K7/20709—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating for server racks or cabinets; for data centers, e.g. 19-inch computer racks
  • H05K7/20718—Forced ventilation of a gaseous coolant
  • H05K7/20727—Forced ventilation of a gaseous coolant within server blades for removing heat from heat source
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
  • H05K7/00—Constructional details common to different types of electric apparatus
  • H05K7/20—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating
  • H05K7/20709—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating for server racks or cabinets; for data centers, e.g. 19-inch computer racks
  • H05K7/20718—Forced ventilation of a gaseous coolant
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
  • H05K7/00—Constructional details common to different types of electric apparatus
  • H05K7/20—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating
  • H05K7/20709—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating for server racks or cabinets; for data centers, e.g. 19-inch computer racks
  • H05K7/20836—Thermal management, e.g. server temperature control
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
  • Y02E60/14—Thermal energy storage

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the field of computer servers in data centers (or “datacenters” in English), and more particularly to the thermal management of said computer servers, in particular their cooling, among other things by the use of 'a phase change material.
• Data centers or data centers are generally a building or a space within a building, dedicated to housing computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems.
• a data center generally includes redundant or backup components and infrastructure for power supply, data communication connections , environmental controls (e.g., air conditioning, fire suppression), and various safety features.
• environmental controls e.g., air conditioning, fire suppression
• a data center must be operational 24 hours a day, its operation therefore results in the consumption of large quantities of electrical and/or thermal energy.
• Thermal energy consumption means that it is necessary to use energy to regulate the temperature of computer servers and/or the data center, for example by ensuring that the air entering computer servers is cooled by electrically powered air conditioning systems. This temperature regulation is mandatory to guarantee the proper functioning of the data center and its components, whatever the country, whether in a temperate or tropical zone.
• the air conditioning systems are configured to cool the ambient air and circulate it through the servers, generally from the front to the rear of said server, to thus cool the components housed in the server.
• ventilation means are generally placed at the rear of the servers.
• these means of ventilation present electricity consumption and maintenance costs (breakdowns, changing filters, etc.) which are far from negligible.
• renewable electrical energy sources generally intermittent, such as photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, etc.
• this electrical storage solution per battery is expensive and can present electrical and fire risks for high-power installations.
• phase change material configured to exchange thermally with at least one of the components of said server
• the cooling device therefore allows simple and rapid thermal management of the components of a server, by storing thermal energy generated by said components in a phase change material, as well as deferred management over time. thermal energy thus stored in said material, for example during periods when this management of calories is more ecological and/or less expensive.
• the phase change material is configured to exchange heat directly with one or more components of the computer server, that is to say that the transfer of heat from the component of the server to be cooled to the material to be cooled Phase change occurs mainly by conduction.
• the phase change material can thus be directly in contact with the component(s) or via one or more thermally conductive intermediate elements (for example a heat exchanger, thermal paste, a sole, etc.) .
• phase change material can also exchange heat indirectly with one or more components of said server.
• indirect heat exchange is meant the fact that the heat transfer between a component and the phase change material takes place via a fluid, such as a gas (for example air ), or a liquid (e.g. water).
• each rack generally includes storage components (or hard drives), as well as one or more hubs (or concentrators) and/or network switches.
• each rack is associated with a cooling device according to the invention allows optimized and personalized thermal management of the components of the rack, thus making it possible to improve the lifespan of said components and/or to minimize the electrical energy consumed for cool a computer server rack and its components.
• the device comprises at least one source of renewable electrical energy, such as a solar panel, a wind turbine, etc., configured to supply electricity to the elements of said device, such as said heat transfer fluid circuit and its sub-elements.
• a source of renewable electrical energy such as a solar panel, a wind turbine, etc.
• the device comprises an electronic control unit configured to control the release of the heat stored in the phase change material, for example so that the release is a function of the quantity of energy available from of a renewable electrical energy source and/or the price of energy.
• the heat release, controlled by said unit is advantageously deferred, that is to say that the moment when the phase change material stores heat and the moment when this heat is evacuated or destocked are distinct and independent moments, for example ensuring that destocking is a function of the quantity of electricity coming from a renewable electrical energy source and/or the price of electricity, thus making it possible to make the cooling of servers more ecological and/or more economical.
• the invention therefore makes it possible to defer the use of energy for cooling the phase change material to the most appropriate time. It is thus possible to cool the phase change material, and therefore store frigories, when electricity prices are the most advantageous, for example at night, and thus use the stored frigories to eliminate or at least reduce electricity consumption by day (time when electricity prices are generally higher).
• the heat transfer fluid circuit is thermally coupled to a “heat pump” type circuit or to a refrigeration system.
• the heat transfer fluid circuit is configured to be connected to a cold source which allows the release of the heat stored in the phase change material.
• the “heat pump” type circuit or a refrigeration system are generally systems requiring electricity to operate.
• the device comprises a ventilation unit configured to circulate a flow of air through said server to the phase change material.
• the heat exchanger [0029] According to another possible characteristic of the second mode, the heat exchanger:
• all the exothermic elements of the rack are mounted directly on the units of cooling containing phase change material and/or heat transfer fluid conduit.
• the invention also relates to the use of cold sources to optimize the “recharge” (generally solidification by cooling) of phase change materials as a function of the presence of the intermittent energy collected. In the event of prolonged absence, the cooling device will be powered directly by the network (“mains”).
• the PCM can advantageously be cooled and resolidified around 15°C (non-limiting) to at the same time condense and eliminate any excess humidity in the cooling air flow, but without limitations for other climatic conditions (from desert to pole).
• any refrigerant fluid to cool the phase change material including a network of refrigerated water (or any other gas or liquid) coming from a heat pump, or any other means of refrigeration including the Peltier effect.
• FIG. 1 illustrates a very schematic view of a cooling device according to the invention intended for the thermal regulation of at least a waiter ;
• FIG. 2 illustrates a very schematic view of a cooling device according to a variant embodiment of the invention
• FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic and partial view of a cooling unit of a cooling device according to one embodiment
• FIG. 4 illustrates a very schematic view of a cooling device according to another alternative embodiment of the invention
• FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic and perspective view of a heat exchanger of the cooling unit of Figure 4;
• FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic and cross-sectional view of the heat exchanger of Figure 4.
• FIG. 1 is thus a very schematic and partial representation of a cooling device 1 according to a first embodiment intended to cool at least one server S or group of computer servers (servers which may include one or more "racks") for a data center.
• the device 1 according to the invention can be adapted to cool each server S and/or collectively cool a set of servers without limitation on the number of servers.
• Said device 1 comprises at least one cooling unit 2, as well as a ventilation unit V configured to circulate an air flow F through said at least one server S to the cooling unit 2 .
• the ventilation unit V comprises for example one or more fans and/or a motor-fan group, including at least one fan arranged so as to suck air through said at least one server S, for example in being arranged at the rear of said at least one server S.
• the ventilation unit V can also include one or more electric batteries to power the fan(s) and/or motor-fan groups, particularly during possible power outages and /or to use electricity previously produced and stored at a lower cost (or more ecological).
• Said cooling device 1 thus comprises:
• phase change material configured to exchange thermally (here via the air flow F) with at least one of the components of said at least server S;
• Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which the device 1 comprises the thermal cooling unit 2 which houses the heat exchanger 7 connected to the heat transfer fluid circuit 3, as well as the phase change material 5.
• Said device 1 being configured, on the one hand, to cool at least one component of said server S, by storing the heat generated by one of said components of the server S in the phase change material 5, and on the other hand, to release the heat stored in the phase change material 5 via said heat exchanger 7 (and via the heat transfer fluid circuit 3).
• the heat transfer is here carried out by means of the air flow F passing through the server S, the latter giving up calories to the air flow F (therefore heating it), then said air flow F giving up its calories via the exchanger 7 to the phase change material 5.
• phase change material 5 is a material capable of changing physical state within a restricted temperature range (latent heat). and to store and release calories by this means.
• Said phase change material 5 advantageously has a melting temperature of between -10°C and 25°C (this for energy storage), and preferably between -5°C and 20°C, and even more preferably between 12°C and 18°C or 18°C and 28°C in the case of direct cooling detailed below.
• FIG. 2 illustrates a very schematic and partial view of a variant embodiment of the cooling device 1, in which the cooling unit 2 has substantially the shape of a column in which the connected heat exchanger 7 is housed to the heat transfer fluid circuit 3, as well as the phase change material 5.
• the device 1 may include one or more cooling units 2.
• Said cooling unit 2 is thus configured so that the air flow F coming from the ventilation unit V is channeled through the cooling unit 2, the air flow being cooled by its passage through the column of the cooling unit 2 is then discharged into the ambient air of the building and/or the server room, or channeled (directly) towards the air inlets of one or more computer servers. Note that the air flow coming from the ventilation unit V circulates preferentially in the cooling unit 2 from top to bottom.
• the heat exchanger 7 comprises two extruded aluminum profiles 110 and 120 arranged concentrically with respect to each other.
• Each of the profiles has, for example, circular, square, rectangular sections, etc.
• the first extruded profile, respectively the first structure 110 comprises, arranged in its center, the conduit 110a of the heat transfer fluid.
• certain fins 111 of the first structure 110 and the internal fins 122 are configured to cooperate with each other to guarantee a constant spacing between said structures 110 and 120, as well as good mechanical strength of the together.
• the sheath 21 more particularly surrounds said at least one exchanger 7 so that there is a space between the internal surface of the sheath 21 and the second structure 120 of said exchanger 7, the space thus formed defining a conduit for the thermal regulation fluid F, such as air, and making it possible to channel it and maximize the thermal exchanges between the air flow F and the exchanger 7.
• the thermal regulation fluid F such as air
• the outer perimeter defined by the external fins 121 has a geometric shape, such as a square or more generally rectangular shape, thus facilitating the manufacture of a sheath 21 which fits onto the exchanger 7 .
• the device 1 advantageously comprises at least one source of renewable electrical energy, such as a solar panel, a wind turbine, etc., configured to supply electricity the elements of said device 1, such as said heat transfer fluid circuit 3 and its sub-elements.
• a source of renewable electrical energy such as a solar panel, a wind turbine, etc.
• the device comprises an electronic control unit configured to control the release of the heat stored in the phase change material, for example so that the release is a function of the quantity of energy available from a source. renewable electrical energy and/or the price of energy.
• phase change material 5 is configured to exchange thermally directly with one or more components of the computer server S, that is to say that the heat transfer from the component of the server S to the phase change material 5 takes place mainly by conduction.
• phase change material 5 can thus be directly in contact with the component(s) or via one or more thermally conductive intermediate elements (for example a heat exchanger, thermal paste, a sole , etc.).
• thermally conductive intermediate elements for example a heat exchanger, thermal paste, a sole , etc.
• phase change material 5 is always advantageously housed in a heat exchanger connected to the heat transfer fluid circuit 3.
• a second structure surrounding the first structure, in contact with one or more components of the server, and which is configured to cool (by thermal transfer to the phase change material) the component(s) of the server.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Thermal Sciences (AREA)
• Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
• Cooling Or The Like Of Electrical Apparatus (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=87974658

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Families Citing this family (1)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 2023
  • 2023-09-01 JP JP2025507102A patent/JP7850341B2/ja active Active
  • 2023-09-01 CA CA3265979A patent/CA3265979A1/en active Pending
  • 2023-09-01 EP EP23767832.1A patent/EP4581913A1/de active Pending
  • 2023-09-01 AU AU2023332227A patent/AU2023332227A1/en active Pending
  • 2023-09-01 CN CN202380062356.5A patent/CN119896049A/zh active Pending
  • 2023-09-01 WO PCT/EP2023/074097 patent/WO2024047252A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2023-09-01 US US19/103,756 patent/US20260040501A1/en active Pending

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events