RU216342U1 - PUMP MODULE FOR LIQUID COOLING OF ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT AND COMPONENTS - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to equipment for cooling electronic components, in particular to a pump module for liquid cooling of electronic components and electrical appliances. The pump module for the device for liquid cooling of electronic components is made in the form of an independent module and contains two circulation pumps connected in parallel, and the pump module housing is equipped with nozzles in the form of quick-release hydraulic connections communicating with the pumps for connecting the pumps in a fluid medium with nozzles of the circulation circuit of the cooling liquid of the device liquid cooling.

Description

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The utility model relates to equipment for cooling electronic components, in particular to a pump module for a device for liquid cooling of electronic components and electrical devices, in particular by immersing them in a liquid dielectric cooling medium, and can be used to create a given thermally stable environment for various electronic components in areas of computer technology, electronics, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, as well as thermal engineering and household appliances to optimize the liquid circulation modes in any circulation circuit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The air cooling system is the most widespread in cooling computer devices. However, an increase in the density of electronic components in relation to the volume of the device, as well as an increase in the specific heat release of the components, recognized by an increase in the speed of calculations, revealed the inefficiency of using air as a medium with low heat capacity for cooling, since in this case a significant increase in energy consumption is required to ensure high air velocity. flow to remove the generated heat and penetrate into the space of a computer or server densely loaded with electronic components. This is accompanied by a significant noise of ventilation devices, electrification of electronic components and boards, as well as accumulation of dust in narrow channels or in areas with a drop in flow rate, etc. In addition, in the case of air cooling, effective heat removal from the components of the electronic device is provided only along the orientation of the intense air flow, while the directions transverse to it are not effectively blown by the air flow.

Also known is the method of direct liquid cooling of heat-generating electronic components of computer devices. The supply of coolant to electronic components and its removal from them is carried out through pipelines according to the topology of distribution in a computer device of elements with maximum heat release, such as, for example, a processor, memory, power supply, etc. The efficiency of such cooling is much higher than with air cooling due to the many times higher heat capacity of the liquid compared to air. At the same time, there is practically no noise, electrization of computer elements, and the accumulation of dust on the electronic devices of the boards is also prevented.

However, any change in the spatial arrangement of fuel elements, carried out in connection with the need to upgrade the system or its reconstruction, requires a change in the design, configuration and dimensions of the pipelines supplying and discharging liquid refrigerant, and this is possible only after the preliminary design of such pipelines and their industrial or industrial production.

The most technologically advanced, efficient, noiseless and convenient for carrying out any reconstruction of cooled computer devices within a certain volume is a device for immersion cooling (UIMO) of electrical devices, electronic devices and components, which provides for immersion of the cooled components in a circulating dielectric liquid cooled separately through a heat exchanger.

A device for direct liquid cooling of electronic components RU 2695089 [1], which can be selected as a prototype. A known device for direct liquid cooling of electronic components contains a reservoir-bath, made with the possibility of placing in it a removable rack with electronic components placed on it to be cooled.

At the same time, the design of the device ensures the formation of parallel vertical flows of dielectric coolant between electronic components, thereby providing cooling and maintaining a given thermally stable environment for electronic components. The removable rack is made with dielectric partitions integrated into it, installed to ensure the separation of parallel flows of the dielectric refrigerant and functional zones inside the tank.

The dielectric refrigerant moving upwards in parallel flows between electronic components enters the tank through at least one nozzle located at the bottom of the rack at the bottom of the tank, the nozzle or nozzles being located opposite the guide holes of the horizontal panel separating the top and bottom sections of the rack .

Directly as part of the heat exchange module, a pump is provided, which is connected to the specified at least one nozzle through the inlet pipeline of the tank-bath and produces a continuous supply of the dielectric refrigerant, thereby ensuring the rise of the dielectric refrigerant upwards with its passage through the electronic components placed on the rack and overflow dielectric refrigerant through the outer dielectric partition of the rack frame into the overflow zone located between the outer dielectric partition on the rack frame and the tank wall.

An outlet pipeline is located in the overflow zone, the neck or necks of which are configured to receive the entire refrigerant flow overflowing through the outer dielectric partition of the rack frame.

The known device also provides a heat exchanger, which is part of the "heat exchange module", which also contains a pump, and is connected to the tank using a leak-proof quick coupling, providing connection to the inlet pipeline of the direct flow and the outlet pipeline of the return flow of the liquid refrigerant in the tank.

The outlet pipeline of the tank is connected to the outlet of the overflow zone to remove the dielectric coolant by means of a pump from the tank to the heat exchanger for its cooling and subsequent return to the tank.

The refrigerant flow through the pump follows through the primary circuit of the heat exchanger, transferring heat to the secondary circuit. The secondary circuit, in turn, is connected by means of a hermetic connection, in particular a quick coupling, to the pipelines of the heat recovery system. Each of the circuits can be equipped with an individual pump for pumping coolant.

UIMO is also equipped with a controller. The controller implements temperature monitoring of the dielectric refrigerant through temperature sensors in order to determine the temperature difference in the system and regulate the flow of the dielectric refrigerant through the electronic components to maintain a given thermally stable environment.

The known device has the following disadvantages.

A replaceable “heat exchange module”, which includes a heat exchanger and a pump, in case of pump dysfunction, allows you to quickly replace it with a new one only due to a temporary disruption of the entire device for cooling electronic components by interrupting the circulation and stopping the cooling of the coolant itself due to the disconnection of the pump from the device in the form of a module together with the heat exchanger included in its composition.

However, the most important and expensive components of the known "heat exchange module", such as a pump and a heat exchanger, have different working life, which differs several times, namely, the operational life of the pump is several times lower than that of the heat exchanger. Therefore, replacing the entire module every time when only the pump fails is irrational, material-intensive and costly, since the new module must contain both a new pump and a new heat exchanger, the cost of which is comparable to the cost of the pump. Frequent replacement of such a module leads to significant technological downtime and material costs. In addition, due to the disconnection from the device, along with the pump, the heat exchanger also makes the use of an emergency circulation pump inefficient due to the lack of a heat exchanger during the replacement of the module in UIMO, which is necessary for cooling the heated refrigerant. In addition, the reliability of such a system will be determined by the reliability of the component with the lowest service life. The presence of only one pump in such a module also leads to more frequent interruptions in the operation of the UIMO in the event of a pump failure and an increase in material costs.

An immersion cooler, due to its operation as a part of electronic devices of increased importance and significance, such as, for example, server computer devices, must be a highly reliable system and, at the same time, adapt in its operating modes to the actual heat dissipation of the cooled electronic components, compensating, for example, peak heat dissipation of electronic elements, such as, in particular, processors, when they are 100% loaded with complex calculations, as well as switching to energy-saving cooling modes in case of a decrease in heat dissipation of electronic components with a decrease in the intensity of the computing load of these computers or servers. However, the presence of only one pump in the immersion cooling device (hereinafter referred to as UIMO) with insufficient pump power does not allow compensating for peak heat releases of cooled electronic components, and with excess pump power leads to additional material costs both for its purchase and for operation. In addition, operation at maximum power further reduces the life of the pump.

In addition, in the case of such a design of the UIMO, when replacing a single pump of structural elements in the form of a “heat exchange module”, the circulation of the coolant temporarily stops, and since the peak heat release in the cooled electronic components due to the computational process being performed is not predictable when solving the tasks, this peak heat generation can coincide in time with the time interval for stopping the circulation of the coolant when replacing the pump, which can lead to overheating of electronic components and their failure, which is unacceptable from the point of view of reliability.

To increase the durability and reliability of computer devices, controlled (managed) cooling of electronic components is necessary.

Improving the durability and reliability of UIMO, like any technical system, is primarily associated with the ability to quickly and timely replace worn parts of the system, which have a reduced time resource of their work as part of the entire system, with new ones.

In an immersion cooling device, it is the circulation pump that contains the moving components and is therefore the most rapidly worn component of the UIMO. With long-term continuous or periodic operation of the UIMO, for example, for months and even years, the pump manifests itself as the least durable part of the device and therefore, if it fails, it must be replaced with a new one without prejudice to the cooling of the working electronic components of the devices.

Thus, the problem of increasing the durability and reliability of the UIMO as a whole and reducing its operating costs is topical.

These disadvantages of the prototype [1] are proposed to be eliminated using a "pump module" according to the proposed utility model.

DISCLOSURE OF THE ESSENCE OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The technical result of the proposed utility model is to increase the durability and reliability of the liquid cooling device, reduce its operating costs, including through intelligent control of the circulation circuit pumps.

The specified technical result is achieved by a pump module for a liquid cooling device (LCD) of electronic components, which is made in the form of a quick-change autonomous module and contains two circulation pumps (pump group) connected in parallel, and the pump module is equipped with branch pipes in the form of quick-disconnect hydraulic connections communicating with the circulation pumps , to connect the pumps of the pumping module for fluid medium with the branch pipes of the circulation circuit of the cooling liquid of the UZHO.

Preferably, the pumps of the module are designed to operate alternately or simultaneously, in particular under the control of a controller, such as an RCD controller, or by means of controls located on the pump module or directly on the pumps themselves.

In one embodiment, the pump module is provided with a quick connector for the pump power line and/or an electrical signal line, through which the pumps are controlled by the liquid cooler controller. In this case, the power supply of the pumps can be provided both from a power source located in the RCD, and an autonomous power source, for example, through batteries located on the pump module.

In one embodiment, the nozzles of the pump module are equipped with sensors for measuring the values of the operating parameters of the coolant and, if necessary, circulation pumps and transmitting them to the controller that controls the operation of the pumps of the pump module, taking into account data from the measuring sensors.

The sensors may in particular be designed to measure the parameters of the circulation flow, such as the temperature and flow of the coolant, the operating frequency of the pump, and others. Information about the parameters of the fluid flow can be transmitted remotely or via an electric signal line, in particular, to the UZHO controller, which, based on the information received, regulates the operating modes of the circulation pumps, which allows, for example, turning on or off individual pumps, setting the frequency of their operation, in particular ensure their alternating or simultaneous (parallel) mode of operation. In the case of "smart" pumps, the operating frequency of the pumps and their performance (liquid flow) can be regulated by the controller.

Thus, the replaceable pumping module according to the utility model contains only the pumping group of the circulation circuit and does not contain a heat exchanger, which remains placed in the RCD. This, in particular, makes it possible to ensure the prompt replacement of a failed circulation pump or pump group by replacing a replaceable pump module without the need to replace a heat exchanger that has a significantly longer service life.

In one embodiment, the pump module is provided with a quick connector for the power supply line and/or the electrical signal line, which controls the operation of the pumps of the pump module using a controller located in the RCD.

In one embodiment, the average duration of operation of each of the pumps of the pumping group in the alternating mode is essentially the same. In the context of the present utility model, the term "essentially" means that the difference in the values of the compared values or the deviation of the value indicated after the concept "essentially" does not exceed 10%.

The pump module according to the present utility model allows you to quickly, without leakage of coolant, replace a worn-out circulation pump with a new one, including without stopping the cooling of electronic components, thanks to the continuous operation of the heat exchanger located in the RCD using, if necessary, the emergency pump module located in the RCD, including when disconnecting the pump module according to the present utility model from the RCD when replacing it, without the need to simultaneously replace the heat exchanger, which has a longer service life.

In order to ensure maximum efficiency of the UZHO, it is desirable to use two pump modules according to the present utility model for its configuration, operating in the following modes, which are implemented using the controller:

two pumps located in the pumping module operate alternately at a predetermined interval, for example, controlled by the controller, maintaining continuous circulation of the coolant during the planned regular heat dissipation of electronic components during standard computing actions of computers or servers, and thus providing almost double the time resource both pumps and the pump module as a whole. This provides an increase in the durability and reliability of the UZhO due to the alternating operation of its pumps and essentially a twofold increase in its service life. At the same time, in the event of a failure of one of the pumps, it is possible to ensure circulation by means of a running pump up to the replacement of the pump module (redundancy);

if the cooled components perform computational operations at the limit or close to the limit of the computing power of their processors, accompanied by increased heat generation, both pumps located in the pump module, at the signal of, for example, the controller, are put into operation in parallel, increasing the flow of circulation of the coolant and providing, thereby thereby, the removal of additionally released heat from electronic components. Connecting two pumps at the same time makes it possible to remove temporary peak heat generation on electronic components using pumps of reduced power compared, for example, with one constantly operating high power pump, which provides heat removal both during low-intensity operation of electronic devices and during peak heat generation on electronic components. At the same time, an increase in the durability and reliability of the UZhO operation, as well as a reduction in operating costs, is ensured;

at the time of replacement of pump modules, for example, failed ones, if necessary, at the signal of the controller or manually using the controls located on the pump module, an additional “emergency” pump module of the UZhO can be put into operation, made in accordance with this utility model and providing continuous circulation of the coolant without interrupting the operation of the cooled electronic components of the devices, which increases the reliability of the operation of the RCD and the cooled electronic equipment.

The proposed utility model allows to increase the durability and reliability of the UIMO and reduce operating costs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 shows a General diagram in a longitudinal section of the proposed pump module.

Figure 2 shows a diagram of the possible location of the proposed pump module and emergency pump module on the tank body UIMO.

IMPLEMENTATION OF UTILITY MODEL

The pump module for a liquid cooling device, in particular an immersion cooling device (UIMO), consists of a platform or structural frame, which is a housing 1 of the pump module (figure 1), on which a group of two circulation pumps 2 connected in parallel is mounted, inlet pipes 3 and outlet pipes 4 for supplying coolant (refrigerant) to the pump module and its removal from the module, communicating with the pumps 2 of the pump module through the fluid, which is the working medium of the pumps. Branch pipes 3, 4 are made in the form of quick couplings (BRS), providing, when the pump module 8 is connected to the UIMO body 7 (Fig. 2), the fluid connection of the pumps 2 of the module with the outlet pipe 10 of the tank-bath located on the UIMO body 7 and the inlet pipe 11 pipelines of the UIMO coolant circulation circuit and virtually eliminating the leakage of liquid when they are disconnected and connected. On the body 1 of the module can also be placed a quick connector 5 for the power supply line of the pump and, if necessary, a quick connector 6 for an electrical signal line designed, for example, to transmit signals about the state of the circulating fluid from sensors (not shown) to the one located in the UIMO controller (not shown) and control signals for pumps 2 and other possible components of the plug-in module from the UIMO controller. Thus, the pump module 8 is made in the form of an independent quick-change module, connected to the UIMO by means of a quick coupling.

The pump module 8 also preferably contains sensors (not shown), located, in particular, on the nozzles and measuring the operating parameters of the pumps 2, in particular the parameters of the circulating liquid, and transmitting these parameters by wire, for example, via an electrical signal line, or wirelessly to the UIMO controller to control the operation of the pumps 2 of the pump module, taking into account the measurement data received from the sensors. The measured operating parameters of the pumps can be the amount of coolant (refrigerant) flow rate, coolant temperature, actual pump power, pump operating frequency, etc.

The pumps 2 of the pump module under the control of the controller located in the UIMO, or manually, for example, by means of the controls located on the pump module, operate alternately or simultaneously, depending on the required intensity of cooling of the electronic components placed in the UIMO. The UIMO controller can also control, if necessary, any of the operating parameters of the pumps 2 by means of a power supply line and/or an electrical signal line. The controller for controlling the operating modes of the pumps, the controls, as well as the power supply, can also be located in the pump module itself or on it.

In one of the embodiments of the proposed utility model, in order to ensure maximum efficiency of the UIMO, the pump module 8 can be a working pump module 8 (Fig. 2), which circulates the refrigerant of the coolant circulation circuit in the normal mode of operation of the UIMO, and / or represents is a similarly made emergency pump module 9, designed to ensure the circulation of the UIMO coolant during the disconnection of the working pump module when replacing it, while the UIMO can be simultaneously equipped with both working and emergency pump modules made according to this utility model.

Replaceable pump modules 8, 9 can be structurally fixed both outside and inside the housing 7 of the UIMO tank, for example, on the walls and/or on the frame of the tank body 7, for example, from its side or from the bottom of the tank.

UIMO using a quick-change module according to this utility model works as follows.

UIMO contains a reservoir-bath for cooling liquid placed in the housing 7, made with the possibility of immersion in it and fixing in it a removable rack or basket with electronic components to be cooled (not shown).

A rack or basket of an immersion cooler with electronic components fixed on it, for example, computing or other devices to be cooled, is immersed and fixed in the tank-bath of the housing 7 UIMO. The tank-bath is filled with a cooling liquid (refrigerant) with its circulation through the primary circulation circuit connected to the heat exchanger by means of a group of circulation pumps 2, placed in a replaceable pump module 8, attached to the UIMO body 7 by means of nozzles 3, 4 in the form of quick hydraulic connections ensuring the impermeability of the coolant and, if necessary, quick disconnect electrical connections 5, 6. The refrigerant is supplied to the tank-bath through at least one nozzle located in the lower part of the tank-bath of the UIMO housing 7, in which ascending flows of the cooling liquid (refrigerant) are formed , which ensures cooling of electronic components placed in a rack or basket and maintaining a given thermally stable environment around them.

A cold or actively cooled liquid circulates along the secondary circuit of the UIMO heat exchanger, which removes heat from the primary circuit liquid, obtained by washing the heated electronic components, thereby cooling the refrigerant before it returns to the primary circulation circuit through the nozzle. This ensures the specified nominal temperature regime for the operation of electronic components.

Circulation pumps located in the pump module operate alternately at a specified interval controlled by the UIMO controller. Preferably, they operate alternately, with the average running time of one pump being substantially equal to the average running time of the second pump. This ensures uniform wear of the pumps over time and increases the service life of the pump module according to the present utility model by essentially a factor of two compared to a pump module containing only one pump. In addition, the presence of two pumps in the pump module makes it possible to provide a mode of increased heat dissipation due to the simultaneous activation of both pumps, as well as a redundancy function.

Sensors placed in the pump module measure and transmit to the UIMO controller via an electrical signal line or wirelessly the necessary parameters of the working fluid and pumps, such as, for example, the amount of coolant (coolant) flow rate, coolant temperature, actual pump power, speed pump to provide intelligent control of the operation of the pumps 2 of the pump module 8, and the controller controls the operation of the pumps based on the measurement data received from the sensors.

In the event of a cessation of heating and heat generation of electronic components, for example, when they stop or cease to function, the circulation of the coolant can also be interrupted by turning off the circulation pumps of the module, in particular, using the UIMO controller or manually using the controls located on the pump module.

In the event of an emergency or emergency replacement of the pump or pumps housed in the replacement pump module, they can be quickly replaced by replacing the entire working pump module of which they are a part with a new working module with essentially no interruption to the refrigerant circulation, as the pump module has all the necessary , preferably quick-detachable, mechanical connections or clamps for its fastening on the platform of the tank body 7, as well as quick-detachable hydraulic and, if necessary, electrical connections. At the same time, when the pump module 8 is removed, the emergency pump module 9 can be switched on by means of the UIMO controller or manually, and after the completion of the replacement of the pump module 8, the UIMO operation is immediately continued with the emergency module 9 being turned off in advance. components in the event of a pump failure does not stop, and the durability of the entire system due to the possibility of prompt replacement of its most vulnerable and rapidly wearing parts.

Thus, the proposed utility model allows to increase the durability and reliability of the UIMO and reduce operating costs.

Although the present utility model has been described in terms of its use for a liquid, in particular immersion cooling device, the pump module of the present utility model can be used for a variety of other cooling and / or heating devices that use liquid circulation to maintain a thermostable environment, that is, a stable temperature range in the circulating working fluid stream.

Claims (5)

1. A pump module for a liquid cooling device for electronic components, made in the form of a stand-alone module and containing two circulation pumps connected in parallel, controlled by the controller of the liquid cooling device, and the pump module is equipped with nozzles made in the form of quick-disconnect hydraulic connections and communicating with these pumps for connection fluid pumps with nozzles for the coolant circulation circuit of the liquid cooling device. 2. The pump module according to claim. 1, characterized in that the pumps are made with the possibility of their alternate or simultaneous operation. 3. The pump module according to claim 1, characterized in that the pumps are made with the possibility of their alternate or simultaneous operation under the control of the controller. 4. The pump module according to claim 3, characterized in that the pump module is provided with a quick connector for the power supply line and/or the electric signal line, through which the operation of the pumps is controlled by the liquid cooler controller. 5. The pump module according to one of paragraphs. 1-4, characterized in that the nozzles are equipped with sensors for measuring the parameters of the coolant, and the pumps are configured to control them based on the measurement data received from the sensors.

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