TWM656398U - Immersion cooling system and its immersion cooling device - Google Patents

Abstract

An immersion cooling system includes a liquid-cooled monitoring host and at least one immersion cooling device. The liquid-cooled monitoring host is used to cool a gaseous refrigerant to supply a liquid refrigerant. The immersion cooling device includes a cooling tank, a cold plate and a cooling liquid. The cooling tank is used to accommodate a heating element. The cold plate is thermally connected to the heating element, and the cold plate is further connected to the liquid-cooled monitoring host to receive the liquid refrigerant. After absorbing the heat energy dissipated by the heating element, the liquid refrigerant will change phase into a gaseous refrigerant and flow back to the liquid-cooled monitoring host for cooling. The cooling liquid is filled in the cooling tank, and the heating element is immersed in the cooling liquid, so that the cooling liquid absorbs at least a second part of the heat energy emitted by the heating element.

Description

Immersion cooling system and immersion cooling device

This work relates to a cooling system and a cooling device, in particular to an immersion cooling system and an immersion cooling device.

In recent years, electronic products have developed rapidly, and we often see various products that boast high performance coming out one after another. However, as the performance is greatly improved, it is often accompanied by the problem of high heat generation.

In the prior art, in order to solve the high heating problem of some products, there is a cooling technology that immerses high-heat electronic components such as energy storage batteries or servers in a storage tank filled with phase change coolant, so as to absorb a large amount of heat energy by utilizing the latent heat required when the phase change coolant changes from liquid to gas. The coolant that changes to gas will rise to the top of the storage tank, and then the external cooling water will contact the top of the storage tank to indirectly take away the heat energy of the gaseous coolant, thereby condensing the gaseous coolant into liquid, and the condensed liquid coolant will fall back into the liquid coolant at the bottom, thereby cooling the electronic components in a cycle.

As mentioned above, although the phase change coolant can absorb a large amount of heat energy through the latent heat during phase change, the existing phase change cooling technology allows the phase change coolant to circulate internally, and the gaseous coolant can only exchange heat with the outside world through the top of the storage tank, so the overall cooling effect is limited.

In view of the fact that in the prior art, the existing phase change cooling technology mainly allows the coolant to circulate in the storage tank to cool down the heat-generating body such as electronic components. Therefore, when the coolant becomes gaseous, it can only dissipate heat energy to the outside through the top of the storage tank, resulting in a limited cooling rate of the gaseous coolant. It is very likely that it cannot be condensed into liquid immediately, and even the liquid level of the liquid coolant may be lower than the heat-generating body, or the air pressure inside the storage tank may be too high. Therefore, the main purpose of this invention is to provide an immersion cooling system that can forcibly cool down the gaseous refrigerant, thereby accelerating the overall heat dissipation efficiency.

In order to solve the problems of the previous technology, the necessary technical means adopted by this invention is to provide an immersion cooling system, including a liquid cooling monitoring host and at least one immersion cooling device.

The liquid cooling monitoring host is used to cool a gaseous refrigerant to supply a liquid refrigerant. The immersion cooling device includes a cooling tank, a cold plate and a cooling liquid.

The cooling tank has a storage space for accommodating at least one heating element. The cold plate is arranged in the storage space and is thermally connected to the at least one heating element to absorb at least a first portion of the heat energy emitted by the at least one heating element. The cold plate is further connected to the liquid cooling monitoring host to receive the liquid refrigerant, so that the liquid refrigerant further absorbs the at least one first portion of the heat energy and changes phase into the gaseous refrigerant, and flows back to the liquid cooling monitoring host. The cooling liquid is filled in the storage space, and the at least one heating element is immersed in the cooling liquid, so as to utilize the cooling liquid to absorb at least a second portion of the heat energy emitted by the at least one heating element.

In an auxiliary technical means derived from the above necessary technical means, the liquid refrigerant has a boiling point temperature, and the maximum operating temperature of the at least one heating element each time it operates is greater than the boiling point temperature.

In an auxiliary technical means derived from the above necessary technical means, the cold plate is further immersed in the cooling liquid, so that the at least a second portion of the heat energy absorbed by the cooling liquid is transferred to the cold plate.

In an auxiliary technical means derived from the above necessary technical means, the cold plate further has a fluid input end, a fluid output end and a heat exchange flow channel, the fluid input end is connected to an output pipeline of the liquid cooling monitoring host, the fluid output end is connected to a return pipeline of the liquid cooling monitoring host, and the heat exchange flow channel is connected to the fluid input end and the fluid output end.

Another necessary technical means adopted by the present invention is to provide an immersion cooling device, including a cooling tank, a cold plate and a cooling liquid. The cooling tank has a containing space, and the containing space is used to contain at least one heating element. The cold plate is arranged in the containing space, thermally connected to the at least one heating element, so as to absorb at least a first part of the heat energy dissipated by the at least one heating element, and the cold plate is further used to receive a liquid refrigerant provided by a liquid-cooled monitoring host, so that the liquid refrigerant further absorbs the at least one first part of the heat energy and changes phase into the gaseous refrigerant, and flows back to the liquid-cooled monitoring host. The cooling liquid is filled in the accommodation space, and the at least one heating element is immersed in the cooling liquid, so that the cooling liquid is used to absorb at least a second portion of the heat energy emitted by the at least one heating element.

In an auxiliary technical means derived from the above necessary technical means, the liquid refrigerant has a boiling point temperature, and the maximum operating temperature of the at least one heating element each time it operates is greater than the boiling point temperature.

In an auxiliary technical means derived from the above necessary technical means, the cold plate is further immersed in the cooling liquid, so that the at least a second portion of the heat energy absorbed by the cooling liquid is transferred to the cold plate.

In an auxiliary technical means derived from the above necessary technical means, the cold plate further has a fluid input end, a fluid output end and a heat exchange flow channel, the fluid input end is connected to an output pipeline of the liquid cooling monitoring host, the fluid output end is connected to a return pipeline of the liquid cooling monitoring host, and the heat exchange flow channel is connected to the fluid input end and the fluid output end.

As mentioned above, this invention mainly uses the method of contacting the heating element with the cold plate to transfer the heat energy generated by the heating element directly to the liquid refrigerant inside through the cold plate. After the liquid refrigerant absorbs the heat energy, it changes into a gaseous refrigerant which is transported to the outside for heat dissipation and cooling. Then it flows back to the cold plate in the form of liquid refrigerant to continuously absorb the heat energy of the heating element. This invention can effectively improve the heat dissipation efficiency.

The specific implementation examples adopted in this work will be further explained through the following implementation examples and diagrams.

100: Immersion cooling system

1: Liquid-cooled monitoring host

11: Main unit

12: Output pipeline

13: Return pipe

2: Immersion cooling device

21: Cooling tank

22: Cold plate

221: Fluid input port

222: Fluid output port

223: Heat exchange channel

23:Fixed components

24: Cooling fluid

200:Circuit components

201: Circuit board

2011: Keyhole

202: Heating element

S1: Storage space

The first figure is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the immersion cooling system provided by the preferred embodiment of the present invention; The second figure is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the immersion cooling device provided by the preferred embodiment of the present invention; the third figure is a three-dimensional exploded schematic diagram of the immersion cooling device provided by the preferred embodiment of the present invention; the fourth figure is an A-A cross-sectional schematic diagram of the second figure; and the fifth figure is a planar schematic diagram of the cold plate provided by the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Please refer to the first to third figures. The first figure is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the immersion cooling system provided by the preferred embodiment of the present invention; the second figure is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the immersion cooling device provided by the preferred embodiment of the present invention; the third figure is a three-dimensional exploded schematic diagram of the immersion cooling device provided by the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the first to third figures, an immersion cooling system 100 includes a liquid-cooled monitoring host 1 and an immersion cooling device 2.

The liquid-cooled monitoring host 1 includes a host body 11, an output pipeline 12, and a return pipeline 13. The host body 11 is used to cool a gaseous refrigerant (not shown) and supply a liquid refrigerant (not shown). The output pipeline 12 and the return pipeline 13 are respectively connected to the host body 11, and the output pipeline 12 is used to supply the liquid refrigerant, while the return pipeline 13 is used to receive the gaseous refrigerant. Thus, the gaseous refrigerant flowing into the host body 11 through the return pipeline 13 will be cooled into a liquid refrigerant.

In this embodiment, the host body 11 is, for example, a cooling distribution unit (CDU), which is used to cool a gaseous refrigerant and supply a liquid refrigerant. In practical application, the host body 11 has a heat dissipation module connected to the return pipe 13 and the output pipe 12, so that the gaseous refrigerant received by the return pipe 13 is dissipated through the heat dissipation module, and the gaseous refrigerant is cooled into liquid refrigerant and then output through the output pipe 12. The host body 11 can also be provided with a pump on the output pipe 12 to drive the liquid refrigerant. Output, but not limited to this, the heat dissipation module of the main body 11 can also be equipped with a compressor to compress the gaseous refrigerant, and then condense the gaseous refrigerant into liquid refrigerant through a condenser. When the heat dissipation module of the main body 11 is equipped with a compressor, the compressor can be used as a power source to drive the output of the liquid refrigerant, thereby eliminating the need to set up a pump in the output pipeline 12.

The immersion cooling device 2 includes a cooling tank 21, a cold plate 22, a fixing assembly 23 and a cooling liquid 24.

The cooling tank 21 has a receiving space S1, which is used to receive a circuit assembly 200. The circuit assembly 200 includes a circuit board 201 and a heating element 202. The circuit board 201 is fixed to the bottom plate (not shown) of the cooling tank 21 and is located in the receiving space S1. The heating element 202 is installed on the circuit board 201. The heating element 202 is a CPU chip in this embodiment, but is not limited to this. In other embodiments, it can also be other high-heat electronic components such as batteries.

The cold plate 22 is disposed in the accommodation space S1 and is thermally connected to the heating element 202 to absorb a first portion of the heat energy emitted by the heating element 202. It should be particularly noted that the liquid refrigerant used in this embodiment has a boiling point temperature, and the maximum operating temperature of the heating element 202 each time it operates is greater than the boiling point temperature.

Please continue to refer to the fourth and fifth figures. The fourth figure is a schematic diagram of the A-A section of the second figure; the fifth figure is a schematic diagram of the plane of the cold plate provided by the preferred embodiment of this invention.

As shown in the first to fifth figures, the cold plate 22 has a fluid input end 221, a fluid output end 222 and a heat exchange channel 223. The fluid input end 221 is connected to the output pipeline 12 to receive the liquid refrigerant provided by the main body 11. The fluid output end 222 is connected to the return pipeline 13 to return the gaseous refrigerant to the main body 11 for cooling. The heat exchange channel 223 is connected to the fluid input end 221 and the fluid output end 222; wherein, the heat exchange channel 223 of the present embodiment is a reciprocating bending channel formed by staggered arrangement of a plurality of partition structures (not shown in the figure), so as to increase the contact area between the liquid refrigerant and the cold plate 22 through the reciprocating bending path, thereby allowing the cold plate 22 to absorb the first part of the heat energy absorbed by the heating element 202, but in other embodiments, it is not limited to this, and a plurality of unidirectional channels can also be separated by a plurality of fins in parallel, which can also increase the contact area between the liquid refrigerant and the cold plate 22.

The fixing assembly 23 is locked to four locking holes 2011 (only one is marked in the figure) of the circuit board 201, and is used to fix the cold plate 22 to the circuit assembly 200 and make the cold plate 22 fit tightly to the heating element 202. In this embodiment, the fixing assembly 23 is fixed to the circuit board 201 by a cross frame (not marked in the figure) and four studs (not marked in the figure).

The cooling liquid 24 is filled in the accommodation space S1, and the heating element 202 and the cold plate 22 are immersed in the cooling liquid, so that the cooling liquid 24 absorbs a second portion of the heat energy emitted by the heating element 202, and the second portion of the heat energy is transferred to the cold plate 22, so that the liquid refrigerant in the cold plate 22 absorbs the second portion of the heat energy. In addition, in practical application, the immersion cooling device 2 may further include a cover plate (not shown) to cover the accommodation space S1.

As mentioned above, after the liquid refrigerant enters the heat exchange channel 223 through the fluid input end 221, the first part of the heat energy emitted by the heating element 202 will be transferred to the liquid refrigerant inside through the contact with the bottom surface of the cold plate 22, so that the liquid refrigerant absorbs the first part of the heat energy and changes into a gaseous refrigerant. The gaseous refrigerant will be discharged from the cold plate 22 through the fluid output end 222, and then transported back to the liquid cooling monitoring host 1 for cooling and cooling, so that the gaseous refrigerant condenses into liquid refrigerant and then transported to the cold plate 22, so as to cyclically dissipate heat from the heating element 202.

In addition, since the immersion cooling device 2 of this embodiment is also filled with cooling liquid 24 in the cooling tank 21, even if the cold plate 22 cannot fully contact the heating element 202, the second part of the heat energy emitted by the heating element 202 can be absorbed by the cooling liquid 24 by immersing the heating element 202 and the cold plate 22 in the cooling liquid 24, and the cooling liquid 24 further transfers the second part of the heat energy to the immersed cold plate 22. Thus, even if the cooling liquid 24 does not absorb a large amount of heat energy through the latent heat required for phase change, the second part of the heat energy emitted by the heating element 202 can be transferred to the cold plate 22 by transferring to the cold plate 22, so that it can be absorbed by the liquid refrigerant in the cold plate 22, and then a large amount of heat energy can be taken away through phase change.

As mentioned above, the cooling liquid 24 in this embodiment can be selected from a refrigerant with a boiling point temperature much higher than the maximum operating temperature of the heating element 202, that is, a single-phase cooling liquid; in addition, the liquid refrigerant and the cooling liquid 24 in this embodiment can be a refrigerant such as ethylene glycol, and in practice, the selection needs to be made based on the maximum operating temperature of the heating element 202.

Although in the present embodiment, one set of liquid-cooled monitoring host 1 corresponds to only one set of immersion cooling device 2, this is not limited to this in other embodiments. When multiple sets of immersion cooling devices 2 need to share one set of liquid-cooled monitoring host 1, branch pipes may be provided between the multiple sets of immersion cooling devices 2 and one set of liquid-cooled monitoring host 1 for flow diversion. On the other hand, when the cooling tank 21 of the immersion cooling device 2 contains multiple heating elements 202, multiple cold plates 22 may be used to thermally connect the multiple heating elements 202 respectively, and these cold plates 22 may also be diverted through branch pipes. In addition, in practical application, the immersion cooling device 2 can also be provided with a temperature sensor to sense the temperature of the heating element 202, and transmit the sensed temperature to the liquid cooling monitoring host 1, so that the liquid cooling monitoring host 1 controls the flow of the liquid refrigerant to the cold plate 22 according to the sensed temperature, and the control means can be controlled through control valves such as solenoid valves or air valves.

In summary, compared to the prior art, when the phase change coolant absorbs the heat energy of the heating element and changes phase into a gaseous refrigerant, it can only indirectly dissipate the heat energy to the outside through the top of the storage tank, resulting in limited efficiency of heat dissipation of the heating element through the phase change coolant; the immersion cooling system and immersion cooling device of this invention mainly use the method of contacting the heating element with the cold plate, so that the heat energy generated by the heating element is directly transferred to the liquid refrigerant inside through the cold plate, and the gaseous refrigerant that the liquid refrigerant changes phase into after absorbing the heat energy will be transported to the outside for heat dissipation and cooling, and then reflux to the cold plate in the form of liquid refrigerant to continuously absorb the heat energy of the heating element, thereby this invention can effectively improve the heat dissipation efficiency.

The above detailed description of the preferred specific embodiments is intended to more clearly describe the features and spirit of this invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of this invention by the preferred specific embodiments disclosed above. On the contrary, the purpose is to cover various changes and arrangements with equivalents within the scope of the patent that this invention intends to apply for.

100: Immersion cooling system

1: Liquid-cooled monitoring host

11: Main unit

12: Output pipeline

13: Return pipe

2: Immersion cooling device

21: Cooling tank

22: Cold plate

23:Fixed components

24: Cooling fluid

200:Circuit components

Claims (8)

An immersion cooling system includes: a liquid cooling monitoring host, which is used to cool a gaseous refrigerant to supply a liquid refrigerant; and at least one immersion cooling device, the at least one immersion cooling device including: a cooling tank, which has a receiving space, the receiving space is used to receive at least one heating element; a cold plate, which is arranged in the receiving space and is thermally connected to the at least one heating element to absorb the heat dissipated by the at least one heating element. At least one first portion of heat energy is absorbed by the cold plate, and the cold plate is further connected to the liquid cooling monitoring host to receive the liquid refrigerant, so that the liquid refrigerant further absorbs the at least one first portion of heat energy and changes phase into the gaseous refrigerant, and flows back to the liquid cooling monitoring host; and a cooling liquid is filled in the accommodating space, and the at least one heating element is immersed in the cooling liquid, so as to utilize the cooling liquid to absorb at least one second portion of heat energy emitted by the at least one heating element. An immersion cooling system as described in claim 1, wherein the liquid refrigerant has a boiling point temperature, and a maximum operating temperature of the at least one heating element each time it operates is greater than the boiling point temperature. An immersion cooling system as described in claim 1, wherein the cold plate is further immersed in the cooling liquid so that the at least a second portion of the heat energy absorbed by the cooling liquid is transferred to the cold plate. The immersion cooling system as described in claim 1, wherein the cold plate further has a fluid input end, a fluid output end and a heat exchange channel, the fluid input end is connected to an output pipeline of the liquid cooling monitoring host, the fluid output end is connected to a return pipeline of the liquid cooling monitoring host, and the heat exchange channel is connected to the fluid input end and the fluid output end. An immersion cooling device includes: a cooling tank having a containing space for containing at least one heat generating element; a cold plate disposed in the containing space and thermally connected to the at least one heat generating element to absorb at least a first portion of heat energy emitted by the at least one heat generating element; the cold plate is further used to receive a liquid refrigerant provided by a liquid cooling monitoring host, so that the liquid refrigerant further absorbs the at least one first portion of heat energy and changes phase into a gaseous refrigerant, and flows back to the liquid cooling monitoring host; and a cooling liquid is filled in the containing space, and the at least one heat generating element is immersed in the cooling liquid, so that the cooling liquid is used to absorb at least a second portion of heat energy emitted by the at least one heat generating element. An immersion cooling device as described in claim 5, wherein the liquid refrigerant has a boiling point temperature, and a maximum operating temperature of the at least one heating element each time it operates is greater than the boiling point temperature. An immersion cooling device as described in claim 5, wherein the cold plate is further immersed in the cooling liquid so that the at least a second portion of the heat energy absorbed by the cooling liquid is transferred to the cold plate. The immersion cooling device as described in claim 5, wherein the cold plate further has a fluid input end, a fluid output end and a heat exchange channel, the fluid input end is connected to an output pipeline of the liquid cooling monitoring host, the fluid output end is connected to a return pipeline of the liquid cooling monitoring host, and the heat exchange channel is connected to the fluid input end and the fluid output end.

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