Self-Contained, Oscillating Flow Liquid Cooling System for Thin Form Factor High Performance Electronics

Wälchli, R.; Brunschwiler, T.; Michel, B.; Poulikakos, D.

doi:10.1115/1.4000456

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Journal article

Self-Contained, Oscillating Flow Liquid Cooling System for Thin Form Factor High Performance Electronics

Wälchli, R. IBM Research GmbH, Zurich Research Laboratory, 8803 Rüschlikon, Switzerland; Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, Laboratory of Thermodynamics in Emerging Technologies, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
Brunschwiler, T. IBM Research GmbH, Zurich Research Laboratory, 8803 Rüschlikon, Switzerland
Michel, B. IBM Research GmbH, Zurich Research Laboratory, 8803 Rüschlikon, Switzerland
Poulikakos, D. Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, Laboratory of Thermodynamics in Emerging Technologies, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland

2010-3-8

Published in:

Journal of Heat Transfer. - ASME International. - 2010, vol. 132, no. 5

English A self-contained, small-volume liquid cooling system for thin form-factor electronic equipment (e.g., blade server modules) is demonstrated experimentally in this paper. A reciprocating water flow loop absorbs heat using mesh-type microchannel cold plates and spreads it periodically to a larger area. From there, the thermal energy is interchanged via large area, low pressure drop cold plates with a secondary heat transfer loop (air or liquid). Four phase-shifted piston pumps create either a linearly or radially oscillating fluid flow in the frequency range of 0.5–3 Hz. The tidal displacement of the pumps covers 42–120% of the fluid volume, and, therefore, an average flow rate range of 100–800 ml/min is tested. Three different absorber mesh designs are tested. Thermal and fluidic characteristics are presented in a time-resolved and a time-averaged manner. For a fluid pump power of 1 W, a waste heat flux of 180 W/cm2(ΔT=67 K) could be dissipated from a 3.5 cm2 chip. A linear oscillation flow pattern is advantageous over a radial one because of the more efficient heat removal from the chip and lower hydraulic losses. The optimum microchannel mesh density is determined as a combination of low pump losses and high heat transfer rates.

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