Cooling electronic devices in a data center

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11116113-B2
Application number	US-201916424135-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 28, 2019
Priority date	Apr 8, 2019
Publication date	Sep 7, 2021
Grant date	Sep 7, 2021

Abstract

A data center cooling system includes an outer container that defines a first volume; an inner container that defines a second volume and is positioned within the first volume, the inner container including an air outlet that includes an airflow path between the first and second volumes; a liquid seal to fluidly isolate a liquid phase of a non-conductive coolant that fills at least a portion of the first and second volumes from an ambient environment; and at least one server tray assembly. The server tray assembly includes a plurality of electronic heat-generating devices immersed in the liquid phase of the non-conductive coolant; and an immersion cooling system mounted to and in conductive thermal contact with one or more of the plurality of electronic heat-generating devices. The immersion cooling system includes a working fluid in thermal communication with the one or more electronic heat-generating devices and the non-conductive coolant.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A data center cooling system, comprising:
an outer container that defines a first volume;
an inner container that defines a second volume and is positioned within the first volume, the inner container comprising an air outlet that comprises an airflow path between the first and second volumes;
a liquid seal to fluidly isolate a liquid phase of a non-conductive coolant that fills at least a portion of the first and second volumes from an ambient environment;
at least one server tray assembly comprising:
a plurality of electronic heat-generating devices immersed in the liquid phase of the non-conductive coolant; and
an immersion cooling system mounted to and in conductive thermal contact with one or more of the plurality of electronic heat-generating devices, the immersion cooling system comprising: a working fluid in thermal communication with the one or more electronic heat-generating devices and the non-conductive coolant, a vapor chamber mounted to and in conductive thermal contact with the one or more electronic heat-generating devices, and one or more heat transfer devices positioned in thermal contact with the working fluid within an inner volume of the vapor chamber and in thermal contact with a liquid phase of the non-conductive coolant.

2. The data cooling system of claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more heat transfer devices comprises a condenser tube, the condenser tube comprising:
an inlet open to the inner volume to receive a vapor phase of the working fluid from the inner volume;
an outlet open to the inner volume to circulate a liquid phase of the working fluid to the inner volume; and
a u-shaped flowpath between the inlet and the outlet that extends from the inner volume, through a wall of the vapor chamber, and to the second volume.

3. The data cooling system of claim 2 , further comprising a wick positioned in at least a portion of the u-shaped flowpath.

4. The data cooling system of claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more heat transfer devices comprises a heat pipe positioned to extend from the inner volume, through a wall of the vapor chamber, and into the second volume.

5. The data cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the immersion cooling system further comprises a thermal interface material positioned between and in conductive thermal contact with the one or more electronic heat-generating devices and the vapor chamber.

6. The data cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the immersion cooling system further comprises one or more biasing members coupled to the vapor chamber and the server tray assembly and configured to urge the vapor chamber toward the one or more electronic heat-generating devices.

7. The data center cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the outer container comprises:
a pressure relief valve configured to vent a portion of air, vented from the second volume through the air outlet and into the first volume, to the ambient environment; and
a base and a chimney that extends vertically from the base, the base comprising a first portion of the first volume and the chimney comprises a second portion of the first volume that is in fluid communication with the first portion.

8. The data center cooling system of claim 7 , wherein the second portion defines a coolant recovery layer that comprises a mixture of air and a vapor phase of the non-conductive coolant, a vapor condensing layer that comprises substantially the vapor phase of the non-conductive coolant, and a liquid sub-cooling layer that comprises substantially the liquid phase of the non-conductive coolant.

9. The data center cooling system of claim 7 , further comprising a cooling module mounted in the chimney and configured to cool the non-conductive coolant.

10. The data center cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the non-conductive coolant comprises a dielectric coolant.

11. A method for cooling a plurality of electronic heat-generating devices in a data center comprising:
enclosing a plurality of server tray assemblies in a volume defined by a first container, each of the server tray assemblies comprising:
the plurality of electronic heat-generating devices, and
an immersion cooling system mounted to and in conductive thermal contact with one or more of the plurality of electronic heat-generating devices, the immersion cooling system comprising a working fluid in thermal communication with the one or more electronic heat-generating devices;

immersing the plurality of server tray assemblies in a liquid phase of a non-conductive coolant;
operating the one or more electronic heat-generating devices to generate heat;
transferring the generated heat from the one or more electronic heat-generating devices to the working fluid of the immersion cooling system;
transferring the generated heat to the working fluid contained in an inner volume of a vapor chamber of the immersion cooling system that is mounted to and in conductive thermal contact with the one or more electronic heat-generating devices;
vaporizing, with the transferred heat, at least a portion of a liquid phase of the working fluid into a vapor phase of the working fluid;
circulating the vapor phase from the inner volume into one or more condenser tubes positioned in thermal contact with the working fluid within an inner volume of the vapor chamber and in thermal contact with the liquid phase of the non-conductive coolant; and
transferring the generated heat from the working fluid of the immersion cooling system to the liquid phase of the non-conductive coolant.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein circulating the vapor phase from the inner volume into the one or more condenser tubes comprises:
circulating the vapor phase through an inlet of a particular condenser tube that is open to the inner volume;
circulating the vapor phase through a u-shaped flowpath of the particular condenser tube;
condensing at least a portion of the vapor phase in the u-shaped flowpath by transferring heat to the liquid phase of the non-conductive coolant; and
circulating the condensed portion through an outlet of the particular condenser tube and into the inner volume.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein circulating the vapor phase through the u-shaped flowpath comprises circulating the vapor phase based at least partially on wicking the vapor phase through the u-shaped flowpath.

14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
vaporizing, with heat in the vapor phase of the working fluid, at least a portion of a liquid phase of a refrigerant contained in at least one heat pipe positioned in thermal contact with the working fluid within an inner volume of the vapor chamber and in thermal contact with the liquid phase of the non-conductive coolant; and
transferring heat from the vaporized refrigerant to the liquid phase of the non-conductive coolant.

15. The method of claim 11 , further comprising transferring the heat from the one or more electronic heat-generating devices through a thermal interface material positioned between and in conductive thermal contact with the one or more electronic heat-generating devices and the vapor chamber.

16. The method of claim 11 , further comprising urging the vapor chamber toward the one or more electronic heat-generating devices with one or more biasing members coupled to the vapor chamber and the server tray assembly.

17. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
enclosing the first container in a second volume of a second container, the non-conductive coolant filling at least a portion of the first and second volumes;
sealing the liquid phase of the non

Assignees

• Google Llc

Inventors

• Chiu Jerry
• Sadeghpour Abolfazl
• Imwalle Gregory P

Classifications

• H05K7/20772

  within server blades for removing heat from heat source · CPC title

• H05K7/20363

  Refrigerating circuit comprising a sorber · CPC title

• H05K7/20318

  Condensers · CPC title

• H05K7/203

  by immersion · CPC title

• H05K7/208 Primary

  Liquid cooling with phase change · CPC title