Cooling arrangement for cooling of a rack

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12402276-B2
Application number	US-202318236430-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 22, 2023
Priority date	Aug 25, 2022
Publication date	Aug 26, 2025
Grant date	Aug 26, 2025

Abstract

A cooling arrangement for cooling of a rack hosting an electronic device includes a first loop including a liquid cooling unit thermally coupled to a heat-generating component of the electronic device, a primary side of a liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger fluidly connected to the liquid cooling unit; and a pump fluidly connected between the primary side and the liquid cooling unit. A second loop includes a secondary side of the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger thermally coupled to the primary side for transfer of heat from the primary side to the secondary side. A relief line selectively fluidly connects the first and second loops and is operable in: (i) a closed state whereby the relief line does not allow cooling liquid flow therethrough, and (ii) an open state whereby the relief line fluidly connects the first and second loops.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cooling arrangement for cooling of a rack hosting at least one electronic device, the cooling arrangement comprising:
a first loop comprising:
at least one liquid cooling unit thermally coupled to a heat-generating component of the at least one electronic device for cooling thereof, the at least one liquid cooling unit defining a liquid channel adapted to receive a cooling liquid for transferring heat from the heat-generating component to the cooling liquid flowing in the liquid channel,
a primary side of a liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger, the primary side being fluidly connected to the liquid channel of the at least one liquid cooling unit, and
a pump fluidly connected between the primary side of the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger and the at least one liquid cooling unit, the pump being adapted for causing the cooling liquid to flow within the first loop;

a second loop comprising:
a secondary side of the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger, the secondary side being thermally coupled to the primary side to transfer heat from the primary side to the secondary side in response to a temperature of the primary side being greater than a temperature of the secondary side; and

a relief line selectively fluidly connecting the first loop to the second loop, the relief line being operable in: (i) a closed state whereby the relief line does not allow cooling liquid flow therethrough between the first loop and the second loop, and (ii) an open state whereby the relief line fluidly connects the first loop to the second loop to allow the cooling liquid from the first loop to flow into the second loop, the relief line switching between the closed state and the open state based on at least one operational parameter of the cooling liquid flowing in the first loop.

2. The cooling arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the at least one operational parameter includes at least one of a pressure and a temperature of the cooling liquid flowing in the first loop.

3. The cooling arrangement of claim 2 , wherein:
the at least one operational parameter includes the pressure of the cooling liquid flowing in the first loop; and
the relief line switches from the closed state to the open state in response to the pressure being greater than a predetermined pressure threshold.

4. The cooling arrangement of claim 2 , wherein:
the at least one operational parameter includes the temperature of the cooling liquid contained in the first loop; and
the relief line switches from the closed state to the open state in response to the temperature being greater than a predetermined temperature threshold.

5. The cooling arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the relief line comprises a safety valve configured to open and close based on the at least one operational parameter.

6. The cooling arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the relief line further comprises a solenoid valve.

7. The cooling arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the relief line fluidly connects an inlet of the primary side of the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger to an inlet or outlet of the secondary side of the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger.

8. The cooling arrangement of claim 1 , further comprising a secondary relief line fluidly connected to the first loop, the secondary relief line comprising an expansion valve or tank for regulating a temperature of the cooling liquid contained in the first loop.

9. The cooling arrangement of claim 1 , further comprising a feed line that fluidly connects the first loop to a cooling liquid source in order to allow cooling liquid to flow from the cooling liquid source to the first loop.

10. The cooling arrangement of claim 9 , wherein the feed line comprises a non-return valve configured for preventing cooling liquid from the first loop from flowing back in the second loop.

11. The cooling arrangement of claim 9 , wherein the feed line comprises one of a solenoid valve and a pressure regulating valve.

12. The cooling arrangement of claim 9 , wherein the cooling liquid source is the second loop such that the feed line fluidly connects the first loop to the second loop.

13. The cooling arrangement of claim 12 , wherein the feed line comprises a filter for filtering the cooling liquid incoming from the second loop.

14. The cooling arrangement of claim 9 , wherein the feed line fluidly connects an inlet of the primary side of the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger to an inlet of the secondary side of the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger.

15. A rack comprising:
a frame defining a housing section for receiving at least one electronic device;
at least one fan configured for providing forced air cooling to the at least one electronic device; and
the cooling arrangement of claim 1 for cooling of the at least one electronic device.

Assignees

• OVH

Inventors

• Chehade Ali
• Bauchart Gregory Francis Louis
• Klaba Henryk

Classifications

• H05K7/20836

  Thermal management, e.g. server temperature control · CPC title

• H05K7/20781

  within cabinets for removing heat from server blades · CPC title

• H05K7/20736

  within cabinets for removing heat from server blades · CPC title

• H05K7/20263

  Heat dissipaters releasing heat from coolant · CPC title

• H05K7/20272 Primary

  Accessories for moving fluid, for expanding fluid, for connecting fluid conduits, for distributing fluid, for removing gas or for preventing leakage, e.g. pumps, tanks or manifolds · CPC title