Ground-based heat sink facilitating electronic system cooling

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9288932-B2
Application number	US-201213671829-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 8, 2012
Priority date	Nov 8, 2012
Publication date	Mar 15, 2016
Grant date	Mar 15, 2016

Abstract

Cooling systems and methods are provided which include a heat sink having a housing with a compartment, a coolant inlet, and a coolant outlet. The housing is configured for a coolant to flow from the coolant inlet through the compartment to the coolant outlet, wherein the coolant is transferring heat extracted from one or more electronic components. The heat sink further includes one or more heat pipes having a first portion disposed within the compartment of the housing and a second portion disposed outside the housing. The heat pipe(s) is configured to extract heat from the coolant flowing through the compartment, and to transfer the extracted heat to the second portion disposed outside the housing. The second portion outside the housing is disposed to facilitate conducting the extracted heat into the ground.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cooling system comprising:
a coolant loop;
a ground-based heat sink controllably coupled to the coolant loop, the ground-based heat sink comprising:
a housing including a compartment, a coolant inlet, and a coolant outlet, the housing being configured for a coolant to flow from the coolant inlet through the compartment to the coolant outlet, the coolant transferring heat extracted from one or more electronic components; and
at least one heat pipe comprising a first portion disposed within the compartment of the housing, and a second portion disposed outside the housing, the at least one heat pipe being configured to extract heat from the coolant flowing through the compartment, and to transfer the extracted heat to the second portion disposed outside the housing, wherein the second portion of the at least one heat pipe outside the housing is configured to facilitate conducting the extracted heat into the ground;

a heat rejection unit controllably coupled to the coolant loop, the heat rejection unit configured to reject heat from coolant passing therethrough to air passing across the heat rejection unit;
a controller coupled to control flow of coolant within the coolant loop through the ground-based heat sink and through the heat rejection unit based, at least in part, on at least one monitored variable;
wherein the ground-based heat sink and the heat rejection unit are controllably coupled to the coolant loop in series, the ground-based heat sink being coupled to the coolant loop upstream of the heat rejection unit and the coolant passes through the ground-based heat sink before passing through the heat rejection unit, and the controller is configured to automatically control flow of coolant within the coolant loop through the ground-based heat sink based, at least in part, on the at least one monitored variable, and to automatically control flow of coolant within the coolant loop through the heat rejection unit based, at least in part, on the at least one monitored variable;
a first bypass line and a first diverter valve coupled to the coolant loop between the ground-based heat sink and the heat rejection unit, the controller automatically controlling the first diverter valve to control an amount of coolant to pass through the heat rejection unit based, at least in part, on the at least one monitored variable, the controller allowing the coolant to pass through or preventing the coolant from passing through the heat rejection unit by control of the first diverter valve; and
a second bypass line and a second diverter valve coupled to the coolant loop upstream of the ground-based heat sink, the controller automatically controlling the second diverter valve to control an amount of coolant to pass through the ground-based heat sink based, at least in part, on the at least one monitored variable, the controller allowing the coolant to pass through the ground-based heat sink or preventing the coolant from passing through both the ground-based heat sink and the heat rejection unit by control of the second diverter valve.

2. The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one heat pipe comprises a working fluid and the first portion of the at least one heat pipe is an evaporative region, and the second portion of the at least one heat pipe comprises a condenser region buried, at least in part, within the ground.

3. The cooling system of claim 2 , wherein the at least one heat pipe comprises a looped heat pipe, and wherein working fluid vapor moves in a first direction in the first portion of the at least one heat pipe, and working fluid condensate moves in a second direction in at least part of the second portion of the at least one heat pipe, the second direction being opposite that of the first direction.

4. The cooling system of claim 3 , further comprising at least one pump in fluid communication with the looped heat pipe for facilitating circulating the working fluid within the looped heat pipe.

5. The cooling system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one pump in fluid communication with the looped heat pipe resides below-ground, and the housing with the compartment resides above-ground.

6. The cooling system of claim 2 , wherein the housing with the compartment resides above the ground, and wherein, in operation, a working fluid vapor produced in the evaporative region of the at least one heat pipe flows downwards to the condenser region of the at least one heat pipe buried, at least in part, within the ground.

7. The cooling system of claim 6 , wherein the heat sink comprises a plurality of heat pipes, each heat pipe of the plurality of heat pipes comprising a first portion disposed within the compartment of the housing and a second portion disposed outside of the housing, and each heat pipe being configured to extract heat in an evaporative region of the first portion from the coolant flowing through the compartment and to transfer the extracted heat to the second portion of the heat pipe disposed outside the housing, wherein the second portion of the heat pipe outside the housing is configured with a condenser region at least partially buried within the ground to facilitate conducting the extracted heat to the ground.

8. The cooling system of claim 7 , further comprising at least one pump coupled to facilitate circulating the coolant through multiple heat pipes of the plurality of heat pipes.

9. The cooling system of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of heat pipes comprise a plurality of tubular heat pipes.

10. The cooling system of claim 2 , wherein the housing with the compartment resides below-ground and, in operation, a working fluid vapor rises within the at least one heat pipe from the evaporative region to the condenser region thereof.

11. The cooling system of claim 10 , wherein the heat sink comprises a plurality of heat pipes, each heat pipe of the plurality of heat pipes comprising a first portion disposed within the compartment of the housing and a second portion disposed outside of the housing, and each heat pipe being configured to extract heat in an evaporative region of the first portion from the coolant flowing through the compartment and to transfer the extracted heat to the second portion of the heat pipe disposed outside the housing, wherein the second portion of the heat pipe outside the housing is configured with a condenser region at least partially buried within the ground to facilitate conducting the extracted heat to the ground.

12. The cooling system of claim 11 , wherein multiple second portions of the plurality of heat pipes diverge outside of the housing.

13. The cooling system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of thermally conductive fins attached to the at least one heat pipe, the plurality of thermally conductive fins facilitating at least one of conduction of heat to the at least one heat pipe from the coolant within the compartment of the housing or conduction of extracted heat from the at least one heat pipe to the ground.

14. The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the heat sink comprises a plurality of two-phase heat pipes, each two-phase heat pipe of the plurality of two-phase heat pipes comprising a first portion disposed within the compartment of the housing, and a second portion disposed outside the housing, and each two-phase heat pipe being configured to extract heat from the coolant flowing through the compartment, and to transfer the extracted heat to the second portion of the two-phase heat pipe disposed outside the housing, wherein the second portions of the plurality of two-phase heat pipes reside, at least partially, within the ground and facilitate conducting

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Campbell Levi A
• Chu Richard C
• David Milnes P
• Ellsworth Jr Michael J
• Iyengar Madhusudan K
• Schmidt Roger R
• Simons Robert E

Classifications

• F28D15/0266

  with separate evaporating and condensing chambers connected by at least one conduit; Loop-type heat pipes; with multiple or common evaporating or condensing chambers (F28D15/043 takes precedence) · CPC title

• Y02E10/10

  Geothermal energy · CPC title

• F28D15/0275

  Arrangements for coupling heat-pipes together or with other structures, e.g. with base blocks; Heat pipe cores · CPC title

• H05K7/2039 Primary

  characterised by the heat transfer by conduction from the heat generating element to a dissipating body (arrangements for increasing/decreasing heat-transfer, e.g. fins details, F28F13/00) · CPC title

• H05K7/20827

  within rooms for removing heat from cabinets, e.g. air conditioning devices · CPC title