Partitioned, rotating condenser units to enable servicing of submerged it equipment positioned beneath a vapor condenser without interrupting a vaporization-condensation cycling of the remaining immersion cooling system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9328964-B2
Application number	US-201313756863-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 1, 2013
Priority date	Feb 1, 2013
Publication date	May 3, 2016
Grant date	May 3, 2016

Abstract

An immersion cooling tank includes: a tank comprised of a base wall, and perimeter walls, and having a lower tank volume in which a liquid can be maintained and heated to a boiling point to generate a rising plume of vapor; a rack structure within the tank volume that supports insertion of multiple, heat dissipating electronic devices in a side-by-side vertical configuration; and a condenser configured as a plurality of individually rotatable condenser sub-units, with each condenser sub-unit located above a vertical space that extends vertically from the lower tank volume and within which an electronic device can be inserted. Each individual condenser sub-unit can be opened independent of the other sub-units and each other condenser sub-unit can remain in a closed position while a first condenser sub-unit is opened to allow access to a first vertical space and any existing electrical device contained therein below the first condenser sub-unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An immersion cooling tank comprising:
a tank comprised of a base wall, and perimeter walls, and having a lower tank volume in which a liquid can be maintained and heated to a boiling point to generate a rising plume of vapor;
a rack structure within the tank volume that supports insertion of multiple, heat dissipating electronic devices in a side-by-side vertical configuration; and
a condenser configured as a plurality of individually rotatable condenser sub-units, with each condenser sub-unit located above a vertical space that extends vertically from the lower tank volume and within which an electronic device can be inserted;
wherein each individual condenser sub-unit can be opened independent of the other sub-units and each other condenser sub-unit can remain in a closed position while a first condenser sub-unit is opened to allow access to a first vertical space and any existing electrical device contained therein below the first condenser sub-unit.

2. The immersion cooling tank of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of condenser sub-units is connected at one end via a hinge mechanism to the immersion cooling tank, which hinge mechanism enables the condenser sub-unit to be individually rotated from (1) a closed position in which a vertical space below the condenser sub-unit within the tank is sealed to allow the condenser sub-unit to condense rising vapor from a lower tank volume to (2) an open position in which exposure and/or access to the vertical space is provided.

3. The immersion cooling tank of claim 1 , wherein:
at least one of the heat dissipating electronic devices is an information handling system and heat generated and dissipated during operation of the electronic devices, including the at least one information handling system, is absorbed by the liquid maintained within a lower volume of the tank, which causes a portion of the liquid to evaporate and create the rising vapor plume; and
the condenser sub-units are placed gravitationally above and in a direct path of the rising vapor plume.

4. The immersion cooling tank of claim 1 , wherein:
the individual condenser sub-units are rotatable from a closed position of 0 degrees to an open position ranging from greater than 0 degrees to a maximum number of degrees that is sufficiently large to allow access to the vertical space below the individual condenser sub-unit within the tank volume to perform a maintenance operation with the electronic device that is placed within that vertical space of the tank volume.

5. The immersion cooling tank of claim 1 , wherein each individual condenser sub-unit includes a separate condensation surface and a separate local conduit for piping condensation fluid to cool the separate condensation surface, and an opening of the first condenser sub-unit does not prevent ongoing condensation of the rising vapor plume occurring at each adjacent condenser sub-unit and each non-adjacent condenser sub-unit that remains in the closed position.

6. The immersion cooling tank of claim 5 , wherein the internal conduits of each condenser sub-unit is coupled to a condensation liquid distribution system that channels the condensation fluid through the condenser.

7. The immersion cooling tank of claim 1 , further comprising a cover assembly that encloses a top portion of the tank volume when in a closed position and exposes the condenser sub-units when in an open position, wherein the cover assembly provides a substantially impervious seal for the tank volume to ensure that the rising vapor within the tank volume cannot escape the tank volume while the condenser is rotated into a closed position over the vertical space of the lower tank volume that is below the condenser.

8. An immersion cooling tank comprising:
a tank comprised of perimeter walls and a base wall and having: (a) a lower tank volume in which a liquid can be maintained and heated therein and in which a plurality of electronic devices that dissipate heat during operation can be placed; and an upper tank volume;
a condenser configured as a plurality of individually rotatable condenser sub-units, with each condenser sub-unit located in the upper tank volume above a vertically-defined space extending upwards from the lower tank volume, within which vertically-defined space an electronic device can be placed;
wherein each individual condenser sub-unit can be opened independent of the other sub-units, and each other condenser sub-unit can remain in a closed position above a vertically positioned electronic device while a first condenser sub-unit is opened to allow access to a first vertical space below the first condenser sub-unit.

9. The immersion cooling tank of claim 8 , further comprising:
an operating device holding structure within the tank volume having components that support insertion of multiple electronic devices in a side-by-side vertical configuration.

10. The immersion cooling tank of claim 9 , wherein:
the electronic devices comprise at least one information handling system;
the operating device holding structure is a rack structure within the tank volume having server rails that supports removable insertion of the at least one information handling system, wherein the server rails are oriented in the side-by-side vertical configuration to place each information handling system within a separate vertical space below a corresponding condenser sub-unit.

11. The immersion cooling tank of claim 8 , wherein each of the plurality of condenser sub-units is connected at one end via a hinge mechanism to the immersion cooling tank, which hinge mechanism enables the condenser sub-unit to be individually rotated from (1) a closed position in which a vertical space below the condenser sub-unit within the tank is sealed to allow the condenser sub-unit to condense rising vapor from a lower tank volume to (2) an open position in which exposure and/or access to the vertical space is provided.

12. The immersion cooling tank of claim 1 , wherein:
the individual condenser sub-units are rotatable from a closed position of 0 degrees to an open position ranging from greater than 0 degrees to a maximum number of degrees that is sufficiently large to allow access to the vertical space below the individual condenser sub-unit within the tank volume to perform a maintenance operation with the electronic device that is placed within that vertical space of the tank volume.

13. The immersion cooling tank of claim 1 , wherein each individual condenser sub-unit includes a separate condensation surface and a separate local conduit for piping condensation fluid to cool the separate condensation surface, and an opening of the first condenser sub-unit does not prevent ongoing condensation of the rising vapor plume occurring at each adjacent condenser sub-unit and each non-adjacent condenser sub-unit that remains in the closed position, wherein the internal conduits of each condenser sub-unit can be individually coupled to a condensation liquid distribution system that channels the condensation fluid through the condenser.

14. The immersion cooling tank of claim 8 , further comprising a cover assembly that encloses a top portion of the tank volume when in a closed position and exposes the condenser sub-units when in an open position, wherein the cover assembly provides a substantially impervious seal for the tank volume to ensure that the rising vapor within the tank volume cannot escape the tank volume while the condenser is rotated into a closed position over the vertical space of the lower tank volume that is below the condenser.

Assignees

• Dell Products Lp
• Dell Products Lp

Inventors

• Shelnutt Austin Michael
• Curlee James D
• Mills Richard Steven

Classifications

• F28D15/02

  in which the medium condenses and evaporates, e.g. heat pipes {(heat pipes used in solar heat collectors F24S10/95; in radiators F28D1/0226; in nuclear reactors G21C15/257)} · CPC title

• F28D15/06

  Control arrangements therefor · CPC title

• F28B9/06 Primary

  with provision for re-cooling the cooling water or other cooling liquid · CPC title

• H05K7/20809

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

• F28F2280/105

  with hinged connections · CPC title