System and method for providing cooling in a three-dimensional infrastructure for massively scalable computers

• US 20050152114A1
• Filed: 01/09/2004
• Published: 07/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ries, Manfred, Huels, Harald, Fleiner, Claudio Matthias, Fernandez, Kenneth Richard, Garner, Robert Barton, Wilcke, Winfried Wolfgang
• Granted Patent: US 7,242,579 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/699
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/20 Cooling means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/201 Cooling arrangements using cooling fluid
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49169 Assembling electrical component directly to terminal or elongated conductor

Abstract

A three-dimensional computer infrastructure cooling system is provided. The three-dimensional computer infrastructure cooling system includes at least one compute, storage, or communications brick. In addition, the three-dimensional computer infrastructure cooling system includes at least one coldrail to facilitate the removal of heat from the at least one compute, storage, or communications brick. Also, the three-dimensional computer infrastructure includes a brick-internal carrier within the at least one compute, storage, communications brick, wherein the brick-internal carrier is attached to the at least one coldrail. Moreover, the three-dimensional computer infrastructure includes a power dissipating electronic element within the at-least-one compute, storage, or communications brick, wherein the power dissipating element is attached to the brick-internal carrier.

Claims

1. A three-dimensional computer infrastructure cooling system, comprising:

at least one brick;

at least one coldrail to facilitate the removal of heat from the at least one brick;

a brick-internal carrier within the at least one brick, wherein the brick-internal carrier is attached to the at least one coldrail; and

a power dissipating electronic element within the at least one brick, wherein the power dissipating element is attached to the brick-internal carrier,

whereby the brick-internal carrier facilitates delivery of heat from the heat dissipating element to the at least one coldrail.

2. The computer infrastructure cooling system of claim 1 wherein the brick is a compute, storage or communications brick.

3. The computer infrastructure cooling system of claim 1 further comprises a heat conducting element within the brick wherein the heat conducting element is attached at a first end to the power dissipating electronic element and at a second end to the brick-internal carrier.

4. The computer infrastructure cooling system of claim 3 wherein the heat conducting element is a heat pipe.

5. The computer infrastructure cooling system of claim 1 further comprises a base to which the coldrail is mounted.

6. The computer infrastructure cooling system of claim 5 wherein the base includes a cooling manifold to deliver a coolant through the coldrail, wherein the coolant removes heat from the brick via the coldrail'"'"'s attachment to the brick-internal carrier.

7. The computer infrastructure cooling system of claim 6 wherein the coolant is an air coolant or a liquid coolant.

8. The computer infrastructure cooling system of claim 6 wherein the coolant can have either a uni-directional or a bi-directional flow through the coldrail.

9. The computer infrastructure cooling system of claim 5 wherein the base includes a control computer to monitor the cooling system.

10. The computer infrastructure cooling system of claim 1 wherein the brick includes an opening at two ends which allow the brick to be slid down the coldrail into a resting position towards the base.

11. The computer infrastructure cooling system of claim 1 wherein the coldrail is attached via a clamp to the brick-internal carrier.

12. The computer infrastructure cooling system of claim 11 wherein the brick-internal carrier can move with respect to the external surface of the brick,

whereby the brick-internal carrier'"'"'s ability to move with respect to the brick external surface provides for optimization of the brick-internal carrier'"'"'s contact area to the coldrail and allows for warping of the coldrail.

13. The computer infrastructure cooling system of claim 11 wherein a thermal interface material is applied between the coldrail and the brick-internal carrier surface in order to achieve optimal temperature differentials.