Liquid submersion cooled electronic systems

• US 11,032,939 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2018
• Issued: 06/08/2021
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Liquidcool Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Liquidcool Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Tufty, Rick, Shafer, Steve
• Primary Examiner(s): Buttar, Mandeep S
• Application Number:
  US16/222,429
• Publication Number:
  US 20190124790A1
• Time in Patent Office: 904 Days
• Field of Search: 361699, 361714, 257E23098, 257714, 165159, 165 804
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/20 Cooling means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/201 Cooling arrangements using cooling fluid
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/067 containing a dielectric fluid
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20236 by immersion
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20263 Heat dissipaters releasing heat from coolant
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20272 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 Class Codes: H05K 7/20281 Thermal management, e.g. liquid flow control
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20772 within server blades for removing heat from heat source

Abstract

An enclosure for an electronic system that is configured to act as a heat exchanger to remove heat from a cooling liquid that is circulated through the electronic system for cooling the electronic components thereof which are submerged in the cooling liquid in direct contact therewith. The enclosure uses an arrangement of a combination of external fins on one or more walls and fluid passages formed in one or more of the walls through which the cooling liquid is circulated for cooling. The fluid passages and the external fins are preferably formed on the same wall. The fins and the fluid passages can be formed on any number of walls of the enclosure.

Claims

1. A method of cooling heat generating electronic computer components of a computing system, comprising:

submerging the heat generating electronic computer components, that are mounted on an upper surface of a circuit board, of the computing system in a dielectric cooling liquid contained in an interior space defined within a liquid-tight enclosure of the computing system so that the heat generating electronic computer components are in direct contact with the dielectric cooling liquid;

the liquid-tight enclosure includes a first wall, a second wall opposite the first wall, a third wall interconnecting the first wall and the second wall, a fourth wall opposite the third wall and interconnecting the first wall and the second wall, a first end wall and a second end wall;

the first wall and the second wall are each larger in area than the third wall, the fourth wall, the first end wall, and the second end wall; and

the upper surface of the circuit board is parallel to the first wall and to the second wall;

circulating the dielectric cooling liquid through a heat exchanger for cooling the dielectric cooling liquid without circulating the dielectric cooling liquid to a heat exchanger external to the liquid-tight enclosure, wherein the dielectric cooling liquid is circulated by a pump disposed within the interior space of the liquid-tight enclosure and submerged in the dielectric cooling liquid and the pump is not mounted on the circuit board, and the pump is positioned closer to the first end wall than it is to the second end wall; and

directing a return flow of the dielectric cooling liquid, after being cooled in the heat exchanger, into a manifold that does not overlap the upper surface and that is not affixed to the circuit board, the manifold is positioned closer to the second end wall than it is to the first end wall, and thereafter from the manifold directly onto at least one of the submerged heat generating electronic computer components or directly onto a heat sink that is fixed to the at least one submerged heat generating electronic computer component.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising at least one additional heat sink fixed to an additional one of the heat generating electronic computer components, and directing a return flow of the dielectric cooling liquid directly onto the additional one of the submerged heat generating electronic computer components or directly onto the additional heat sink that is fixed to the additional one of the submerged heat generating electronic computer components.

3. A liquid submersion cooled computer, comprising:

a sealed, liquid-tight enclosure defining an interior space, the sealed, liquid-tight enclosure having a plurality of walls including a bottom wall, a top wall parallel to the bottom wall, a first side wall, a second side wall that is parallel to the first side wall, a first end wall, and a second end wall;

an area of each one of the bottom wall and the top wall is greater than an area of each of the first side wall, the second side wall, the first end wall, and the second end wall;

a circuit board disposed in the interior space, an upper surface of the circuit board being parallel to the bottom wall;

heat generating electronic computer components disposed on the upper surface of the circuit board;

a dielectric cooling liquid within the interior space and submerging the heat generating electronic computer components in direct contact therewith;

a pump within the interior space and submerged in the dielectric cooling liquid, the pump having an inlet in communication with the dielectric cooling liquid, and an outlet, the pump is not mounted on the circuit board, and the pump is positioned closer to the first end wall than it is to the second end wall;

a heat exchanger that is not external to the sealed, liquid-tight enclosure, the heat exchanger is in fluid communication with the outlet of the pump to receive warm dielectric cooling liquid from the outlet of the pump, and the heat exchanger is configured to cool the warm dielectric cooling liquid;

the heat exchanger having an outlet through which cooled dielectric cooling liquid is output; and

a manifold within the enclosure and not overlapping the upper surface of and not affixed to the circuit board, the manifold is positioned closer to the second end wall than it is to the first end wall, the manifold extends perpendicular to the first side wall and to the second side wall, the manifold is in fluid communication with the outlet of the heat exchanger to receive the cooled dielectric liquid therefrom, the manifold includes at least one outlet that directs a returning flow of the cooled dielectric liquid onto at least one of the submerged heat generating electronic computer components or directly onto a heat sink that is fixed to the at least one submerged heat generating electronic computer component.

4. The liquid submersion cooled computer of claim 3, wherein the heat generating electronic computer components form a server computer system, and the at least one submerged heat generating electronic computer component includes a processor.

5. The liquid submersion cooled computer of claim 3, comprising an additional pump within the interior space, the additional pump having an inlet in communication with the dielectric cooling liquid, and an outlet.

6. A system, comprising:

a rack having a plurality of vertical levels; and

a liquid submersion cooled computer of claim 3 on each of the vertical levels of the rack.