US-12621962-B2 - Capillary cooling systems for cooling electronic devices and methods thereof

US12621962B2US 12621962 B2US12621962 B2US 12621962B2US-12621962-B2

Abstract

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for cooling electronic devices. The system includes a capillary cooler assembly comprising a housing, a plurality of feeding tubes within the housing, a wick within the housing, and one or more vapor outlets, a fluid feed line fluidly coupled to the plurality of feeding tubes, a fluid bypass line fluidly coupled to the fluid feed line, a fluid bypass valve fluidly coupled to the fluid feed line and the fluid bypass line, wherein the fluid bypass valve is selectively operable between at least two positions that control a flow of cooling fluid through the fluid bypass line, a vapor line fluidly coupled to the one or more vapor outlets, a condenser fluidly coupled to the fluid bypass line, the vapor line, and the fluid feed line, and a pump fluidly coupled to the condenser and the fluid feed line.

Inventors

Danny J. LOHAN
Shailesh N. Joshi
Ercan M. Dede

Assignees

TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230515

Claims (16)

1 . A system for cooling electronic devices, the system comprising: one or more electronic devices; a capillary cooler assembly comprising a housing, a plurality of feeding tubes within the housing, a wick within the housing, and one or more vapor outlets; a fluid feed line fluidly coupled to the plurality of feeding tubes; a fluid bypass line fluidly coupled to the fluid feed line; a fluid bypass valve fluidly coupled to the fluid feed line and the fluid bypass line, wherein the fluid bypass valve is selectively operable between at least two positions that control a flow of cooling fluid through the fluid bypass line; a vapor line fluidly coupled to the one or more vapor outlets; a condenser fluidly coupled to the fluid bypass line, the vapor line, and the fluid feed line; and a pump fluidly coupled to the condenser and the fluid feed line.
2 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a controller operable to selectively move the fluid bypass valve between at the least two positions.
3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the controller selectively moves the fluid bypass valve by open loop control.
4 . The system of claim 2 , further comprising a temperature sensor operable to monitor temperature of the one or more electronic devices, wherein the temperature sensor provides temperature data to the controller such that the controller selectively moves the fluid bypass valve between the at least two positions based at least in part on the temperature data.
5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the controller selectively moves the fluid bypass valve by at least one of: (1) proportional control, (2) proportional-integral control, or (3) proportional-integral-derivative control.
6 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the controller is operable to monitor a power consumption of the one or more electronic devices and selectively move the fluid bypass valve between the at least two positions based at least in part on the power consumption.
7 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a controller operable to control the pump.
8 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a heat exchanger fluidly coupled to the condenser.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least two positions comprises 100-percent open, 60-percent open, and 30-percent open.
10 . A data center comprising: one or more electronic devices; a system for cooling the one or more electronic devices comprising: a capillary cooler assembly comprising a housing, a plurality of feeding tubes within the housing, a wick within the housing, and one or more vapor outlets; a fluid feed line fluidly coupled to the plurality of feeding tubes; a fluid bypass line fluidly coupled to the fluid feed line; a fluid bypass valve fluidly coupled to the fluid feed line and the fluid bypass line, wherein the fluid bypass valve is selectively operable between at least two positions that control a flow of cooling fluid through the fluid bypass line; a vapor line fluidly coupled to the one or more vapor outlets; a condenser fluidly coupled to the fluid bypass line, the vapor line, and the fluid feed line; and a pump fluidly coupled to the condenser and the fluid feed line.
11 . The data center of claim 10 , further comprising a controller operable to move the fluid bypass valve between positions.
12 . The data center of claim 11 , wherein the controller selectively moves the fluid bypass valve by open loop control.
13 . The data center of claim 11 , further comprising a temperature sensor operable to monitor temperature of the one or more electronic devices, wherein the temperature sensor provides temperature data to the controller such that the controller selectively moves the fluid bypass valve between the at least two positions based at least in part on the temperature data.
14 . The data center of claim 13 , wherein the controller selectively moves the fluid bypass valve by proportional control.
15 . The data center of claim 12 , wherein the controller is operable to monitor a power consumption of the one or more electronic devices and selectively move the fluid bypass valve between the at least two positions based at least in part on the power consumption.
16 . The data center of claim 11 , wherein the at least two positions comprises 100 -percent open, 60 -percent open, and 30 -percent open.

Description

BACKGROUND Field The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for cooling electronics. Technical Background Electronic devices can be housed in facilities such as data centers and arranged in various setups, such as vertical stacks. Such electronic devices require cooling to maintain the electronic devices at preferred operating temperature. Conventional cooling systems for electronic devices may pump a constant volume of fluid through the electronic devices. This may result in efficient use of electricity to pump more fluid than is necessary, as well as allowing for excessive vapor pressure build up within the cooling system. SUMMARY Electronic devices generate heat during operation. In order to operate effectively, electronic devices should be maintained within an ideal operating temperature range. Thus, electronic devices should be cooled. Electronic devices may be arranged in stacks inside facilities wherein the facility requires a large scale cooling system to maintain the electronic devices at a preferred operating temperature. Evaporative cooling systems may be used to cool electronic devices. Evaporative cooling utilizes the phase change of a cooling medium from fluid to vapor to absorb heat during the phase change. The heat may be absorbed from the electronic device. Conventional large scale electronic device cooling systems may pump a constant volume of fluid across electronic devices. This may delay when evaporative cooling begins, and may also more quickly vaporize the cooling medium such that vapor pressure builds up in the system and the electronic device does not draw as much cooling medium as it requires to be maintained at an ideal operating temperature. Therefore, there exists a need for a large scale cooling system which can more efficiently initiate evaporative cooling and control the build-up of vapor pressure in the cooling system. The present system can more efficiently use electricity to cool electronic devices by utilizing a fluid bypass valve to control the flow cooling fluid across electronic devices. By manipulating the fluid flow with the fluid bypass valve such that a portion of the fluid cools the electronic device and a portion of the fluid bypasses the electronic device and flows directly to the condenser, evaporative cooling may be achieved at a lower power level compared to non-bypassed fluid flow, and evaporative cooling may be maintained over a longer power level range compared to non-bypassed fluid flow. Embodiments generally include a pump, a fluid feed line wherein the fluid feed line is fluidly coupled to the pump, a bypass line fluidly coupled to the fluid feed line, a fluid bypass valve fluidly coupled to the bypass line, one or more capillary coolers fluidly coupled to the fluid feed line and configured on wicks mounted on one or more electronic devices, a vapor line fluidly coupled to the one or more electronic devices, and a condenser fluidly coupled to the vapor line and the fluid bypass line. The electronic devices may evaporate a fluid and the condenser may condense the fluid. The one or more electronic devices may be arranged in vertical stacks. In some embodiments there may be a controller which is configured to monitor a characteristic of the one or more electronic devices and is further coupled to the pump and/or valve. In some embodiments, the system is arranged in a data center. In other embodiments, the system may be arranged in an automobile. In one embodiment a system for cooling electronic devices includes one or more electronic devices, a capillary cooler assembly comprising a housing, a plurality of feeding tubes within the housing, a wick within the housing, and one or more vapor outlets, a fluid feed line fluidly coupled to the plurality of feeding tubes, a fluid bypass line fluidly coupled to the fluid feed line, a fluid bypass valve fluidly coupled to the fluid feed line and the fluid bypass line, wherein the fluid bypass valve is selectively operable between at least two positions that control a flow of cooling fluid through the fluid bypass line, a vapor line fluidly coupled to the one or more vapor outlets, a condenser fluidly coupled to the fluid bypass line, the vapor line, and the fluid feed line, and a pump fluidly coupled to the condenser and the fluid feed line. In another embodiment a method for cooling electronic devices includes the steps of controlling a pump to move a cooling fluid along a fluid feed line toward a capillary cooler coupled to one or more electronic devices, controlling a position of a fluid bypass valve, wherein the fluid bypass valve is fluidly coupled to the fluid feed line and a fluid bypass line, and the fluid bypass line routes the cooling fluid away from the capillary cooler based on the position of the fluid bypass valve. In yet another embodiment a data center includes one or more electronic devices, a system for cooling the one or more electronic devices including: a capillary cooler assembly com