TWI911067B - Liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly and server device including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly is configured for cooling a central processing unit and at least one voltage regulator. The liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly includes a cold plate, at least one thermally conductive metal component, and at least one heat pipe. The cold plate is configured to be in thermal contact with the central processing unit and for coolant to flow through. The thermally conductive metal component is configured to be in thermal contact with the voltage regulator. Two ends of the heat pipe are respectively thermally coupled to the cold plate and the thermally conductive metal component.

Description

Liquid cooling heat dissipation components and server devices containing them

The present invention relates to a liquid cooling heat dissipation component and a server device including the thereof, and more particularly to an integrated liquid cooling heat dissipation component and a server device including the thereof.

With the continuous development of artificial intelligence (AI), AI products are emerging in large numbers, and the market demand for computing power is increasing day by day. In order to improve computing speed, server performance must be improved accordingly. However, the computing power of high-performance server chips is usually accompanied by higher power consumption, and high-performance chips require more efficient heat dissipation methods.

In recent years, countries around the world have actively promoted energy conservation and carbon reduction, making the energy consumption of data centers a major concern. Traditional air-cooled servers mainly rely on high-speed fans to cool internal heat-generating components. However, this heat dissipation method is not only energy-intensive and noisy, but also has low heat dissipation efficiency. In traditional servers, the central processing unit (CPU) is usually the main high-power heat-generating component, and in the environment of a high-power CPU, the power supply modules responsible for stabilizing the power supply (such as voltage regulators, VR) also usually generate a lot of heat.

Therefore, how to effectively solve the heat dissipation problem of the CPU and its power supply module has become an important direction for current server heat dissipation technology research.

The present invention provides a liquid cooling heat dissipation component and a server device containing the liquid cooling component, thereby solving the problems of high power consumption, high noise and low heat dissipation efficiency of air-cooled servers in the prior art.

An embodiment of the present invention discloses a liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly for cooling a central processing unit and at least one voltage regulator. The liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly includes a cold plate, at least one thermally conductive metal component, and at least one heat pipe. The cold plate is used to thermally contact the central processing unit and to supply coolant. The thermally conductive metal component is used to thermally contact the voltage regulator. The two ends of the heat pipe are thermally coupled to the cold plate and the thermally conductive metal component, respectively.

Another embodiment of the present invention discloses a server device comprising a motherboard, a central processing unit (CPU), at least one voltage regulator, and a liquid cooling system. The CPU is mounted on the motherboard. The voltage regulator is mounted on the motherboard. The liquid cooling system comprises a cold plate, at least one thermally conductive metal component, and at least one heat pipe. The cold plate is in thermal contact with the CPU and provides a coolant flow. The thermally conductive metal component is in thermal contact with the voltage regulator. The two ends of the heat pipe are thermally coupled to the cold plate and the thermally conductive metal component, respectively.

According to the liquid cooling heat dissipation component and the server device containing it disclosed in the above embodiments, the integrated liquid cooling heat dissipation component design can effectively dissipate heat from both the central processing unit (CPU) and the voltage regulator simultaneously. The cold plate is in thermal contact with the CPU, while the heat generated by the voltage regulator is transferred to the cold plate through thermally conductive metal parts and heat pipes. Finally, the coolant in the cold plate carries away the heat from both the CPU and the voltage regulator, thus achieving simultaneous and effective heat dissipation for both the CPU and the voltage regulator.

The above description of the contents of this invention and the following description of the embodiments are used to demonstrate and explain the principles of this invention, and to provide a further explanation of the scope of the patent application of this invention.

The following embodiments detail the features and advantages of the present invention, which are sufficient to enable anyone skilled in the art to understand the technical content of the embodiments of the present invention and implement them accordingly. Furthermore, based on the content disclosed in this specification, the scope of the patent application, and the drawings, anyone skilled in the art can easily understand the relevant objectives and advantages of the present invention. The following embodiments further illustrate the viewpoints of the present invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

Please refer to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of a server device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 2 is a side view of the server device of Figure 1.

The server device 1 of this embodiment includes a motherboard 9, a central processing unit 8, multiple voltage regulators 7, and a liquid cooling heat dissipation component 10. The central processing unit 8 and the voltage regulators 7 are both located on the motherboard 9. The liquid cooling heat dissipation component 10 is used to cool the central processing unit 8 and the voltage regulators 7.

The liquid cooling heat dissipation component 10 may include a cold plate 11, multiple thermally conductive metal parts 12, multiple thermally conductive pads 13, and multiple heat pipes 14.

The cold plate 11 is in thermal contact with the central processing unit 8 and is used to supply coolant. Specifically, the cold plate 11 may include a plate body 110, an inlet connector 111, and an outlet connector 112. The plate body 110 is in thermal contact with the central processing unit 8, and has a fluid chamber inside. The inlet connector 111 and the outlet connector 112 are disposed on the plate body 110 and are both in fluid communication with the fluid chamber of the plate body 110. The inlet connector 111 can be fluidly connected to a coolant distribution unit (CDU, not shown) through an inlet pipe P1, and the outlet connector 112 can be fluidly connected to the coolant distribution unit through an outlet pipe P2. This allows for the formation of a cooling circuit to effectively dissipate heat from the central processing unit 8. The coolant distribution unit may include, for example, a heat exchanger for cooling the coolant. The material of the cold plate 11 may be, for example, copper, but the invention is not limited thereto.

These thermally conductive metal parts 12 are in thermal contact with the voltage regulators 7. These thermally conductive metal parts 12 may be, for example, copper blocks, but the invention is not limited to this. In this embodiment, thermally conductive pads 13 are respectively disposed between these thermally conductive metal parts 12 and the voltage regulators 7, so that these thermally conductive metal parts 12 can make thermal contact with the voltage regulators 7 through these thermally conductive pads 13. The thermally conductive pads are optional, and the invention is not limited to this.

The two ends of these heat pipes 14 are thermally coupled to the plate body 110 of the cold plate 11 and the thermally conductive metal parts 12, respectively. In this way, the heat generated by the voltage regulator 7 can be transferred to the cold plate 11 via thermal conduction through the thermal pad 13, the thermally conductive metal parts 12, and the heat pipes 14. Then, the heat transferred to the cold plate 11 is carried away through the cooling circuit formed by the cold plate 11 and the coolant distribution unit, thereby achieving simultaneous and effective heat dissipation for the central processing unit 8 and the voltage regulator 7. These heat pipes 14 may be, for example, high thermal conductivity heat pipes, but the invention is not limited to this.

The invention is not limited to the number of heat-conducting metal parts and heat pipes. In different embodiments of the invention, the number of heat-conducting metal parts and heat pipes can be adjusted to one or more according to actual design requirements.

According to the liquid cooling heat dissipation component and the server device containing it in the above embodiment, the integrated liquid cooling heat dissipation component design can effectively dissipate heat from both the central processing unit (CPU) and the voltage regulator simultaneously. The cold plate is in thermal contact with the CPU, while the heat generated by the voltage regulator is transferred to the cold plate through thermally conductive metal parts and heat pipes. Finally, the coolant in the cold plate carries away the heat from both the CPU and the voltage regulator, thus achieving simultaneous and effective heat dissipation for both the CPU and the voltage regulator.

Furthermore, compared to traditional servers that use air cooling, the liquid cooling heat dissipation component and server device containing it disclosed in this invention adopt a liquid cooling solution, which has a thermal conductivity 15 to 25 times that of air cooling solutions, enabling higher heat flux density heat dissipation. It can handle high-power central processing units and voltage regulators, and its performance is more stable and its service life is longer.

Furthermore, compared to traditional servers that use air cooling, the liquid cooling heat dissipation component and server device containing it disclosed in this invention have a more compact liquid cooling system design, rely on liquid flow for heat dissipation, are not limited by space, and have better heat dissipation effect.

Furthermore, for traditional servers that rely solely on air cooling, the central processing unit (CPU) and voltage regulator are often the most difficult areas to dissipate heat, frequently participating in fan speed control and thus posing a risk to heat dissipation. The liquid cooling component and server device containing it disclosed in this invention, with its liquid cooling design, can cover heat sources on the motherboard to a great extent, effectively solving this problem and reducing the power consumption of the system fans.

During the simulation test of the liquid cooling heat dissipation component and the server device containing it in the above embodiment, the inlet temperature of the coolant was set to 40°C and the flow rate to 1.2 L/min, and the system simulation was executed. The power consumption of the central processing unit (CPU) was 600W, and the power consumption of the voltage regulator (VR) was 98.142W. The simulation results showed that the highest temperature of the CPU was 67.7°C, lower than the specified requirement of 72°C, and the temperature of the voltage regulator was 79.7°C, also lower than the specified requirement of 90°C. Therefore, the simulation results meet the specifications of each component and have sufficient margin.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to the preferred embodiments described above, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone skilled in the art may make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of patent protection of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the patent application attached to this specification.

1: Server Unit 7: Voltage Regulator 8: Central Processing Unit 9: Motherboard 10: Liquid Cooling Components 11: Cold Plate 12: Thermally Conductive Metal Components 13: Thermal Pad 14: Heat Pipe 110: Plate Body 111: Liquid Inlet Connector 112: Liquid Outlet Connector P1: Liquid Inlet Pipe P2: Liquid Outlet Pipe

Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of a server device according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a side view of the server device of Figure 1.

1: Server Device

7: Voltage Regulator

8: Central Processing Unit

9: Motherboard

10: Liquid cooling heat dissipation components

11: Cold Plate

12: Thermally conductive metal components

13: Thermal pad

14: Heat pipes

110: Plate

111: Liquid inlet connector

112: Liquid outlet connector

P1: Liquid inlet tube

P2: Discharge tube

Claims (10)

A liquid cooling system for cooling a central processing unit (CPU) and at least one voltage regulator, the liquid cooling system comprising: a cold plate for thermal contact with the CPU and for supplying a coolant; at least one thermally conductive metal element for thermal contact with the at least one voltage regulator; and at least one heat pipe, the two ends of the heat pipe being thermally coupled to the cold plate and the at least one thermally conductive metal element, respectively. The liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the at least one thermally conductive metal component is a copper block. The liquid cooling heat dissipation component as described in claim 1 further includes at least one thermal pad, wherein the at least one thermal pad is disposed between the at least one thermally conductive metal member and the at least one voltage regulator. The liquid cooling heat dissipation assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the number of the at least one voltage regulator is multiple, the number of the at least one thermally conductive metal element is multiple, and the number of the at least one heat pipe is multiple. The liquid cooling heat dissipation component as described in claim 1, wherein the cold plate includes a plate body, a liquid inlet connector and a liquid outlet connector, the plate body is used to thermally contact the central processor and has a fluid chamber, the liquid inlet connector and the liquid outlet connector are disposed on the plate body and fluidly connected to the fluid chamber, the liquid inlet connector is used to fluidly connect to a heat exchanger through a liquid inlet pipe, and the liquid outlet connector is used to fluidly connect to the heat exchanger through a liquid outlet pipe. A server device includes: a motherboard; a central processing unit (CPU) disposed on the motherboard; at least one voltage regulator disposed on the motherboard; and a liquid cooling system comprising: a cold plate thermally contacting the CPU and providing a coolant for circulation; at least one thermally conductive metal element thermally contacting the at least one voltage regulator; and at least one heat pipe, the two ends of which are thermally coupled to the cold plate and the at least one thermally conductive metal element, respectively. The server device as described in claim 6, wherein the at least one heat-conducting metal element is a copper block. The server device as described in claim 6, wherein the liquid cooling heat dissipation component further includes at least one thermal pad, and the at least one thermal pad is disposed between the at least one thermally conductive metal member and the at least one voltage regulator. The server device as described in claim 6, wherein the number of the at least one voltage regulator is multiple, the number of the at least one thermally conductive metal element is multiple, and the number of the at least one heat pipe is multiple. The server device as described in claim 6, wherein the cold plate includes a plate body, a liquid inlet connector and a liquid outlet connector, the plate body is in thermal contact with the central processor and has a fluid chamber, the liquid inlet connector and the liquid outlet connector are disposed on the plate body and fluidly connected to the fluid chamber, the liquid inlet connector is fluidly connected to a heat exchanger through a liquid inlet pipe, and the liquid outlet connector is fluidly connected to the heat exchanger through a liquid outlet pipe.