International Business Machines Corporation

Other

Vette Corporation

Richard C Chu

Robert E Simons

Michael J Ellsworth, Jr

Madhusudan K Iyengar

Levi A Campbell

Roger R Schmidt

Milnes P David

Gregory Martin Chrysler

Prabjit Singh

Gary Franklin Goth

Dereje Agonafer

David T Vader

Hendrik F Hamann

Donald W Porter

Matthew R Archibald

Timothy M Anderson

Evan G Colgan

Vinod Kamath

Randy J Zoodsma

Randall G Kemink

Michael Lynn Zumbrunnen

Egidio E Marotta

Louis L Hsu

Paul Alfred Lauro

Jing Zhang

Da-Yuan Shih

Bruce Kenneth Furman

Edward Joseph Seminaro

Eric James McKeever

Howard Hao Chen

Jody A Hickey

Edward F Furey

Kevin P Moran

Willard S Harris

Jeffrey J Hare

Un-Pah Hwang

Daniel E Zambrano

Keith E Fogel

Michael Rizzolo

Jason Aaron Matteson

Dustin W Demetriou

Martin Joseph Crippen

James Howard Eaton

Roger A Hahn

Gaetano Paolo Messina

Takeshi Tsukamoto

Maurice Francis Holahan

Omkarnath R Gupta

Paul A Zucco

James J LaDue

Richard M Koenig

Ralph E Meagher

Clifford I Shelkofsky

Rebecca N Wagner

Robert E Simmons

Jeffrey C Eid

Micheal J Ellsworth, Jr

Keith F Fogel

Energy efficient control of cooling system cooling of an electronic system is provided based, in part, on weighted cooling effectiveness of the components. The control includes automatically determining speed control settings for multiple adjustable cooling components of the cooling system. The automatically determining is based, at least in part, on weighted cooling effectiveness of the components of the cooling system, and the determining operates to limit power consumption of at least the cooling system, while ensuring that a target temperature associated with at least one of the cooling system or the electronic system is within a desired range by provisioning, based on the weighted cooling effectiveness, a desired target temperature change among the multiple adjustable cooling components of the cooling system. The provisioning includes provisioning applied power to the multiple adjustable cooling components via, at least in part, the determined control settings.

Effectiveness-weighted control of cooling system components

Methods of fabricating cooling apparatuses with coolant filters are provided which facilitate heat transfer from an electronic component(s). The method includes providing a cooling apparatus which includes a liquid-cooled heat sink with a thermally conductive structure having a coolant-carrying compartment including a region of reduced cross-sectional coolant flow area. The heat sink includes a coolant inlet and outlet in fluid communication with the compartment, and the region of reduced cross-sectional coolant flow area provides an increased effective heat transfer coefficient between a main heat transfer surface of the conductive structure and the coolant. A coolant loop is also provided coupled to the coolant inlet and outlet to facilitate flow of coolant through the coolant-carrying compartment, and a coolant filter positioned to filter contaminants from the coolant passing through the heat sink. The coolant filter has a larger cross-sectional coolant flow area than the region of reduced cross-sectional coolant flow area.

Fabricating a liquid-cooling apparatus with coolant filter

Cooling apparatuses and methods of fabricating thereof are provided which facilitate pumped immersion-cooling of an electronic component(s). The cooling apparatus includes an enclosure having a compartment accommodating the electronic component(s), and dielectric fluid within the compartment at least partially immersing the electronic component(s). A liquid-cooled heat sink is associated with the enclosure to cool at least one cooling surface associated with the compartment, and facilitate heat transfer to the heat sink from the electronic component(s) via the dielectric fluid. A pump is disposed external to the compartment and in fluid communication therewith to facilitate pumped dielectric fluid flow through the compartment. The pumped dielectric fluid flow through the compartment enhances heat transfer from the electronic component(s) to the liquid-cooled heat sink via the cooling surface(s). In one implementation, the pumped dielectric fluid flow provides two-phase cooling to the electronic component(s) via flow boiling.

Pump-enhanced, immersion-cooling of electronic compnent(s)

A heat sink, and cooled electronic structure and cooled electronics apparatus utilizing the heat sink are provided. The heat sink is fabricated of a thermally conductive structure which includes one or more coolant-carrying channels coupled to facilitate the flow of coolant through the coolant-carrying channel(s). The heat sink further includes a membrane associated with the coolant-carrying channel(s). The membrane includes at least one vapor-permeable region, which overlies a portion of the coolant-carrying channel(s) and facilitates removal of vapor from the coolant-carrying channel(s), and at least one orifice coupled to inject coolant onto at least one surface of the coolant-carrying channel(s) intermediate opposite ends of the channel(s).

Heat sink structure with a vapor-permeable membrane for two-phase cooling

A cooled electronic system and cooling method are provided, wherein a field-replaceable bank of electronic components is cooled by an apparatus which includes an enclosure at least partially surrounding and forming a compartment about the electronic components, a fluid disposed within the compartment, and a heat sink associated with the enclosure. The field-replaceable bank extends, in part, through the enclosure to facilitate operative docking of the electronic components into one or more respective receiving sockets of the electronic system. The electronic components of the field-replaceable bank are, at least partially, immersed within the fluid to facilitate immersion-cooling of the components, and the heat sink facilitates rejection of heat from the fluid disposed within the compartment. In one embodiment, multiple thermal conductors project from an inner surface of the enclosure into the compartment to facilitate transfer of heat from the fluid to the heat sink.

Field-replaceable bank of immersion-cooled electronic components

Apparatuses and methods are provided for facilitating cooling of an electronic component. The apparatus includes a vapor-compression refrigeration system, which includes an expansion component, an evaporator, a compressor and a condenser coupled in fluid communication. The evaporator is coupled to and cools the electronic component. The apparatus further includes a contaminant separator coupled in fluid communication with the refrigerant flow path. The separator includes a refrigerant cold filter and a thermoelectric array. At least a portion of refrigerant passing through the refrigerant flow path passes through the cold filter, and the thermoelectric array provides cooling to the cold filter to cool refrigerant passing through the filter. By cooling refrigerant passing through the filter, contaminants solidify from the refrigerant, and are deposited in the cold filter. The separator may further include a refrigerant hot filter coupled to a hot side of the thermoelectric array for further filtering the refrigerant.

Contaminant separator for a vapor-compression refrigeration apparatus

A method is provided for dissipating heat from a rack. The method includes: disposing a coolant-cooled heat exchanger within the rack, and providing a coolant control apparatus. The coolant control apparatus includes at least one coolant recirculation conduit coupled in fluid communication between a facility coolant supply and return, wherein the facility coolant supply and return facilitate providing facility coolant to the heat exchanger. The control apparatus further includes a coolant pump(s) associated with the recirculation conduit(s) and a controller which monitors a temperature of facility coolant supplied to the heat exchanger, and redirects facility coolant, via the coolant recirculation conduit(s) and coolant pump(s), from the facility coolant return to the facility coolant supply to, at least in part, ensure that facility coolant supplied to the heat exchanger remains above a dew point temperature.

Direct facility coolant cooling of a rack-mounted heat exchanger

Cooling apparatuses, cooled electronic modules, and methods of fabrication are provided which facilitate heat transfer from one or more electronic components to a coolant. The cooling apparatus includes a coolant-cooled heat sink with a thermally conductive structure having a coolant-carrying compartment including a varying cross-sectional coolant flow area through which coolant flows in a direction substantially parallel to a main heat transfer surface of the structure coupled to the electronic component(s). The coolant-cooled heat sink includes a coolant inlet and a coolant outlet in fluid communication with the coolant-carrying compartment, and the coolant flow area of the coolant-carrying compartment decreases, at least in part, in a direction of coolant flow through the coolant-carrying compartment. The decreasing coolant flow area facilitates an increasing effective heat transfer coefficient between the main heat transfer surface and the coolant by, at least in part, accelerating the coolant flow within the coolant-carrying compartment.

Coolant-cooled heat sink configured for accelerating coolant flow

Dehumidifying cooling apparatus and method are provided for an electronics rack. The apparatus includes an air-to-liquid heat exchanger disposed at an air inlet or outlet side of the rack, wherein air flows through the rack from the air inlet to the air outlet side. The heat exchanger is positioned for air passing through the electronics rack to pass across the heat exchanger, and is in fluid communication with a coolant loop for passing coolant therethrough at a temperature below a dew point temperature of the air passing across the heat exchanger so that air passing across the heat exchanger is dehumidified and cooled. A condensate collector, disposed below the heat exchanger, collects liquid condensate from the dehumidifying of air passing through the electronics rack, wherein the heat exchanger includes a plurality of sloped surfaces configured to facilitate drainage of liquid condensate from the heat exchanger to the condensate collector.

Dehumidifying cooling apparatus and method for an electronics rack

Cooling methods are provided which include providing a heat sink having a housing with a compartment, a coolant inlet, and a coolant outlet. The housing is configured for a coolant to flow from the coolant inlet through the compartment to the coolant outlet, wherein the coolant is transferring heat extracted from one or more electronic components. The heat sink further includes one or more heat pipes having a first portion disposed within the compartment of the housing and a second portion disposed outside the housing. The heat pipe(s) is configured to extract heat from the coolant flowing through the compartment, and to transfer the extracted heat to the second portion disposed outside the housing. The second portion outside the housing is disposed to facilitate conducting the extracted heat into the ground.

Ground-based heat sink facilitating electronic system cooling

Growing community of inventors

Hopewell Junction, NY, United States of America

Richard C Chu