Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080229780 | System and Method for Separating Components of a Fluid Coolant for Cooling a Structure - According to one embodiment of the invention, a cooling system for a heat-generating structure includes a heating device, a cooling loop, and a separation structure. The heating device heats a flow of fluid coolant including a mixture of water and antifreeze. The cooling loop includes a director structure which directs the flow of the fluid coolant substantially in the form of a liquid to the heating device. The heating device vaporizes a substantial portion of the water into vapor while leaving a substantial portion of the antifreeze as liquid. The separation structure receives, from the heating device, the flow of fluid coolant with the substantial portion of the water as vapor and the substantial portion of the antifreeze as liquid. The separation structure separates one of the substantial portion of the water as vapor or the substantial portion of the antifreeze as liquid from the cooling loop while allowing the other of the substantial portion of the water as vapor or the substantial portion of the antifreeze as liquid to remain in the cooling loop. | 09-25-2008 |
20080283219 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR MULTIPLE TEMPERATURE LEVELS - Methods and apparatus for thermal management according to various aspects of the present invention comprise a heat exchanger and one or more controllable thermal transfer elements. In one embodiment, the thermal transfer elements comprise thermoelectric coolers. The thermal transfer elements are thermally coupled to the heat exchanger. Components on a surface near the thermal transfer elements may be selectively cooled by controlling the thermal transfer elements. | 11-20-2008 |
20090077981 | Topping Cycle for a Sub-Ambient Cooling System - According to one embodiment of the disclosure, a cooling system for a heat-generating structure comprises a heat exchanger, a first structure, a condenser heat exchanger, and a second condenser. The heat exchanger is in thermal communication with a heat-generating structure. The heat exchanger has an inlet and an outlet. The inlet is operable to receive fluid coolant substantially in the form of a liquid into the heat exchanger, and the outlet is operable to dispense fluid coolant at least partially in the form of a vapor out of the heat exchanger. The first structure directs a flow of the fluid coolant substantially in the form of a liquid to the heat exchanger. Thermal energy communicated from the heat-generating structure to the fluid coolant causes the fluid coolant substantially in the form of a liquid to boil and vaporize in the heat exchanger. The condenser heat exchanger receives a flow of the fluid coolant at least partially in the form of a vapor from the heat exchanger and transfers at least a portion of the thermal energy within the fluid coolant to a heat sink. The second condenser assists the condenser heat exchanger in transferring at least a portion of the thermal energy within the fluid coolant away from the fluid coolant. The second condenser is selectively activated when the heat sink reaches an undesirable temperature. | 03-26-2009 |
20090101311 | System and Method for Cooling Using Two Separate Coolants - According to one embodiment, a cooling system for a heat-generating structure includes a first cooling loop that directs a flow of a first fluid coolant from a heat-generating structure to a first heat exchanger. The system also includes a second cooling loop that directs a flow of a second fluid coolant from the first heat exchanger to a second heat exchanger. The first heat exchanger receives thermal energy from the first fluid coolant and transfers at least a portion of the thermal energy to the second fluid coolant. The first fluid coolant has a specific heat and a mass flow rate, and the second fluid coolant has a specific heat and a mass flow rate. A product of the specific heat and the mass flow rate of the first fluid coolant is greater than a product of the specific heat and the mass flow rate of the second fluid coolant. | 04-23-2009 |
20090107663 | System and Method for Cooling Structures Having Both an Active State and an Inactive State - According to one embodiment, a cooling system for heat-generating structures comprises a cooling loop and a heat exchanger. The cooling loop directs a flow of a fluid coolant to both an active heat-generating structure and an inactive heat-generating structure. The fluid coolant receiving thermal energy from the active heat-generating structure and transfers thermal energy to the inactive heat-generating structure when a temperature of the fluid coolant is greater than an ambient temperature of an environment surrounding the heat-generating structures. The active heat-generating structure is operable to switch to an inactive state and the inactive heat-generating structure is operable to switch to an active state. The heat exchanger is in thermal communication with the first and second heat-generating structures and is operable to receive the fluid coolant at a first temperature and dispense of the fluid coolant out of the heat exchanger at a second temperature. | 04-30-2009 |
20090244829 | Heat Removal System for Computer Rooms - According to one embodiment, a heat removal system for a computer room includes a heat pipe having two ends. One of the ends is thermally coupled to one or more of a number of components forming a portion of a computing system. The other end is thermally coupled to a heat dissipation mechanism. The heat pipe is operable to move heat from the components of the computing system to the heat dissipation mechanism. | 10-01-2009 |
20090244830 | Systems and Methods for Cooling a Computing Component in a Computing Rack - According to one embodiment, a system for cooling computing components includes a computing rack housing a plurality of computing components of a computing system. A heat absorbing plate is disposed in and removable from the computing rack. The heat absorbing plate is thermally coupled to an outer surface of a computing component and comprises a plurality of walls defining a cavity containing a two-phase coolant. The cavity has a continuous volume allowing the two-phase coolant to absorb heat from the computing component and to transfer the heat to a heat transfer mechanism. The computing rack has a sidewall that is thermally coupled to the heat absorbing plate and comprises the heat transfer mechanism, which is operable to receive the heat transferred from the heat absorbing plate. | 10-01-2009 |
20100076695 | Sensing and Estimating In-Leakage Air in a Subambient Cooling System - In certain embodiments, estimating air in a cooling system includes measuring a property that can be used to estimate the air to yield a plurality of measurements. The measurements are performed for different heat loads and for different concentrations of non-condensable gas in the cooling system. The measurements are stored a data set. | 03-25-2010 |
20110056669 | Heat Transfer Device - According to one embodiment, a heat transfer device includes an array of elongated pins coupled between a base plate and a cover plate. Each pin has a cross-sectional shape with a major width and a minor width that is perpendicular to the major width, in which the length of the minor width is less than the major width. The cover plate and the base plate forming a plenum for the movement of air across the array of pins along a direction parallel to the major width of each pin. | 03-10-2011 |
20110157828 | Method And Apparatus for Cooling Electronics with a Coolant at a Subambient Pressure - According to one embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for cooling heat-generating structure disposed in an environment having an ambient pressure. The heat-generating structure includes electronics. The method includes providing a coolant, reducing a pressure of the coolant to a subambient pressure at which the coolant has a boiling temperature less than a temperature of the heat-generating structure, and bringing the heat-generating structure and the coolant at the subambient pressure into contact with one another, so that the coolant boils and vaporizes to thereby absorb heat from the heat-generating structure. In a more particular embodiment the coolant is either pure water or pure methanol with an electrical resistivity level of greater than one million Ohms-cm. Further, in another particular embodiment the method includes filtering the coolant to maintain its purity above a particular level. | 06-30-2011 |
20120210730 | Method and Apparatus for Cooling a Vehicle Component - In certain embodiments, a system for cooling heat-generating components includes an engine cooling system operating to circulate a liquid coolant at a first temperature for the cooling of one or more engine components within the vehicle. A liquid cooler unit may receive the liquid coolant at the first temperature and decrease the temperature of the liquid coolant to a second temperature. A heat-generating component may be coupled to the liquid cooler unit and receive the liquid coolant at the second temperature. Heat generated by the heat-generating component may be transferred to the liquid coolant. A fluid return line may couple the heat-generating component to the engine cooling system. The fluid return line returns the liquid coolant that has received the heat from the heat-generating component to the engine cooling system. | 08-23-2012 |
20130074520 | Multi Mode Thermal Management System and Methods - An apparatus comprises a cooling structure that includes a first plate, a second plate separated from the first plate, and an inlet adapted to receive a cooling fluid. The apparatus also comprises a first cooling portion coupled to the first plate and adapted to maintain a first temperature. The apparatus also includes a second cooling portion coupled to the second plate and adapted to maintain a second temperature, different from the first temperature. | 03-28-2013 |