System for cooling hard disk drives using vapor momentum driven by boiling of dielectric liquid

An information handling system having a multi-phase heat transfer immersion cooling tank designed to enable cooling of hard disk drives (HDDs), the immersion cooling tank comprising:

• an enclosure having (i) a lower volume within which a cooling liquid can be heated to, and maintained at, a boiling point temperature to cause at least a portion of the cooling liquid to evaporate and generate a mass of rising vapor constituting a vapor plume and (ii) an upper volume having (a) a HDD cooling area located at a first distance above a surface layer of the cooling liquid within the enclosure and in a direct path of the rising vapor and (b) a condenser located above the HDD cooling area and which cools a substantial portion of the rising vapor that impacts the condenser within the upper volume such that the rising vapor condenses back into liquid phase on contact with the condenser;
• a HDD cooling area located at a first distance above a surface layer of the cooling liquid within the enclosure and in a direct path of the rising vapor;
• at least one HDD placed within the HDD cooling area, wherein the HDD cooling area provides an area in the direct path of the rising vapor at which the at least one HDD can be cooled during functional operation of the at least one HDD;
• and
• at least one processing device submerged in the cooling liquid and which serves as a heat source that dissipates heat into the lower volume of the enclosure sufficient to heat the cooling liquid within the lower volume to the boiling point temperature;
• wherein the plume of rising vapor rises rapidly towards and through the HDD cooling area and across one or more surface of the at least one HDD and provide convection cooling of the at least one HDD as the rising vapor comes into contact with and moves across the one or more surfaces of the at least one HDD.

A method for cooling hard disk drives (HDDs), the method comprising:

• placing the HDDs within a HDD cooling area of an immersion cooling enclosure configured with:
• (1) a lower volume having a cooling liquid and a processing device submerged within the cooling liquid and dissipating heat sufficient to raise the temperature of the cooling liquid to a boiling point temperature and cause vaporization of a portion of the cooling liquid, wherein a plume of rising vapor is generated from the vaporization of the cooling liquid;
• and (2) an upper volume in which the HDD cooling area, a condenser, and a liquid return system are located, wherein (a) the HDD cooling area is located at a first distance above a surface layer of the cooling liquid within the lower volume and in a direct path of the rising vapor and provides an area at which the at least one HDD can be cooled during functional operation of the at least one HDD, and (b) the condenser is located at a second distance that is above both the HDD cooling area and the at least one HDD, the condenser including a condensation surface and a condensation fluid that flows proximate to the condensation surface and which maintains the condensation surface at a lower temperature than a condensation point of the rising vapor, whereby a substantial portion of the rising vapor that passes through the HDD cooling area and cools the at least one HDD is condensed back into liquid phase on contact with the condensation surface;
• and
• enabling the processing device to execute one or more program instructions to cause the processing device to generate heat sufficient to cause the cooling liquid to boil and vaporization of the cooling liquid to occur.