Cooling systems for cooling electronic components
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsTimothy J. Chainer, Pritish R. Parida
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A first fluid is heated in a preheating section and passes into an evaporator coupled to a first electronic component. Operational heat from the first electronic component vaporizes the first fluid. A second fluid passes into a cold plate coupled to a second electronic component. Operational heat from the second electronic component heats the second fluid. First and second portions of the second fluid output from the cold plate pass through first and second routes, respectively. The first portion becomes thermally coupled to the preheating section and the second portion bypasses the preheating section. Heat transfer from the first portion to the preheating section causes the heating of the first fluid in the preheating section.
Claims20
A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions configured to cause a processor to control a set of mechanical pumps such that the set of mechanical pumps performs a method comprising:
- pumping a first fluid through an evaporator thermally coupled to a first set of electronic components while circulating within a first cooling loop such that the first fluid is vaporized, at least partially, using operational heat generated by the first set of electronic components as it passes through the evaporator;
- pumping the first fluid through a preheating section disposed in the first cooling loop between an output of a condenser and an input of the evaporator;
- pumping a second fluid through a cold plate thermally coupled to a second set of electronic components while circulating within a second cooling loop such that the second fluid is heated using operational heat generated by the second set of electronic components as it passes through the cold plate such that there is an increase in a temperature of the second fluid;
- pumping a first portion of the second fluid as output from the cold plate toward an input of a heat exchanger via a first route disposed in the second cooling loop, the first route thermally coupled to the preheating section such that heat transfer from the first portion to the preheating section as the first portion passes through the first route causes an increase in a temperature of the first fluid as the first fluid passes through the preheating section;
- and
- pumping a second portion of the second fluid as output from the cold plate toward the input of the heat exchanger via a second route disposed in the second cooling loop, the second route arranged such that the first portion passes closer to the preheating section of the first loop than the second portion passes to the preheating section.
A method comprising:
- vaporizing, at least partially, a first fluid, as it passes through an evaporator thermally coupled to a first set of electronic components while circulating within a first cooling loop, using operational heat generated by the first set of electronic components;
- pumping the first fluid through a preheating section disposed in the first cooling loop between an output of a condenser and an input of the evaporator;
- heating a second fluid, as it passes through a cold plate thermally coupled to a second set of electronic components while circulating within a second cooling loop, using operational heat generated by the second set of electronic components such that there is an increase in a temperature of the second fluid;
- pumping a first portion of the second fluid as output from the cold plate toward an input of a heat exchanger via a first route disposed in the second cooling loop, the first route thermally coupled to the preheating section such that heat transfer from the first portion to the preheating section as the first portion passes through the first route causes an increase in a temperature of the first fluid as the first fluid passes through the preheating section;
- and
- pumping a second portion of the second fluid as output from the cold plate toward the input of the heat exchanger via a second route disposed in the second cooling loop, the second route arranged such that the first portion passes closer to the preheating section of the first loop than the second portion passes to the preheating section.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.