High-performance heat exchanger with calibrated bypass

A heat exchanger assembly comprising a cooling plate with an outer heat transfer surface adapted for thermal contact with one or more heat-generating substrates, the outer heat transfer surface having an area defined in a first plane, the cooling plate having a thickness defined in a second plane which is perpendicular to the first plane;

• the cooling plate comprising:
• a first plate wall and a second plate wall spaced apart in the second plane, the first and second plate walls each having an inner surface and an outer surface, wherein the inner surfaces of the first and second plate walls face each other, and wherein the outer heat transfer surface is defined by the outer surface of the first plate wall;
• a hollow interior defined between the first and second plate walls;
• a fluid flow space defined in the hollow interior;
• an inlet port and an outlet port spaced apart in the first plane and in fluid communication with the fluid flow space, wherein a fluid flow path is defined in the fluid flow space from the inlet to the outlet;
• a plurality of cooling zones defined along the fluid flow path, wherein the cooling zones are spaced apart from one another along the fluid flow path, each cooling zone having an upstream end for receiving a heat transfer fluid flowing along the fluid flow path and a downstream end for discharging the heat transfer fluid along the fluid flow path, wherein each said cooling zone comprises one or more heat transfer elements which are in contact with the inner surface of the first plate wall;
• a plurality of manifold spaces in the hollow interior, including an inlet manifold space proximate to the inlet, an outlet manifold space proximate to the outlet, and at least one intermediate manifold space, each said intermediate manifold space comprising a gap between the downstream end of one said cooling zone and the upstream end of an adjacent said cooling zone;
• a bypass flow passage extending between the upstream and downstream ends of one of said cooling zones and adapted to divert a portion of the heat transfer fluid from flowing through the cooling zone, wherein a resistance to fluid flow through the bypass flow passage is lower than a resistance to fluid flow through the cooling zone, due to the presence of said one or more heat transfer elements in the cooling zone, and
• wherein the bypass flow passage includes at least one inlet opening for receiving said portion of the heat transfer fluid from one said manifold space at the upstream end of the cooling zone and at least one outlet opening for discharging said portion of the heat transfer fluid into another said manifold space at the downstream end of the cooling zone.