US 5,458,189 A · Two-phase component cooler

Abstract

A two-phase liquid cooling system has a container structure that has at least one wall with sufficient flexibility that the wall expands as the coolant vapor expands thereby maintaining the internal container pressure substantially the same as the ambient environmental pressure. Coolant boiling overshoot is reduced by allowing residual gases to remain in the cooling system. More particularly, sufficient residual gas is maintained in the system so that some of the gas dissolves in the liquid coolant when the device is not operating and is at ambient temperature. During warmup, the residual gas comes out of solution and creates nucleation sites that initiate boiling and prevent overshoot. Additional nucleation sites can also be added to reduce overshoot by treating the inside surfaces of the container structure, for example by laser machining, to create nucleation sites.

Claims29

Dependent claims

Apparatus for cooling a heat dissipating component, the apparatus operating in an environment with an ambient pressure over a temperature range, the apparatus comprising:

a hermetic enclosure having an interior with an internal pressure, a first thermally conductive wall in contact with the component for conducting heat dissipated from the component into an enclosure interior and second wall having sufficient flexibility that the internal pressure remains substantially at the ambient pressure over the entire temperature range wherein said interior is partially filled with a non-condensing residual gas;
and
a liquid coolant disposed within the hermetic enclosure interior, the liquid coolant having a sufficiently low boiling point that the liquid coolant is changed to a vapor by the heat dissipated from the component wherein said non-condensing gas is soluble with said liquid coolant.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Two-phase component cooler

Life of this patent

Two-phase component cooler

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims29