Ultra-Compact Micro-Scale Heat Exchanger for Advanced Thermal Management in Data Centers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffaele L. Amalfi ◽  
Todd Salamon ◽  
Filippo Cataldo ◽  
Jackson B. Marcinichen ◽  
John R. Thome
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Thermal Performance ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Heat Transfer Performance ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Transfer Performance ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Maximum Heat ◽  
Pressure Drops

Abstract The present study is focused on the experimental characterization of two-phase heat transfer performance and pressure drops within an ultra-compact heat exchanger (UCHE) suitable for electronics cooling applications. The UCHE is composed of a double-side-copper finned plate with an optimized geometry that enhances the heat transfer performance and flow stability, while minimizing the pressure drops. These features make the UCHE the ideal component for thermosyphon cooling systems, where low pressure drops are required to achieve high passive flow circulation rates and thus achieve high critical heat flux values. The UCHE's thermal-hydraulic performance is first evaluated in a pump-driven system at the Laboratory of Heat and Mass Transfer (LTCM-EPFL), where experiments include many configurations and operating conditions. Then, the UCHE is installed and tested as the condenser of a thermosyphon loop that rejects heat to a pumped refrigerant system at Nokia Bell Labs, in which both sides operate with refrigerants in phase change (condensation-to-boiling). Experimental results demonstrate high thermal performance with a maximum heat dissipation density of 5455 (kW/m3/K), which is significantly larger than conventional air-cooled heat exchangers and liquid-cooled small pressing depth brazed plate heat exchangers. Finally, a thermal performance analysis is presented that provides guidelines in terms of heat density dissipations at the server- and rack-level when using passive two-phase cooling.

Ultra-Compact Micro-Scale Heat Exchanger for Advanced Thermal Management in Datacenters

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffaele L. Amalfi ◽  
Todd Salamon ◽  
Filippo Cataldo ◽  
Jackson B. Marcinichen ◽  
John R. Thome
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Form Factor ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Heat Transfer Performance ◽  
Transfer Performance ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Pressure Drops ◽  
Cooling Technology ◽  
Cooling Loop ◽  
Two Phase Cooling

Abstract The present study is focused on the experimental characterization of two-phase heat transfer performance and pressure drops within an ultra-compact heat exchanger (UCHE) suitable for electronics cooling applications. In this specific work, the UCHE prototype is anticipated to be a critical component for realizing a new passive two-phase cooling technology for high-power server racks, as it is more compact and lighter weight than conventional heat exchangers. This technology makes use of a novel combination of thermosyphon loops, at the server-level and rack-level, to passively cool an entire rack. In the proposed two-phase cooling technology, a smaller form factor UCHE is used to transfer heat from the server-level thermosyphon cooling loop to the rack-level thermosyphon cooling loop, while a larger form factor UCHE is used to reject the total heat from the server rack into the facility-level cooling loop. The UCHE is composed of a double-side-copper finned plate enclosed in a stainless steel enclosure. The geometry of the fins and channels on both sides are optimized to enhance the heat transfer performance and flow stability, while minimizing the pressure drops. These features make the UCHE the ideal component for thermosyphon cooling systems, where low pressure drops are required to achieve high passive flow circulation rates and thus achieve high critical heat flux values. The UCHE’s thermal-hydraulic performance is first evaluated in a pump-driven system at the Laboratory of Heat and Mass Transfer (LTCM-EPFL), where experiments include many configurations and operating conditions. Then, the UCHE is installed and tested as the condenser of a thermosyphon loop that rejects heat to a pumped refrigerant system at Nokia Bell Labs, in which both sides operate with refrigerants in phase change (condensation-to-boiling). Experimental results demonstrate high thermal performance with a maximum heat dissipation density of 5455 (kW/m3/K), which is significantly larger than conventional air-cooled heat exchangers and liquid-cooled small pressing depth brazed plate heat exchangers. Finally, a thermal performance analysis is presented that provides guidelines in terms of heat density dissipations at the server- and rack-level when using passive two-phase cooling.

Heat Transfer Performance of Different Nanofluids Flows in a Helically Coiled Heat Exchanger

2013 ◽  
Vol 832 ◽  
pp. 160-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Alam Khairul ◽  
Rahman Saidur ◽  
Altab Hossain ◽  
Mohammad Abdul Alim ◽  
Islam Mohammed Mahbubul
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Friction Factor ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Heat Transfer Performance ◽  
Volume Concentration ◽  
Transfer Performance

Helically coiled heat exchangers are globally used in various industrial applications for their high heat transfer performance and compact size. Nanofluids can provide excellent thermal performance of this type of heat exchangers. In the present study, the effect of different nanofluids on the heat transfer performance in a helically coiled heat exchanger is examined. Four different types of nanofluids CuO/water, Al2O3/water, SiO2/water, and ZnO/water with volume fractions 1 vol.% to 4 vol.% was used throughout this analysis and volume flow rate was remained constant at 3 LPM. Results show that the heat transfer coefficient is high for higher particle volume concentration of CuO/water, Al2O3/water and ZnO/water nanofluids, while the values of the friction factor and pressure drop significantly increase with the increase of nanoparticle volume concentration. On the contrary, low heat transfer coefficient was found in higher concentration of SiO2/water nanofluids. The highest enhancement of heat transfer coefficient and lowest friction factor occurred for CuO/water nanofluids among the four nanofluids. However, highest friction factor and lowest heat transfer coefficient were found for SiO2/water nanofluids. The results reveal that, CuO/water nanofluids indicate significant heat transfer performance for helically coiled heat exchanger systems though this nanofluids exhibits higher pressure drop.

scholarly journals Execution of a Smart Prediction Tool to Evaluate Thermal Performance in a heat exchanger by using Single Elliptical Leaf Strips with altered Angle

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 123-131
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Thermal Performance ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Industrial Applications ◽  
Generalized Regression Neural Network ◽  
Prediction Tool ◽  
Pressure Drops ◽  
Transfer Rates ◽  
Mass Flow Rates

Heat exchangers are prominent industrial applications where engineering science of heat transfer and Mass transfer occurs. It is a contrivance where transfer of energy occurs to get output in the form of energy transfer. This paper aims at finding a solution to improve the thermal performance in a heat exchanger by using passive method techniques. This experimental and numerical analysis deals with finding the temperature outlets of cold and hot fluid for different mass flow rates and also pressure drop in the tube and the annular side by adding an elliptical leaf strip in the pipe at various angles. The single elliptical leaf used in experiment has major to minor axes ratios as 2:1 and distance of 50 mm between two leaves are arranged at different angular orientations from 0 0 to 1800 with 100 intervals. Since it’s not possible to find the heat transfer rates and pressure drops at every orientation of elliptical leaf so a generalized regression neural network (GRNN) prediction tool is used to get outputs with given inputs to avoid experimentation. GRNN is a statistical method of determining the relationship between dependent and independent variables. The values obtained from experimentation and GRNN nearly had precise values to each other. This analysis is a small step in regard with encomiastic approach for enhancement in performance of heat exchangers

Incorporating Moldability Considerations During the Design of Polymer Heat Exchangers

2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Cevallos ◽  
S. K. Gupta ◽  
Avram Bar-Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Polymer Composites ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Heat Transfer Performance ◽  
Integrated Design ◽  
Parametric Models ◽  
Transfer Performance ◽  
Molding Process

Recently, available formulations of thermally enhanced polymer composites are attractive in heat exchanger applications due to their low cost and improved corrosion resistance compared to the conventional metal options. This paper presents a systematic approach to the design of plate-fin heat exchangers made out of thermally enhanced polymer composites. We have formulated the design problem as the life cycle cost minimization problem. The integrated design model introduced here accounts for heat transfer performance, molding cost, and assembly costs. We have adopted well-known models to develop individual parametric models that describe how heat transfer performance, molding cost, and assembly cost varies as a function of the geometric parameters of the heat exchanger. Thermally enhanced polymer composites behave differently from the conventional polymers during the molding process. The desired thin walled large structures are expected to pose challenges during the filling phase of the molding process. Hence, we have utilized experimentally validated simulations to develop a metamodel to identify difficult and impossible to mold design configurations. This metamodel has been integrated within the overall formulation to address the manufacturability considerations. This paper also presents several case studies that show how the material and labor cost strongly influence the final design.

The Technical Derivation of Heat Transfer Performance of the Airside of a Novel Pin Design Heat Exchanger Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tosha Churitter
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Heat Transfer Performance ◽  
Diameter Ratio ◽  
Transfer Performance ◽  
Extended Surface

Pins are a common type of extended surface used in the field of heat transfer; their main application being in the electronics field. Historically, pins used in heat exchangers have diameters that are considered negligible in comparison to their lengths and are therefore termed as tubes. In this report, the use of pins as an extended surface is investigated for the heat transfer on the airside (cold) of the Compact Advanced Pin Surface Heat Exchanger. The pins are circular in cross section and follow a staggered arrangement. The uniqueness of the pin design is such that they cannot be treated as tubes. Key Pin Design features are as follows: • Pins have a maximum Length: Diameter ratio of 3. • Pin Spacing to Pin Diameter ratio is greater than in traditional arrangements. • Pins function as a primary as well as secondary surface. The heat transfer performance of extended surfaces possessing the above features has not been characterized, using commercially available Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software, in any research specifically focused on applications for the aerospace industry. Based on actual test results, this study specially develops a unique approach that can predict the outlet temperature of the heat exchanger to within 1% accuracy. This ‘developed’ approach is applied over cold-side mass flow rates ranging from 0.05 kg/s to 0.23 kg/s, while keeping the hot side mass flow rate constant at 0.05 kg/s. At worst, the simulation results lie within 5% accuracy and at best the simulation accuracy is 1%, a significant improvement on traditional derivations. This article specifically discusses the methodology developed to analyse the heat transfer performance of the novel pin design using Fluent 6.2. It highlights the current limitations of existing equations as well as the theoretical knowledge gap that currently exists in the analysis of pins as extended heat transfer surfaces in heat exchangers.

An Integrated Approach to Design of Enhanced Polymer Heat Exchangers

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Cevallos ◽  
S. K. Gupta ◽  
Avram Bar-Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Heat Transfer Performance ◽  
Integrated Design ◽  
Labor Cost ◽  
Parametric Models ◽  
Transfer Performance ◽  
Molding Process

Recently available formulations of thermally enhanced polymers are attractive in heat exchanger applications due to their low cost and improved corrosion resistance compared to the conventional metal options. This paper presents a systematic approach to the design of plate-fin heat exchangers made out of thermally enhanced polymers. We have formulated the design problem as the life cycle cost minimization problem. The integrated design model introduced here accounts for heat transfer performance, molding cost, and assembly costs. We have adopted well known models to develop individual parametric models that describe how heat transfer performance, molding cost, and assembly cost varies as a function of the geometric parameters of the heat exchanger. Thermally enhanced polymers behave differently from the conventional polymers during the molding process. The desired thin walled large structures are expected to pose challenges during the filling phase of the molding process. Hence we have utilized experimentally validated simulations to develop a metamodel to identify difficult and impossible to mold design configurations. This metamodel has been integrated within the overall formulation to address the manufacturability considerations. This paper also presents several case studies that show how the material and labor cost strongly influence the final design.

Air-Side Heat Transfer Performance of Louver Fin and Multitube Heat Exchanger for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Cooling Application

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hie Chan Kang ◽  
Hyejung Cho ◽  
Jin Ho Kim ◽  
Anthony M. Jacobi
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Direct Methanol Fuel Cell ◽  
Heat Transfer Performance ◽  
Transfer Performance ◽  
Side Pressure ◽  
Direct Methanol ◽  
Methanol Fuel Cell

The present work is performed to evaluate the heat transfer performance of a heat exchanger used in a direct methanol fuel cell. Because of material constraints and performance requirements, a louver fin heat exchanger is modified for use with conventional microchannel tubes and also with multiple small-diameter tubes (called multitubes). Prototype heat exchangers are tested, and the air-side heat transfer, pressure drop, and fan power are measured in a wind tunnel and simulated using a commercial code. The air-side pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient of the multitubes show similar trends to those of the flat-tube heat exchanger if the contact resistance is negligible. The tube spacing of the prototype multitube heat exchangers has a small effect on the pressure drop and heat transfer, but it has a profound effect on the air-side heat transfer performance because of the contact resistance between the tubes and louver fins. The air-side pressure drop agrees well with an empirical correlation for flat tubes.

Investigation of the Effect of Cross Section on the Convective Heat Transfer Performance of Nanoemulsion in Microchannel Heat Exchanger

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takele Gameda ◽  
M. Mehdi Kabir ◽  
Jiajun Xu
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Cross Section ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Heat Transfer Performance ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Transfer Performance ◽  
Heat Transfer Characteristics ◽  
Microchannel Heat Exchanger ◽  
Transfer Characteristics

Abstract The present study aims to numerically investigate the effect of cross section on the heat transfer performance of single-phase flow of Ethanol/Polyalphaolefin nanoemulsion fluid with ethanol concentrations of 8 wt.% in a microchannel heat exchanger. While the exterior geometry of the microchannels’ solid structure remains the same, four different cross sections of channels including: circular, upward semi-circular, rectangular, and trapezoidal, are designed with keeping the channels’ wetted perimeters, mass flow rate, and Reynolds number constant for comparison purposes. In the present study, the hydrodynamic and heat transfer characteristics, including local Nusselt number, heat transfer coefficient, and velocity profile, were investigated under a uniform wall heat flux boundary conditions within the laminar flow regime. The channel models of different cross sections were developed by the COMSOL-Multiphysics for numerical analysis. The heat transfer characteristics were then compared for different cross sections under the same operating conditions, and the effect of aspect ratio for rectangular and trapezoidal cross sections were also studied.

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