Data Center Cooling Module

Data center: Caureem/Shutterstock.com — Image Credit: Caureem/Shutterstock.com

A passive closed loop cooling module for a 3 kW server for energy efficient data centers

About the Technology

Sustainable and efficient operation of US data centers, currently ~100 billion kWh/year, requires transformative and innovative technologies. Nearly 20% of the total power is used to run the data center refrigeration cooling infrastructure, which is extremely sensitive to the climate and environmental conditions. While increased public and private awareness in infrastructure operations of midsize and hyperscale data centers have resulted in improved cooling energy efficiency, the ever-increasing prevalence of higher-power processors and smaller edge data centers aggravate cooling/energy challenges.

To address the above challenges, we will develop a novel thermal management system for data centers that operates on two-phase boiling of water where the “cooling” water temperature is maintained ~80oC. This will eliminate the need for refrigeration cooling infrastructure, resulting in a considerable total energy saving of <5% IT load. To achieve such a favorable operating point, the thermal resistance of the microprocessor to the fluid must be reduced by 10×, which means we need to design a perfect two-phase boiling micro-cooler on the backside of the microprocessor.

With the support of the HIT Fund we are developing and testing a prototype, conducting a techno-economic analysis of our solution, and crafting an approach to commercialization.