How to Design a Liquid Cooled System

Dr. Pablo Hidalgo

© 2016
Since 1970 Aavid
• AS Thermacore,
9100 • ISO 9001Inc.• All
ISO Rights
14001Reserved.
Certified • ITAR Registered
Aavid Thermacore Proprietary & Confidential
QF 402 Rev E
Outline

• Introduction to liquid cooled systems

− Air vs liquid.
− Hydrodynamical requirements.
− Thermal requirements.
• Basic principles and equations
− Hydrodynamical
− Thermal
• Essential elements needed in the circuit.
• Liquid cooled system for computing applications
• Liquid cooled system for military applications
• Summary

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Air vs. Liquid Cooling

• Heat transfer processes:

− Heat transport, which strongly depends on the mass flow rate and specific
heat of the fluid.
− 𝒒𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗 = 𝒎𝒄ሶ 𝒑 𝑻𝒐 − 𝑻 ∞
− Heat convection, which is primarily governed by the heat transfer
coefficient h.
− 𝒒" = 𝒉 𝑻𝒘 − 𝑻𝒎
• Air cooling is limited by specific heat. To dissipate large amounts of
power, a large mass flow rate is needed.
− Higher flow speed, larger noise.
• Liquid cooling is able to achieve better heat transfer at much lower
mass flow rates.
− Lower flow speed, lower noise.
• Heat transfer coefficients for air an liquid flows are orders of magnitude
apart.
− 25 < hair < 250 W/m2 K
− 100 < hliquid < 20,000 W/m2 K

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Hydrodynamical Requirements

• It is critical to calculate the total pressure drop

(ΔPtotal) in the liquid line in order to size a pump.
− ΔPtotal influenced by flow regime, sudden expansions,
contractions, bends, valves, etc…
• To size a pump, two important parameters are
needed:
− Liquid flow rate
− Total head that the pump must generate to deliver the
required flow rate.
◦ Total head = static head difference + frictional head losses

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Thermal Requirements

• A liquid cooled system is generally used in cases

were large heat loads or high power densities need to
be dissipated and air would require a very large flow
rate.
• Water is one of the best heat transfer fluids due to its
specific heat at typical temperatures for electronics
cooling.
• Temperature range requirements defines the type of
liquid that can be used in each application.
− Operating Temperature < 0oC, water cannot be used.
− Glycol/water mixtures are commonly used in military
applications, but the heat transfer capabilities are
significantly lower than water.

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Essential Elements in a Liquid Cooled System
Pump Cold Plate Heat Exchanger

Fan Reservoir Tubing

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 Hydrodynamic Equations

• Energy equation for steady pipe flow of an incompressible fluid.

𝑝1 𝜌𝑉13 𝑝2 ሶ 𝜌𝑉23
𝑄-ሶ 𝑊ሶ𝑠 + ‫𝐴׬‬ + 𝑔𝑧1 + 𝑢1 𝜌𝑉1 𝑑𝐴1 + ‫𝐴׬‬ 𝑑𝐴1 = ‫׬‬𝐴1 𝜌
+ 𝑔𝑧2 + 𝑢2 𝜌𝑉2 𝑑𝐴2 + ‫𝐴׬‬ 𝑑𝐴2
1 𝜌 2 2 2 2

𝑝1 𝑉12 𝑝2 𝑉22
ሶ 𝑊ሶ𝑠 +
𝑄− + 𝑔𝑧1 + 𝑢1 + 𝛼1 𝑚ሶ = + 𝑔𝑧2 + 𝑢2 + 𝛼1 𝑚ሶ
𝜌 2 𝜌 2
3 Laminar Flow, α = 2
1 𝑉
𝛼= න 𝑑𝐴
𝐴 𝐴 𝑉ത
Turbulent Flow α ≈ 1.05

• Simplified energy equation

𝑝1 𝑉12 𝑝2 𝑉22
+ 𝛼1 + 𝑧1 + ℎ𝑝 = + 𝛼2 + 𝑧2 + ℎ𝑡 + ℎ𝐿
𝛾 2𝑔 𝛾 2𝑔

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Hydrodynamic Equations

• Laminar flow
𝑝1 𝑉12 𝑝2 𝑉22 32𝜇𝐿𝑉
+ 𝛼1 + 𝑧1 + ℎ𝑝 = + 𝛼2 + 𝑧2 + ℎ𝑡 + ℎ𝐿 ℎ𝐿 = ℎ𝑓 =
𝛾 2𝑔 𝛾 2𝑔 𝛾𝐷2
Moody Diagram
• Turbulent flow
𝑝1 𝑝2
+ 𝑧1 = + 𝑧2 + ℎ𝐿
𝛾 𝛾
𝐿 𝑉2
ℎ𝐿 = ℎ𝑓 = 𝑓
𝐷 2𝑔

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Hydrodynamic Equations

• The head loss produced by the flow through bends, inlets, valves, etc…
is expressed by the equation:
𝑉2
ℎ𝐿 = 𝐾
2𝑔
• Some of those K values are shown on the
adjacent table.
• Energy equation is rewritten as:

𝑝1 𝑉12 𝑝2 𝑉22
+ + 𝑧1 = + + 𝑧2 + ෍ ℎ𝐿
𝛾 2𝑔 𝛾 2𝑔
• Where the sum of hL includes frictional
losses, and losses due to fittings, contra-
tions, valves, etc… that are present in the
flow loop.

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Thermal Equations (Heat Source)

• Heat source follows the Newton’s law of cooling 𝑞𝑠" = ℎ(𝑇𝑠 − 𝑇𝑚 )

where Tm depends on constant heat flux or constant temperature
boundary conditions and h is the LOCAL heat transfer coefficient (HTC).
• Energy balance equation:
𝑞𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣 = 𝑚𝑐ሶ 𝑝 𝑇𝑚,𝑜 − 𝑇𝑚,𝑖
• If constant surface temperature boundary condition, heat rate equation:
𝑞𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣 = 𝑈𝐴ഥ 𝑠 ∆𝑇𝑙𝑚 where 𝑈 ഥ is the average HTC and ∆𝑇𝑙𝑚 is the log mean
temperature difference.
• Heat transfer coefficient can be estimated using the Nusselt number.
ℎ𝐷
𝑁𝑢 =
𝑘
• Multiple correlations exists for laminar flow, turbulent flow, fully
developed flow, developing flow, heat source boundary conditions, etc…
that can be summarized in the following table:

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Thermal Equations (Heat Source)

Source Fundamentals of Heat an

Mass Transfer, Incropera and DeWitt

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Thermal Equations (Heat Exchanger)

• Counterflow heat exchangers are the most efficient ones to be used.

− Cross-flow heat exchangers are typical in these applications but the thermal
characteristics are very similar to that of counterflow but a correction factor
must be applied.
• Overall energy balance is used to estimate maximum heat transfer rate
given certain input parameters (i.e. mass flow rate, fluid temperature, etc…)
• Heat exchanger calculations are based on the log mean temperature
difference.
𝑞 = 𝑈𝐴𝐹∆𝑇𝑙𝑚
∆𝑇2 − ∆𝑇1 𝑇ℎ,𝑖 − 𝑇𝑐,𝑖 − 𝑇ℎ,𝑜 − 𝑇𝑐,𝑜
∆𝑇𝑙𝑚 = =
𝑙𝑛 ∆𝑇2 Τ∆𝑇1 𝑙𝑛 𝑇ℎ,𝑖 − 𝑇𝑐,𝑖 ൗ 𝑇ℎ,𝑜 − 𝑇𝑐,𝑜
1
𝑈=
1Τℎ𝑖 + 1Τℎ𝑜
• hi and ho can be calculated using the Nusselt number correlations shown
earlier.
• Another way to size a heat exchanger would be to use the effectiveness-
NTU method.

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 Liquid Cooled System for Computing
Applications

© 2016
Since 1970 Aavid
• AS Thermacore,
9100 • ISO 9001Inc.• All
ISO Rights
14001Reserved.
Certified • ITAR Registered
Aavid Thermacore Proprietary & Confidential
QF 402 Rev E
Computer Desktop Liquid Cooling System
Heat Exchanger

Liquid Pump

Connective Tubing

Fluid Not Shown

Cold Plates

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Key Reliability Issues

• Pump Reliability

• All Electro-mechanical devices such as pumps have finite life which

leads to reliability issues.

• Fluid Permeation Loss. Fluids tend to permeate through polymer

materials and joints. If too much fluid is lost due to permeation, the LCS
could eventually stop working.

• Fluid Leakage

• Environmental Impact: Environmental concerns with cooling fluid

leakage and disposal are issues.

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Sub 1U LCS for High End Server Compute Module

Heat Exchanger –
Sub 1U
• 4 x 95W AMD CPU’s
• 90 CFM per Module
4 PMCP Cold
• 0.20 °C/W (c-a)
Plates
• 2 Pumps PCB
Powered Low
• Sub 1U PCB Spacing Perm
Tubing

2 Liquid Pumps

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Cold Plate Technology

Examples of Cold Plate Technologies

Vertical Fin Cold Plate (VFCP) Powder Metal Cold Plate (PMCP)

• Utilizes closely spaced vertical fins
to dissipate heat
• Moderate heat transfer coefficients
possible
• Uses high surface area density to
dissipate heat
• High effective heat transfer
coefficients possible
• Many flow geometries possible

Thermacore
Technology
Inlet Outlet Inlet

Metal Powder
Particles

Heat Enters
from Bottom

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Cold Plate – Porous Metal

Advantages
Well-Bonded Porous
• High Surface Area Cool Single Phase Metal Matrix Warm Single Phase
Coolant In Coolant Out
• High Heat Transfer Coefficient
• High Heat Flux (> 300 W/cm2)
• Low Thermal Resistance
• Low Profile Packaging
Heat Source
• Low Mass (< 75 grams) e.g.: computer chip,
particle beam, EM radiation,
laser diode array

Liquid cooled heat sinks make

use of high surface area and
effective heat transfer
available in a well-bonded
porous metal matrix.

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Performance Comparison - VFCP vs. PMCP

0.12
Lower Thermal Resistance =
Resistance (deg-C/W/cm^2)

Better Performance
0.10

0.08
VFCP Heat Input: 12mm x 12mm

0.06
Benefit
PMCP Heat Input: 7mm x 7mm

0.04 >40%

0.02
Courtesy: Dr. Kevin Wert
0.00
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
Coolant Flow Rate (GPM)

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 Liquid-to-Air Heat Exchanger – Flat Tube with Rolled Fins

• All Aluminum Liquid-to-Air Heat Exchanger

• Maximizes Heat Transfer Efficiency & Volume
− Flat, low profile tubes that provide more
surface area.
− Metallurgical bond between components.
• Highly Reliable and Durable
− One-piece integral structure. Desktop Heat Exchanger

− Components are joined together by an

aluminum brazing process .
− Leak-tight .
• Custom designed for the specific application
− Desktop Chassis
− 1U Server Chassis
− Vertical position blade server
1U Server Heat Exchanger

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Example Heat Exchanger Specs

1U Server Heat Exchanger

Desktop Heat Exchanger

HEX Spec. – Desktop Chassis HEX Spec. – 1U Server Chassis

Material Aluminum Material Aluminum

Length Application Specific: 150mm shown Length Application Specific: 130mm shown
Typical: 100 -150mm Typical: 100 – 275 mm

Height Application Specific: 150mm shown Height Application Specific: 40 mm shown

Typical: 100 -150mm Typical: 30 - 50mm

Depth 25mm Depth 25mm

Mass Application Specific: 350 grams Mass Application Specific: 85 grams

Typical: 250 -350mm Typical: 85 -150mm

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 Liquid Pump Specs

Compact Form Factor Pump

Pump Spec. Pump Spec. – 1U Server Chassis

Flowrate ~ 0.25gpm @
3.6 psi head Flowrate ~ 0.125 gpm @ 3psi head

Acoustic Power Target ≤ 3.3 BA Acoustic Power Target ≤ 3.3 BA

Dimensions 62 mm W x 38mm H x
87mm L w/ barbs Dimensions 32 mm W x 32mm H x 89mm L

Mass 200 grams Mass 135 grams

Power 12W Power 10W

Voltage/Amps 12Vdc / 1A continuous Voltage/Amps 12Vdc / 0.6A continuous

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 Liquid Cooled System for Military
Applications

© 2016
Since 1970 Aavid
• AS Thermacore,
9100 • ISO 9001Inc.• All
ISO Rights
14001Reserved.
Certified • ITAR Registered
Aavid Thermacore Proprietary & Confidential
QF 402 Rev E
System Requirements

• Military applications have much tighter and controlled requirements

compared to computing liquid cooled systems.
− Subject to MIL specs.
− Extreme temperature ranges (-55oC to +70oC).
− Extreme environmental conditions.
− Air-tight enclosures.
− Low accessibility for servicing.
− Shock and vibration requirements.
− Feedback controllers for optimized heat removal in any conditions.
− Multiple sensors to monitor faults in the system.
− Redundant elements are generally required.
• In airborne applications, low weight materials need to be used, (i.e.
aluminum), which have worse thermal conductivity than copper.
− Thermal path from the electronics to the heat exchanger is critical to
reduce thermal resistance.

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LCS Flow Diagram

HX with chilled
Pumps Reservoir water

Heater

3-way temp.
controlled valve

Filter
Purge Line Strainer
Antenna

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Intelligent Thermal Management System (iTMS)

• Application:
− Airborne Mapping & Imaging
− Laser Diode Cooling

• Power: 1.1kW
− Thermal Technologies
− TEC’s
− Heat Pipe Cold Plate
− Al Vacuum Brazed Cold Plates
− Pumped Liquid Cooling
− Sub-ambient Cooling
− Sophisticated Control System

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Intelligent Thermal Management System (iTMS)

Internal Heat External Heat

Exchanger Exchanger

Cold Plates

Heat Pipe
Assy’s

Rugged, Liquid Cooling

• Application: System (rLCS)

− Ruggedized Electronics Cooling

• Thermal Load/Power: 1 kW
− Designed / Tested to MIL Specs.
• Cooling System includes:
− Heat pipes
Redundant Pumps
− Liquid-cooled cold plates
− Internal brazed aluminum liquid-to-air heat exchanger
− Dip brazed aluminum cold plates • Sealed air-tight chassis
− An external brazed aluminum liquid-to-air heat • Upgradeable Electronics
exchanger

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 Intelligent Thermal Management System (iTMS)
• Application
− Airborne Computer Cooling
− Dissipates thermal load into ambient air at 75k feet

• Primary Components
− Vacuum Brazed Aluminum HXs
− Vibration Isolation (40G operational)
− Brushless DC Pumps
− PTFE Hoses
− Custom Machined Chassis & Reservoir
− Custom Motor Control

• Key Features
− Sub Ambient Cooling
− PID temperature control
− Conditioning heaters to facilitate rapid “cold start”
− Liquid level sensors
− Fault Tolerance/Safety flow switch provides visual
and electrical confirmation of coolant flow
− PLC control of pumps, heaters, valves, etc.
− LED status indicators
− Data logging
− Color touchscreen display/interface panel
− Shock Mounted for Vibration Isolation

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Summary

• Liquid cooling is a necessary technology applied in

cases where power densities are too high to be
managed by traditional air cooling.
− Liquid heat transport capabilities are far much greater than
air.
• Liquid cooled systems can be simple but in some
applications can have very complex architecture.
− Basic elements: pump, cold plate, heat exchanger, liquid
line.
• Total pressure head is necessary to be estimated to
properly size a pump.
− Static head, difference in elevation.
− Frictional head losses calculated using known documented
friction factors.

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Summary

• Heat balance equation and heat rate equation are

used in sizing a heat exchanger.
− Necessary to know fin area and flow rate to dissipate the
heat.
• Selection of liquid will depend on application and
materials used in the system.
• Computing liquid cooled applications don’t require
strict requirements compared to military applications.
− Redundant systems, extreme temperatures, shock and
vibrations, etc…

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