Cooling using adjustable thermal coupling
Embodiments described herein may include apparatus, system and/or processes to provide an adjustable thermal coupling between cold plate coupled to a first heat source and a liquid-cooled cold plate cooling a second heat source. In embodiments, the adjustable thermal coupling may provide a degree of freedom along an access in accommodating a dimension requirement of the second heat source. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.
1. A cooling apparatus, comprising:
a first cold plate thermally coupled to a first heat source;
a second cold plate thermally coupled to a second heat source;
an adjustable coupling to physically and thermally couple a surface of the first cold plate to a surface of the second cold plate, wherein the adjustable coupling includes an adjustment feature with an elongated hole to receive a fastener; and
wherein the elongated hole is to allow multiple fixed physical coupling positions of the first cold plate in relation to a plurality of heights of the second cold plate along a direction of elongation perpendicular to a length of the first cold plate.
2. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the elongated hole is in a flange of the second cold plate and the fastener is a threaded screw or threaded bolt inserted through the elongated hole into the first cold plate.
3. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the surface of the first cold plate and the surface of the second cold plate may be thermally coupled in a plurality of configurations.
4. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the adjustment feature is to cause the first cold plate and the second cold plate to be immobily coupled.
5. The cooling apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the first heat source and the second heat source are attached to a same printed circuit board, PCB.
6. The cooling apparatus of claim 5 , wherein to be immobily coupled is to further reduce torque on the PCB.
7. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first heat source is a central processing unit, CPU.
8. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first cold plate or the second cold plate is a copper plate.
9. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second heat source is a voltage regulator, VR.
10. A method for cooling an apparatus, the method comprising:
thermally coupling a first cold plate to a first heat source;
thermally coupling a second cold plate to a second heat source;
positioning an adjustment feature to thermally couple a surface of the first cold plate to a surface of the second cold plate, wherein the adjustment feature comprises an elongated hole to receive a fastener, and wherein the elongated hole is to allow multiple fixed physical coupling positions of the first cold plate in relation to a plurality of heights of the second cold plate along a direction of elongation perpendicular to a length of the first cold plate; and
securing the adjustment feature to cause the first cold plate and the second cold plate to be immobily coupled.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein securing the adjustment feature comprises securing a threaded screw or threaded bolt through the elongated hole in the second cold plate into the first cold plate.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the surface of the first cold plate and the surface of the second cold plate may be thermally coupled in a plurality of configurations.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the adjustment feature is to cause the first cold plate and the second cold plate to be immobily coupled.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the first heat source and the second heat source are attached to a same printed circuit board, PCB.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein to be immobily coupled is to further reduce torque on the PCB.
16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first heat source is a central processing unit, CPU.
17. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first cold plate is liquid cooled.
18. The method of claim 10 , wherein the second heat source is a voltage regulator, VR.
19. A cooling apparatus comprising:
means for thermally coupling a first cold plate to a first heat source;
means for thermally coupling a second cold plate to a second heat source;
means for positioning an adjustment feature to thermally couple a surface of the first cold plate to a surface of the second cold plate, wherein the adjustment feature comprises an elongated hole to receive a fastener, and wherein the elongated hole is to allow multiple fixed physical coupling positions of the first cold plate in relation to a plurality of heights of the second cold plate along a direction of elongation perpendicular to a length of the first cold plate; and
means for securing the adjustment feature to cause the first cold plate and the second cold plate to be immobily coupled.
20. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein securing the adjustment feature comprises means for securing a threaded screw or threaded bolt through the elongated hole in the second cold plate into the first cold plate.