Data center rack system with integrated liquid and dielectric immersion cooling
A rack system for use, e.g., in data centers is disclosed. The rack system includes a rack frame and a rack-mounted assembly, including an electronic device disposed within the rack-mounted assembly, the electronic device including a heat-generating component. The heat-generating component is in thermal contact with a liquid cooling block through which a channelized cooling fluid is conveyed. The electronic device is immersed in a dielectric immersion cooling liquid. The rack-mounted assembly includes a non-sealed immersion case in which the electronic device is immersed in the dielectric immersion cooling liquid, the non-sealed immersion case configured to permit the rack-mounted assembly to be individually inserted into or removed from the rack frame. Also disclosed are container-based data center modules based on the disclosed rack system, and a data center using numerous such container-based modules.
1. A rack system comprising:
a rack frame and a rack-mounted assembly, including an electronic device disposed within the rack-mounted assembly, the electronic device including a heat-generating component, wherein:
the heat-generating component is in thermal contact with a liquid cooling block through which a channelized cooling fluid is conveyed;
the electronic device is immersed in a dielectric immersion cooling liquid; and
the rack-mounted assembly includes a non-sealed immersion case in which the electronic device is immersed in the dielectric immersion cooling liquid, the non-sealed immersion case configured to be non-sealed at all times, including during operation of the electronic device, such that the non-sealed immersion cooling case cannot be used for dual-phase immersion cooling, the non-sealed immersion case further configured to permit the rack-mounted assembly to be individually inserted into or removed from the rack frame, wherein:
the dielectric immersion cooling liquid is contained within the non-sealed immersion case and circulates within the non-sealed immersion case due to convection induced by a convection-inducing element included in the rack-mounted assembly, the convection-inducing element being in thermal contact with at least a portion of the dielectric immersion cooling liquid and configured to induce convection within the dielectric immersion cooling liquid, and wherein the channelized cooling fluid is conveyed through the convection-inducing element.
2. The rack system according to claim 1 , wherein the rack-mounted assembly is mounted vertically with respect to the rack frame.
3. The rack system according to claim 1 , wherein the convection-inducing element comprises a serpentine convection coil.
4. The rack system according to claim 1 , wherein the channelized cooling fluid is conveyed through a loop that includes both the liquid cooling block in thermal contact with the heat-generating component and the convection-inducing element.
5. The rack system according to claim 1 , wherein a density of the dielectric immersion cooling liquid is lower than a density of the channelized cooling fluid.
6. The rack system according to claim 1 , wherein the channelized cooling fluid is a same type of fluid as the dielectric immersion cooling liquid.
7. The rack system according to claim 1 , wherein the rack-mounted assembly is vertically oriented within the rack frame and a plurality of other vertically oriented rack-mounted assemblies are mounted adjacent to each other in the rack frame.
8. A rack system comprising:
a rack frame and a rack-mounted assembly, including an electronic device disposed within the rack-mounted assembly, the electronic device including a heat-generating component, wherein:
the heat-generating component is in thermal contact with a liquid cooling block through which a channelized cooling fluid is conveyed;
the electronic device is immersed in a dielectric immersion cooling liquid, wherein a density of the dielectric immersion cooling liquid is lower than a density of the channelized cooling fluid; and
the rack-mounted assembly includes a non-sealed immersion case in which the electronic device is immersed in the dielectric immersion cooling liquid, the non-sealed immersion case configured to be non-sealed at all times, including during operation of the electronic device, such that the non-sealed immersion cooling case cannot be used for dual-phase immersion cooling, the non-sealed immersion case further configured to permit the rack-mounted assembly to be individually inserted into or removed from the rack frame, wherein:
the dielectric immersion cooling liquid is contained within the non-sealed immersion case and circulates within the non-sealed immersion case due to convection induced by a convection-inducing element included in the rack-mounted assembly, the convection-inducing element being in thermal contact with at least a portion of the dielectric immersion cooling liquid and configured to induce convection within the dielectric immersion cooling liquid, and wherein the channelized cooling fluid is conveyed through the convection-inducing element.
9. The rack system according to claim 8 , wherein the rack-mounted assembly is mounted vertically with respect to the rack frame.
10. The rack system according to claim 8 , wherein the convection-inducing element comprises a serpentine convection coil.
11. The rack system according to claim 8 , wherein the channelized cooling fluid is conveyed through a loop that includes both the liquid cooling block in thermal contact with the heat-generating component and the convection-inducing element.
12. The rack system according to claim 8 , wherein the channelized cooling fluid is a same type of fluid as the dielectric immersion cooling liquid.
13. A modular data center comprising a plurality of container-based data center modules, the plurality of container-based data center modules comprising a plurality of rack systems, wherein each rack system comprises:
a rack frame and a rack-mounted assembly, including an electronic device disposed within the rack-mounted assembly, the electronic device including a heat-generating component, wherein:
the heat-generating component is in thermal contact with a liquid cooling block through which a channelized cooling fluid is conveyed;
the electronic device is immersed in a dielectric immersion cooling liquid having a lower density than the channelized cooling fluid; and
the rack-mounted assembly includes a non-sealed immersion case in which the electronic device is immersed in the dielectric immersion cooling liquid, the non-sealed immersion case configured to be non-sealed at all times, including during operation of the electronic device, such that the non-sealed immersion cooling case cannot be used for dual-phase immersion cooling, the non-sealed immersion case further configured to permit the rack-mounted assembly to be individually inserted into or removed from the rack frame.
14. The modular data center according to claim 13 , wherein each rack-mounted assembly is mounted vertically.
15. The modular data center according to claim 13 , wherein the channelized cooling fluid in the rack system is conveyed through a loop that includes both the liquid cooling block in thermal contact with the heat-generating component and a convection-inducing element.
16. The modular data center according to claim 15 , wherein the convection-inducing element in the rack system comprises a serpentine convection coil, the convection-inducing element being in thermal contact with at least a portion of the dielectric immersion cooling liquid and configured to induce convection within the dielectric immersion cooling liquid, and wherein the channelized cooling fluid is conveyed through the convection-inducing element.