TP26-06 Optimizing Heat Transfer in Single- Phase Cold- Plate Liquid Cooled Systems

The data center industry is increasingly adopting liquid cooling, specifically direct-to-chip cooling, to manage the heat generated by high-performance processors and Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). Typically, these systems have a Cooling Distribution Unit (CDU) that recirculates water or a glycol solution to the cold plates in a closed secondary cooling circuit and rejects heat to the primary water or glycol cooling circuit – either air coils, a plate and frame heat exchanger and/or a mechanical chiller. Published guidance for single phase cold plate systems in liquid cooled racks have inaccurate information about water and glycol chemical treatment, qualification testing for additive formulations, fluid monitoring, materials of construction, and design of the secondary cooling circuit. The performance of the chip cooling systems has not matched the increased power consumption and heat rejection to ensure reliable performance.
This paper argues that a more rigorous approach to liquid cooling system design, fluid selection, and monitoring is necessary to ensure optimal performance, energy efficiency, and reliability of data center infrastructure, especially as computational demands continue to increase.