The cold plate of a chip is placed above the heat-generating components (CPU, GPU, memory modules) and absorbs and removes the heat from the chip through either single-phase or two-phase cold plates. Single-phase cold plate liquid cooling uses coolant circulating through the cold plate via the CDU to absorb the heat from the server.

The choice of fluid is determined by balancing the thermal conductivity and viscosity of the fluid. Water has the best heat exchange capacity, but it is usually mixed with ethylene glycol, which reduces thermal conductivity while increasing the viscosity of the heat exchange medium, thus increasing the power of the circulation pump. Cold plate liquid cooling systems can also use dielectric coolants to mitigate damage from leaks; however, in general, the thermal conductivity of dielectric coolants is lower than that of water-ethylene glycol mixtures.

Author

Professor Wei-Keng Lin

Education｜Ph.D., University of Maryland

Occupation｜Professor, National Tsing Hua University 

Specialty｜Electronic package heat dissipation, Heat pipe, Loop heat pipes(CPL，LHP，PHP), Energy-saving design, Solar heat storage and cooling, Heat flow system, Cooling of electronic components, Two-phase flow, Heat transfer elements of artificial satellite and high-altitude flying object