SBIR Phase II: Fluid Submersion Cooling for Energy and Cost Efficient Data Centers

这个小型企业创新研究二期项目建议将计算机服务器的液体浸没冷却商业化。液体浸没冷却是指将发热部件浸没在非导电液体中，代替空气作为传热介质。液体在传热方面明显优于空气，但由于以前的液体冷却架构增加了复杂性，从历史上看，它需要成本高昂的资本支出。研究目标是生产一种能够以低成本大规模生产的系统，并具有驱动客户需求的引人注目的系统特性。该项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力包括降低美国电力使用的最大边际贡献者之一。美国环保署估计，数据中心目前使用了美国近3%的电力，而2000年这一比例仅为1%，其中近一半的电力是由空气作为主要的传热介质驱动的。这种高效的系统提供了减少总能耗近50%的潜力，几乎消除了能源冷却和降低服务器功率通过内部风扇拆除，同时提供更高的冷却性能和更低的成本。此外，这种新的热回收系统提供了在许多地方消除几乎所有服务器能源的潜力。成本有效的替代冷却解决方案只能提供边际改进，随着计算成为经济的更大一部分，寻找更多的能源和成本有效的技术将变得更加关键。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project proposes to commercialize liquid submersion cooling for computer servers. Liquid submersion cooling involves submersion of heat-generating components in a non-electrically-conductive liquid, replacing air as the heat transfer medium. Liquid is significantly better than air to transfer heat, but historically has required cost-prohibitive capital expenditures due to the added complexity of previous liquid cooling architectures. The research objectives are to produce a system capable of being mass produced at low cost, and with compelling system features that drive customer demand.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project includes lowering of one of the largest marginal contributors to US electricity use. The EPA estimates that data centers now use nearly 3% of US electricity, up from nearly 1% in 2000, with nearly half of power being driven by using air as the primary heat transfer medium. This high-efficiency system offers the potential to cut total energy use by nearly 50% by nearly eliminating energy for cooling and reducing server power through internal fan removal, while offering higher cooling performance and lower costs. Also, this new heat-recapture system offers the potential to eliminate nearly all server energy in many locales. Alternate cooling solutions that are cost effective only offer marginal improvements, and as computing becomes a larger part of the economy, the search for more energy and cost efficient technologies will become more critical.