ICED: Intensified Cooling of Electronic Devices

制造技术的进步使微处理器和电源模块等更小、更强大的电子元件得以开发。这使得能够并将继续推动高性能计算、人工智能、机器人、电动汽车、可再生能源发电机和通信设备等一系列领域的创新。然而，不断增加的功率密度也导致了冷却问题，单位面积上必须移除的热量正在迅速增加，超出了现有冷却系统的能力。因此，迫切需要开发能够冷却未来电子设备的下一代冷却系统，以防止它们的发展瓶颈。这一点反映在散热器制造市场上，预计到2024年，全球市场将增长到154亿美元。在这个项目中，我们将开发“强化”液态冷却系统：使用动态流动和新颖的通道设计，显著提高最大散热速率。我们将与主要工业伙伴合作，考虑使用包括3D打印在内的先进制造技术，以开发处于技术和制造能力前沿的散热器几何形状。这与动态流动的使用相结合，将使我们能够最大限度地提高散热率，而不会造成显著的能源损失。此外，我们将在尖端电力电子电路上测试我们的技术，以验证我们的设计理念和这项研究接近市场的影响潜力的证据。这项研究的结果将允许有效冷却和重新利用未来高功率电子设备的热量。这将使未来在小微电子领域的发展成为可能，使上述应用领域的未来创新成为可能，这些领域对于推动一个更绿色、更具生产力和更具弹性的国家至关重要。

Advances in manufacturing technology are allowing the development of smaller, more powerful electronic components such as microprocessors and power modules. This has allowed and is continuing to drive innovation in a range of areas including high performance computing, artificial intelligence, robotics, electric vehicles, renewable energy generators, and communication devices. However, the increasing power density also leads to cooling problems, and the amount of heat per unit area which must be removed is rapidly increasing beyond the capabilities of existing cooling systems. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop next-generation cooling systems capable of cooling future electronic devices in order to prevent bottle-necking of their development. This is reflected in the market for heat sink manufacture, which is expected to grow to $15.4bn globally by 2024.In this project we will develop "intensified" liquid-phase cooling systems: using dynamic flow and novel channel design to significantly enhance the maximum rate of heat removal. In collaboration with key industrial partners we will consider the use of advanced manufacturing technologies, including 3D printing, in order to develop heat sink geometries which are at the forefront of technological and manufacturing capability. This, in conjunction with the use of dynamic flow, will allow us to maximise heat removal rates without significant energy penalty. Further, we will test our technology on cutting edge power electronics circuits in order to provide validation of our design concepts and evidence of the near-to-market impact potential of the research.The results of this research will allow effective cooling and the possibility of heat re-use from future, highly powered, electronic devices. This will enable future developments in small and micro electronics, allowing future innovation in the application areas listed above which are crucial in the drive for a greener, more productive and more resilient nation.