Scientists develop droplet cooling for processors — it reduces temperature by 17 °C in 15 seconds
Engineers at the University of Waterloo have tested a method for targeted cooling of electronics that could be useful in data centers.
When computational load spikes sharply, certain zones of processors can heat up faster than the surrounding liquid can dissipate the heat. The new system is designed to address this problem in a targeted manner without replacing the overall cooling circuit.
The experiment used a coolant with a lower boiling point than water. It is denser than water and does not mix with it, so it remains near the hot spot. Boiling absorbs heat, and the bubbles stir the water, accelerating heat dissipation.
On a model computer chip with a heat flux density of 14.4 W/cm², a single droplet reduced the temperature of an artificial hot zone by 17 °C in 15 seconds. This proved to be several times faster than conventional immersion cooling methods tested as part of the study.
To control the boiling rate, the droplets were coated with a thin shell of silicone oil containing thermally conductive ceramic particles. The researchers are considering two application methods: circulating droplets in a water bath with activation near hot zones or delivering the coolant to areas identified by sensors.
The approach could also be used for cooling electric vehicles, batteries, high-power lasers, and LED lighting. The results were published in the *Journal of Colloid and Interface Science*.
