Thermal Design and Performance of Two-Phase Meso-Scale Heat Exchangers

Dramatically increased power dissipation in electronic and electro-optic devices has prompted the development of advanced thermal management approaches to replace conventional air cooling using extended surfaces. One such approach is Pumped Liquid Multiphase Cooling (PLMC), in which a refrigerant is evaporated in a cold plate in contact with the devices to be cooled. Heat is then rejected in an air or water-cooled condenser and the working fluid is returned to the cold plate. Reliable, highly efficient, small-scale components are required for the commercial application of this technology. This paper presents experimental results for two-phase meso-scale heat exchangers (cold plates) for use in electronics cooling. The configurations studied include single and multi-pass designs using R134a as the working fluid. With relatively low flow rates, low effective thermal resistances were achieved at power levels as high as 376 W. The results confirm the efficacy of PLMC technology for cooling the most powerful integrated circuits planned for the next decade.