Design of a hydro-dynamically levitated centrifugal micro-pump for the active liquid cooling system

Abstract

The active liquid cooling system is urgently required for heat dissipation of high-power electronics. However, the key part of the system, micro-pump, is still challenged by the bearing failure problem caused by the mechanical friction. We designed a hydro-dynamically levitated centrifugal micro-pump, providing a 1.0 L/min flow rate and a 45 KPa pressure head at 20000 rpm with the size as small as 23mm×23mm×25mm. By utilizing radial and axial hydro-dynamically levitated bearings, the rotating units can be successfully levitated and realize no contact and no friction. The designed micro-pump has large power density, high rotating speed, long-life and high-reliability and we believe that it may have extensive application in active liquid cooling systems.