Thermal management of data centers: Chip-scale cooling using novel distributed inlet–outlet jet impingement liquid cold plate

Abstract

The rising demand for artificial intelligence, 5G communications, and high-performance computing has significantly increased energy consumption in data centers (DCs), especially from cooling systems, leading to elevated CO₂ emissions. Efficient thermal management is essential to address these environmental and operational challenges. A critical gap exists in effective cooling solutions for high-power density electronic chips with thermal design power (TDP) exceeding 1000 W. This study aims to address this gap by introducing the Distributed Inlet Outlet Jet Impingement Cooling Cold Plate (DIOJIC-CP), which features an innovative multi-nozzle jet impingement design with a distributed inlet–outlet layout to eliminate the need for thermal interface material (TIM2) by directly integrating the lid with the cold plate. A comprehensive numerical investigation is conducted alongside experimental validation to assess the thermo-hydraulic performance of the DIOJIC-CP against a skived fin cold plate (Skived-Fin-CP) benchmark, utilizing PG25 as the working fluid with flow rates between 0.75 and 2.0 L/min. The key findings demonstrate that the DIOJIC-CP achieves a 16 % reduction in thermal resistance and a 19.8 % decrease in pressure drop compared to traditional Skived-Fin-CP, attaining thermal resistance as low as 0.0224 °C/W with 64 % less pumping power. Notably, the DIOJIC-CP demonstrated the capability to dissipate TDPs by more than 3500 W, underscoring its potential for high-power electronic applications. This innovative cooling solution not only meets the escalating thermal demands of future electronic components like GPUs and CPUs but also significantly improves energy efficiency, emphasizing its relevance and applicability in the evolving landscape of data center thermal management.