Optimization of the thermal design of a cryogenically cooled computer

Author

Anderson, James C. ; Krane, Robert J. ; Parsons, J.R. ; Bar-Cohen, Avram

Author_Institution

Dept. of Mech. & Aerosp. Eng., Tennessee Univ., Knoxville, TN, USA

Volume

15

Issue

5

fYear

1992

fDate

10/1/1992 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

794

Lastpage

805

Abstract

In this paper, the performance and cost of three types of cryogenic cooling systems are analyzed; a `once through´ system in which liquid nitrogen is allowed to boil on the CPU boards and is then vented to the surroundings; a saturated pool boiling refrigerated system in which gaseous nitrogen generated from boiling on the CPU boards is condensed in the vapor space above the liquid nitrogen pool; and a subcooled pool boiling refrigerated system in which the `condenser´ is completely submerged in a subcooled liquid nitrogen pool surrounding the CPU boards. Thermal/fluid numerical models used in conjunction with an optimization code, GRG2, were used to predict the performance and cost of the cryogenic cooling systems. The uniform annual cost of the `once through´ system was calculated to be $28.8K. This compares with $34.6K for the optimal subcooled pool boiling system. Due to the extremely high initial cost of the refrigerated systems, the `once-through´ cryogenic cooling system is recommended if the local heat flux on the CPU board remains below 15 W/cm²

Keywords

cooling; costing; design engineering; mainframes; nitrogen; optimisation; packaging; refrigeration; annual cost; boiling N₂; condenser; cost; cryogenic cooling systems; cryogenically cooled computer; heat flux; immersion cooling; initial cost; liquid N₂ cooling; once through system; performance; refrigerated systems; running costs; subcooled pool boiling system; thermal design optimisation; Central Processing Unit; Cooling; Costs; Cryogenics; Design optimization; Kinematics; Nitrogen; Refrigeration; Temperature; Viscosity;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Components, Hybrids, and Manufacturing Technology, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0148-6411

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/33.180045

Filename

180045