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Revolutionizing data center cooling: Eaton’s role in the COOLERCHIPS program
The ARPA-E COOLERCHIPS program tackles the challenge of developing advanced cooling technologies to reduce the environmental impact and cost of data centers. The consortium includes industry and academic experts: Eaton, NVIDIA, the Durbin Group and others. In this project, Eaton shares its innovative thermal management solutions and next-generation design expertise as a crucial contributor to driving the program towards its ambitious goals.
COOLERCHIPS aims to minimize data center energy consumption with a cost-effective thermal management system. This new cooling system will enable IT equipment to operate inside shipping containers, making it ideal for harsh and remote environments.
Cooling data centers poses significant thermal challenges. AI-driven accelerated computing increases the need for efficient cooling with increased processing demand. Processor thermal design power (TDP) is expected to reach 500 watts by 2025, with some GPUs already approaching 700 watts. Additional power consumption and heat dissipation outpace traditional cooling technologies, like air and single-phase liquid cooling. IT organizations need these critical cooling technologies to implement next-generation data center equipment.
NVIDIA’s 3D simulation environment, Omniverse, is a digital twin of the COOLERCHIPS hardware, used to optimize and validate the cooling technology before deployment. The team builds a scalable, single-track unit to emulate system performance and uses immersive tray emulators to test hybrid systems. Direct-to-chip two-phase cooling handles high-power components, while single phase immersion cooling manages low-power components, enabling efficient cooling for the highest thermal loads in liquid rack-based systems.
The COOLERCHIPS concept addresses all deployment levels and program objectives with innovative cold plate technology using a green refrigerant. Two-phase flow visualization techniques optimize cold plate architecture and operating conditions. CFD simulation refines flow and temperature distribution inside the immersion tray. At the rack level, an in-rack distributed pumping and flow separation system replaces the conventional cooling distribution units (CDU). This system separates vapor from liquid and directs spent vapor back to the condensing unit to improve efficiency. Immersion manifolds connect directly to the heat rejection unit. Multiple identical racks connect to emulate an IT cluster, all linked to external heat rejection units with array coolers, potentially reducing the cooling tower footprint by four times. This integration reduces total power consumption to only 5% of the IT load.
Eaton’s extensive expertise in two-phase cooling and liquid cooling systems is fundamental to the success of the COOLERCHIPS program. Our advanced cold plate technology plays a pivotal role in achieving the program’s ambitious objectives, effectively managing the substantial thermal demands of next generation data centers. Eaton’s cold plates, engineered for optimal efficiency and performance, are essential components in this effort. By incorporating Eaton’s innovative cooling solutions, the COOLERCHIPS program ensures that data centers operate not only with enhanced efficiency but also with a sustainable approach, paving the path for future innovations in data center cooling.
Collaborate with us to leverage our rich heritage, expertise and capabilities in developing innovative liquid cold plates for advanced two-phase pumping systems, enabling energy-efficient and high-performance cooling solutions for your specific applications.
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