Optimization of the single-phase immersion cooling system: Impact of heat sink and coolant

Abstract

With the development of data centers (DCs), traditional air cooling system was hard to meet cooling requirement. Single-phase immersion cooling system received more attention because of high performance and low energy consumption. However, the research for such technology is not enough. In this paper, the preferred heat sink is discussed, as well the coolant. Based on this, the heat sink is optimized according to different coolant. Results showed that, the performance of pin fin heat sink was better than that of micro-channel heat sink. Different coolants had different optimal fin spacing. The optimal fin spacing of FC3283 was 3 mm; for mineral oil and EC110, it was 5 mm. EC110 has the best performance in four coolants due to high thermal conductivity and low viscosity and density. The energy consumption can be reduced up to 0.22 W, compared to use mineral oil with 1 mm fin spacing.