- Evaporation cooling, like sweat, could reduce energy consumption in data centers
- New fiber membrane handles heat with zero added energy consumption
- Researchers reintroduce filtration material to cool electronics passively
As AI and Cloud Computing grow, the increasing demand for data processing increases heating production, where cooling already accounts for almost 40% of a data center’s energy consumption and is projected to more than double worldwide by 2030.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new cooling technology that mimics the way animals regulate body temperature … through sweat.
The passive system removes the heat from electronics using evaporation and offers a potential alternative to traditional cooling methods in data centers and other high -powered computer environments.
To find the “cute place”
The core of the system is a fiber membrane with a network of small, interconnected pores that use capillary effect to pull coolant over the surface.
When the liquid evaporates, it effectively removes heat without requiring extra energy.
“Compared to traditional air or fluid cooling, evaporation can spread higher heat flux while using less energy,” said Renkun Chen, a professor of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UC San Diego. Chen prompted the project with professors Shengqiang Cai and Abhishek Saha.
The research was published in the journal Jouleexplaining how Chen’s team, including Ph.D. Student Tanshi Feng and Post Doctoric Researcher Yu Pei tested the membrane under variable heat conditions.
It handled over 800 watts per day. Square centimeter heat, a record for this type of cooling system. It also worked consistently over several hours.
Traditional porous membranes are often unsuccessful due to clogging or boiling. Chen explained that the team found a “cute place” with the membrane’s pore size and structure.
“These fiber membranes were originally designed for filtration and no one had previously examined their use for evaporation,” Chen said. “We acknowledged that their unique structural properties – interconnected pores and just the right pore size – could make them ideal for effective evaporation cooling. What surprised us was that with the right mechanical reinforcement they not only resisted the high heat flux – they worked extremely well under it.”
The researchers believe that the membrane still works under its full potential.
They now refine the design and work in ways to integrate it into cold plates, flat devices used to cool chips such as CPUs and GPUs.
The group is also preparing to commercialize technology through a start -up. Their goal is to provide scalable, low-energy cooling solutions as the demand for global data continues to grow.
Via Tech Xplore
