What is liquid cold plate heat dissipation

The liquid cold plate is a heat dissipation technology that dissipates the heat and power consumption of high-power electronic components on the surface of the cold plate by arranging fluid channels inside a compact and relatively thin plate or strip of metal to allow convective heat exchange between the fluid and the cold plate.

The rising thermal load of high-power electronics and the push for more compact packages has changed the way designers think. Liquid cooling technology is gaining traction in cooling and dissipating heat in high-power electronic devices. Liquid cold plates offer significant performance advantages over more traditional air-cooled solutions, especially in high power and high heat flux applications.

Applications for Liquid Cold Plate

Liquid cold plate solutions are deployed in renewable energy systems, traction systems, medical equipment, IGBT and power semiconductor systems, lasers, data centers, industrial power applications, defense systems, avionics, fuel cells, and battery cooling, and other power and high heat flux applications.

The different types of liquid cold plates

▪ Tube Liquid Cold Plate

▪ Gun Drilling Liquid Cold Plate

▪ FSW Liquid Cold Plate

▪ Die Casting Liquid Cold Plate

▪ Brazing Liquid Cold Plates

Tube Liquid Cold Plate

Tube liquid cold plate is probably the simplest form of the cold plate in which a jointless tube is embedded in a copper or aluminum carrier.

Depending on the desired thermal properties and the coolant, the tubes can be copper or stainless steel. They can be simple mechanical (dry) press-fit or press-fit with a thermal epoxy boundary to eliminate micro-porosity or welded to maximize thermal performance.

Gun Drilling Liquid Cold Plate

Gun drill liquid cold plates are manufactured by drilling a series of holes through the length of an aluminum plate to create multiple flow paths.

The holes are drilled perpendicular to the main fluid path and then partially plugged to create a continuous coolant path for the inlet and outlet fluid paths.

The advantage of these cold plates is that there are no thermal boundaries, and the aluminum plate is manufactured without thermal stress, making it easier to achieve flatness.

FSW (Stir Friction Welding) Liquid Cold Plate

FSW (Stir Friction Welding) liquid cold plate is two-piece construction. The liquid flow path is CNC machined into the base. The flow path can be complex and even incorporate fins to enhance the heat transfer surface.

The profiled cap is then placed into a recess above the flow path and by FSW (friction stir welding). A final weld surface is a fly-cut plane, adding inlet/outlet holes and component mounting holes.

Die Casting Liquid Cold Plate

Die Casting Liquid Cold Plate is a two-piece construction for complex, high-volume liquid cold plates.

Multiple internal and external features can be combined into two die-casting tools. After casting, the two halves can be bonded together by welding or using epoxy resin.

Brazing Liquid Cold Plates

These cold plates are typically used in high-performance designs that require low thermal resistance and superior leak-free reliability. They give designers maximum flexibility in specifying thermal resistance, heat flow, pressure drop, fluid path, size, shape, material hardness, surface geometry, and the ability to mount components on both sides of the plate. Internal features can be created by machining the deflectors and fins from base material or introducing high-performance corrugated aluminum fins.