Numerical Computations of Advanced Water-Cooled Cold Plates for Thermal Management of Microchips with Hotspots

Authors: Matthew Selvaggio, Mahdi Farahikia, Alex Gorzula, Ping-Chuan Wang, Eric Rosenfield

SUNY Campus: SUNY New Paltz

Presentation Type: Poster

Location: Old Union Hall

Presentation #: 55

Timeslot: Session D 3:00-4:00 PM

Abstract: Computers lie at the heart of today's technological world, powering everything from web searches to developing and testing sophisticated systems like spaceships. Computer chips are the core component that allows such a world to exist, and their processing power is continuously increasing. This increase in performance brings many challenges. Overheating and uneven temperature distribution in microchips undermine reliability and lifespan. Traditional cooling methods, such as air cooling, often fail to address these challenges effectively, as they lack adequate heat transfer rates and struggle to dissipate heat from localized high-temperature regions known as hotspots. To enhance chip thermal management, liquid cooling solutions have emerged as a promising alternative, utilizing convective heat transfer. Inside a cold plate, pin fins within high heat flux regions allow a targeted approach to combating hotspots. This study investigates the influence of cold plate geometrical parameters on its thermal and hydraulic performance using finite element analysis in COMSOL. The results indicate that cold plates with increased pin-fin density near the hotspot significantly outperform conventional designs in thermal efficiency. This efficiency further improves with higher flow rates. However, advantages come with trade-offs; higher flow rates require increased pump power, translating to greater energy consumption and operational costs. These findings underscore the importance of optimized designs balancing thermal performance with energy efficiency, ensuring practicality and sustainability.