A De-embedded Pressure Drop Measurement Technique Coupled with Flow Network Analysis Software to Evaluate Pressure Drop Performance Curves for Direct Liquid Cooling Thermal Management Applications

Evaluating and scaling direct liquid cooling (DLC) hardware from the component-level to system-level can present a unique set of challenges. Component-level thermal and flow performance specifications are not always readily available or may be generated under a different set of flow conditions (e.g., flow regime, fluid type) by the manufacturer that may not align with the design engineer’s application space. In addition, increasing component heat dissipation levels are driving the development of high-performance micro-channel cold plates that create an additional pressure drop burden on supporting cooling infrastructure (e.g., cooling distribution units and facility chillers) [1]. Establishing accurate thermal and flow performance characteristics at the component-level early in the DLC design cycle is imperative when building a foundation to predict realistic flow requirements that scale from the component-to-system levels, while also including design considerations for facility infrastructure performance constraints. Mayo Clinic SPPDG designed and assembled a pressure/flow measurement system and developed a more accurate measurement technique, which incorporates a de-embedding methodology. This paper describes the test measurement system, referred to as the Thermal Test Cart; defines the de-embedded measurement technique, comparing it with conventional parallel measurement processes; and demonstrates the significance of this methodology when applied at the system level.