A fiber-membrane cooling technology developed at the University of California San Diego could significantly reduce the heat generated by electronic devices, thereby lowering the energy consumption of data centers.
Engineers at UC San Diego have created a new cooling solution that can greatly improve the energy efficiency of data centers and high-power electronics. The technology uses a specially engineered fiber membrane designed to dissipate heat through evaporation. This represents a potential alternative to conventional cooling systems such as fans, heat sinks, and liquid pumps. It could also reduce water usage, a common drawback of many current cooling methods. The research team detailed their findings in a paper published June 13 in Joule. Joule.
As artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing continue to expand, demand for data processing and the resulting heat output are surging. Today, cooling accounts for up to 40% of a data center’s total energy use. If this trend continues, global energy consumption for cooling could more than double by 2030.
The new evaporative cooling technology may help curb that trajectory. It employs a low-cost fiber membrane with a network of interconnected pores that draw cooling liquid across the surface through capillary action. As the liquid evaporates, it effectively removes heat from the underlying electronics without additional energy input. The membrane sits atop microchannels above the devices, wicking fluid through the channels while dissipating heat.
“Compared to conventional air or liquid cooling, evaporation can dissipate more heat while consuming less energy,” said Renkun Chen, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering, who co-led the project with professors Shengqiang Cai and Abhishek Saha.
Evaporation is already used in many cooling applications, such as heat pipes in laptops and evaporators in air conditioners. However, applying it effectively to high-power electronics has been a long-standing challenge. Previous attempts using hollow membranes with large surface areas—ideal in theory—failed because the pores were either too small and clogged easily, or too large and triggered unwanted boiling. Chen and his colleagues overcame this by designing hollow fiber membranes with optimally sized, interconnected pores, achieving efficient evaporation without those drawbacks.
When tested under variable heat fluxes, the membrane achieved record performance, handling heat fluxes exceeding 800 watts per square centimeter—among the highest ever recorded for this type of cooling system. It also demonstrated stable operation for several hours.
Despite the promising results, Chen noted that the technology is still operating below its theoretical limits. The team is working to refine the membrane and optimize performance. Next steps include integrating it into prototype cooling plates—flat components that can be mounted onto chips like CPUs and GPUs to dissipate heat. The researchers are also launching a startup to commercialize the technology.
Source: vnexpress.net