Electrical circuits encased in fluid may reshape data-center design
Keeping electrical circuits dry is generally considered a vital safety measure, but at Sandia’s High Performance Computing center, technicians adjust live circuits submerged in liquid.
“It’s pretty cool — and a little unusual — to walk into a computing lab and see electrical hardware submerged in fluid,” Sandia engineer David Damm said.
Complete immersion of computer components appears to be the most effective way to cool them, said Dave Martinez, engineering program project lead for Sandia’s Infrastructure Computing Services. “We place whole computers — their power cables, everything — in a liquefied solution. We take an entire rack and drop it into fluid contained in big immersion tanks.”
He believes that this direct contact between a liquid coolant and electrified equipment “could reshape the future designs of data centers.”
By submerging all parts of the computing servers in a liquid coolant that doesn’t conduct electricity, 100% of the generated heat can be captured, almost entirely eliminating the need for the power-hungry fans and chillers used in conventional cooling systems.
