back to article Fujitsu SPARCs up liquid cooling for smartphones

One of the tricks Fujitsu uses to increase density in its M10 family of SPARC servers is liquid cooling. The company's Liquid Loop Cooling offers a closed system to pump coolant around a motherboard, the better to draw away heat. Fujitsu thinks Liquid Loop Cooling is very cunning but acknowledges that its use of pumps to move …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I came

    * and not just to read the article and make this comment

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Otherwise ...

    ... known as natural circulation when I learned it thirty-five years ago. Frankly I'm surprised it hasn't been used more widely in other applications similar to this but then again, I didn't think of this application either.

  3. anatak

    difference between this and heat pipe ?

    See title

    1. frank ly

      Re: difference between this and heat pipe ?

      I think that this being formed as a loop is the difference. That leads to other questions of course.

      1. John Tserkezis

        Re: difference between this and heat pipe ?

        "I think that this being formed as a loop is the difference. That leads to other questions of course."

        Fluid dynamics not being my strong point mind, but this appears to function in the same way as a regular heat pipe, but in flat device, you don't have the luxury of a pipe thickness.

        Where in a heat pipe, the coolant flows in both direction (either wicked liquid along the edges, or in vapour form in the open centre), you don't have that space (pipe diameter) available to you in a thin device.

        If you flatten it all, you can still transport the coolant *separately*, without losing effectiveness via the new flat pipe.

        So, it's the same thing, just transporting the coolant a differernt way, and a lot flatter.

    2. the spectacularly refined chap

      Re: difference between this and heat pipe ?

      difference between this and heat pipe ?

      Not a lot, but that's hardly surprising in that it is a heat pipe. It presumably (you would hope) is not dependent on a specific orientation which differs from some desktop heat pipes but that isn't new in and of itself. The primarily innovation here seems to be getting it so thin, especially in contrast to the desktop heat pipes which invariably won't fit in even a compact desktop case.

      Mind you, I think that's simply another expression of the endless ability to screw over the gamers. Nothing opens the wallet faster than stroking the ego, and agreeing that a £600 machine made of commodity components is some kind of supercomputer is a sure way of doing that. Cue the order of a £100 heatsink the size of a brick...

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: difference between this and heat pipe ?

      Heat pipes manage the vapour/liquid movement differently - the pipe has a porous layer and is hollow in the centre, meaning the vapour will flow unimpeded through the centre, then cool and become a liquid. The liquid then travels back through the porous layer via capillary action to the heat source and the process repeats.

      I have no idea how this particular item works. It's conceivably the same technology but with separate pipes rather than concentric.

      1. the spectacularly refined chap

        Re: difference between this and heat pipe ?

        I have no idea how this particular item works. It's conceivably the same technology but with separate pipes rather than concentric.

        Heat pipes have been around a lot longer and have far greater application than their comparatively recent use in desktop computers. Yes, there are always two paths between the heat souce and the radiator, one for the vapour and one for the liquid. How those are arranged physically is irrelevant: you are confusing the packaging of a specific implementation with the general principle.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Please, no...

    The last thing we need is to make it even easier for smartphones to consume battery power. In fact it might be better if they could fabricate a very thin and efficient insulator that would force the designers to reduce power consumption.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    I want 2

    for my Rasp Pi!

  6. oneeye

    To me,I think the heat source is the pump, by creating a vapor that expands,that starts the flow,and then on the return side a vacuum is created to draw the condensed liquid back to thur starting point. If you have ever soldered a copper plumbing fixture,then you can understand the vacuum aspect. The type of coolant is the secret recipe.

    1. the spectacularly refined chap

      The type of coolant is the secret recipe.

      What, you mean water or meths?

    2. John Tserkezis

      "The type of coolant is the secret recipe"

      Nothing secret about it. The type of coolant used, along with the pressure of the contents are adjusted to suit the application.

      You start with a fluid that has a liquid/boiling point that is close to what you need, then adjust the pressure higher to work with higher temperatures, and lower the pressure to work with lower temperatures. Choose the wicking material to suit your coolant and flowrates - and that's the basics done.

      It just so happens that in a lot of computing applications, water suits the purpose. Nothing secret about it.

  7. This post has been deleted by its author

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like