In today’s complex operating environment, liquid cooling systems are required to dissipate a large amount of heat in a densely packed electronic environment. Maximum operational life is required to keep system maintenance and repair down time to a minimum. Temperature stabilization has especially become critical, as next generation systems require more precise temperature control.

Liquid cooling systems (LCS) are self-contained units that recirculate a coolant to a predefined temperature set point. There are two types of liquid cooling solutions. The first is a liquid heat exchanger system that cools the coolant in a liquid circuit to ambient temperature. This system consists of a pump to circulate coolant, a liquid heat exchanger to dissipate heat, and a liquid circuit to transfer coolant from the heat source to the LCS. The second type is a compressor-based system, or recirculating chiller, that encompasses a compressor system instead of a liquid heat exchanger assembly. It is used to cool the coolant to well below ambient and dissipate heat to the outside environment. Additional features can be included to add temperature control, variable flow control, bypass control, coolant filtration and electronics in order to meet unique attribute requirements. Compatibility of material selection to coolant is also critical in order to minimize corrosion and keep loose oxidized particles from obstructing flow.

Because there are many unique attributes that need to be ascertained from each application, often a liquid cooling solution requires a custom configuration to optimize performance and long life operation. The type of coolant used will depend on the desired control temperature. Laird has the know-how to design cooling systems that are compatible with water, water-glycol, transformer oil or various corrosion prohibitors. LCS can also be quite complex and require temperature control of multiple liquid circuits or multiple pressure drop settings in order to accommodate low and high pressure conditions.

Laird has experience with both and offers strong engineering design services with a global presence that supports onsite concept generation, thermal modeling, mechanical and electrical design and rapid prototyping. The company also offers validation test services to meet unique compliance standards for each industry, such as UL and MIL-STDs, or a unique standard specific to a medical, industrial or semiconductor account.

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