UIUC researchers say copper cold plates could cut cooling energy
Keeping data centers cool uses a ton of energy, but a team from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign may have found a smarter way.
Their new copper cold plates, highlighted in a May 7 study, could help data centers stay chill without burning through so much power, a big deal as our digital lives keep growing.
ECAM fins cut coolant pressure 68%
Teaming up with Fabric8Labs, the researchers used Electrochemical Additive Manufacturing (ECAM) to make copper plates with tree-like fins.
This design boosts heat transfer and cuts coolant pressure by 68%, offering up to 32% better cooling than usual methods.
For massive data centers, this could shrink cooling energy needs from 500 megawatts down to just 11 megawatts.
Team plans tests on larger servers
The team plans to test these plates on even bigger servers to see if they can handle large-scale demands.
If it works out, it could seriously lower the energy footprint of data centers worldwide.