What Computer Liquid Cooling Is and Does
Whether one is using a laptop or desktop computer, they can always hear the motion of a small fan. This gadget cools off the electronic components. For those who would like an even faster hardware, the use of a fan is not enough to cool the appliances. The use of liquid cooling, also called water cooling, is preferred for those types that generate more heat. It appears counter intuitive to place liquids near electronic equipment, but this method has proven to be superior to air cooling. The article below will describe what computer liquid cooling is and does.
This system works like the one used in cars. Both use the principle of thermodynamics which states that heat will move from the warmer object to the cooler ones. As the warmth of the cooler object rises, the object which was previously warm will get cooler. This principle is utilized in cars by circulating water, normally mixed with antifreeze, throughout the engine. The hot surface of the engine warms the water and in the process it cools off.
This water then circulates back to the radiator which has fins and tubes that increase the surface area of the whole system. The heat of the hot water moves to the radiator and thus becomes colder again. The large surface area of the radiator cools off by warming the air around it. Therefore, the heat of the engine moves first to the cooling system and finally to the surrounding air. The mechanism of having a radiator to be in contact with air ensures that the heat is dispelled instead of just being moved around.
Electronic components generate heat due to the motion of electrons. The microchips contain transistors which are switches either off or on at any given time. Electricity moves around the microchip while the transistors change between being on and off. The change of states becomes faster if the transistors are more, and thus the chip will get hotter. Like the car engine, any chip that gets too hot will fail.
Heat fans and sinks are used by many computers. Heat sinks are metal plates that extend the surface area in contact with air. What the chip does is warm the heat sink that subsequently warms the air to be moved out by the fan. This method works in many cases but is inefficient if the electronic parts generate more heat than can be removed by the simple circulation of air. The high-end chips or those than have been set to work faster will overwhelm this system.
Liquid cooling is therefore preferred. Water has more thermal conductivity when compared to air. It moves heat faster and has a superior specific heat capacity. It thus absorbs more heat before feeling hot. The fans may make more noise and use excess electricity in the process. The use of liquids is thus suitable when one needs more cooling and at the same time keeps the computer quieter.
The cooling system has many parts as follows: The pump moves coolant throughout the system; the radiator dispels heat to the surrounding air; the fan moves air around the radiator; the reservoir retains extra fluid for easy addition of the coolant; the hoses connect diverse parts together.
Most electronic parts will not withstand direct contact with liquids. What are used in this scenario are water blocks. They are pieces of heat conducting metals that are filled with channels. The use of thermal paste between the chips and blocks is for enhancing the transfer of heat. The heat from the chips is transmitted to the blocks, then to the water that flows in the hollow channels. These chips are mainly universal but can be designed to cool other chipsets that generate a lot of heat. An example is the chipset connecting the memory and central processing unit which is of high temperature.
Peltier devices can be used in place of normal water blocks in case more temperature reduction is necessary. These gadgets are thermoelectric hence moves heat from one side to another so that one side is very hot while the other is cool. The fluid from the water blocks will cool down the hotter side of the device then the colder side is used to cool down the microchips. It must be protected from condensation since it is colder than the air surrounding it. Condensation can cause short circuiting.
The pump used is usually of the centrifugal type. The submersible type is placed inside the reservoir tank. Others have to be maintained dry. These pumps determine the speed of movement of a coolant around the system. The speed must be appropriate to be efficient in reducing the heat of chips, thus neither too slow nor too fast. Resistance around the tubes can help slow down the rate of flow. The pump must be strong to be able to pump the coolant from the lowest to the highest points, especially in the case of tall server towers.
The tubing used has to be flexible enough to connect even the components that are joined at odd angles. It must not be susceptible to kinking as this can restrict fluid flow through the system. A simple system has a tube connecting the inlet of water blocks to a pump. Other tubes will link the outlet to the radiator and the radiator to a reservoir. The reservoir is finally connected to the pump. The blocks can be connected in series if they are many, where tubes interlink the outlet of a block to the inlet of a subsequent block.
The liquid used as coolant is the final component of the system. Distilled water is mainly used as it does not contain contaminants. What special additives do is change the color of the water to make it visually appealing and lowering its freezing point. Leaks must be nonexistent as they can damage the hardware.
A readymade kit is available if one does not want to labor searching for the individual components. What the computer liquid cooling company does is compiling the specific components to make up one gadget. These can be plugged directly to the extension slots of the computers. They come with all the parts needed and are complete with the instruction manual. Some companies sell new computers complete with installed computer liquid cooling.
