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Engineers unfamiliar with many types of liquid cooling may find it difficult to choose between an ambient cooling system, a recirculating chiller or a liquid-to-liquid cooling system for their latest project. Here we will break down the liquid cooling system (LCS) types and highlight the key differences between them.
The first consideration is whether you need precise temperature control or need to cool below ambient (air) temperature. If you can answer ‘no’ to both of these, you are looking for a cooling system that will simply remove bulk heat. The most cost effective solution is an ambient cooling system.
There is no temperature control circuit, so an ambient cooling system does not maintain a pre-set temperature. Since the ambient air provides the cooling, the ambient temperature is the lower limit for the fluid exit temperature.
Although they appear simple, ambient cooling systems are engineered for maximum capacity. The cooling system manufacturer’s thorough understanding of heat exchanger performance allows the liquid flow rate and air flow rate to be performance-matched to extract the most cooling capacity from the system. The plumbing is designed for high reliability and components are carefully selected to avoid any galvanic corrosion issues. An off-the-shelf ambient cooling system is easy to use; connect the fluid inlet / outlet fittings to your equipment, fill the tank and turn it on.
But what if you need to control the temperature or cool below room temperature? Recirculating chillers and liquid-to-liquid cooling systems are both good alternatives.
Recirculating chillers use refrigerant for cooling. They operate in a similar way to your refrigerator at home, except that they cool water instead of air. The process water circuit includes an evaporator, tank and pump. The water is cooled by the refrigerant as it passes through the evaporator. On the other side of the evaporator, the refrigerant evaporates to cool the water, then passes through a compressor and condenser, rejecting the heat to the ambient air.
When heat loads get high, chillers can overload the room’s air conditioning system as they reject the waste heat into the ambient environment. One option is to use a chiller with a liquid-cooled condenser. In this case, the refrigerant is cooled by facility-chilled water instead of air, making the chiller quieter and avoiding room-warming problems.
Another alternative for high heat loads is a liquid-to-liquid cooling system.
The process side circuit is completely isolated from the facility water, protecting your equipment from fluctuations in temperature, flow rate of the facility water and any contaminants that may be present. Since the facility water provides the cooling, the facility water temperature is the lower limit for fluid exit temperature.
Liquid-to-liquid cooling systems are popular for high heat load applications as they are compact: approximately 1/3 the size of a refrigerant-based chiller of similar capacity. Without a compressor, they are also quiet and energy efficient.
For low heat loads, recirculating chillers are usually the simplest solution as installation is easy. At high heat loads, liquid-to-liquid cooling systems are more cost effective. However, their use is restricted to situations where chilled facility water is available. The necessity to plumb them into facility water may affect the locations they can be used in and the portability of the equipment.
If you have high heat loads and need to reject the heat to facility water, the choice between an LCS and a recirculating chiller with a water-cooled condenser depends on your set-point temperature. If your set-point temperature is higher than your maximum facility water temperature, an LCS is more cost-effective. However, if you need to cool close to or below the facility water temperature, you will need a refrigerant based chiller with a water-cooled condenser.
MCS performance is shown as Q/ITD versus flow rate. Q is heat load and ITD is the initial temperature difference or the difference between MCS liquid inlet temperature and ambient air temperature.
To select the correct MCS system, you first need to determine Q/ITD. Then, using the MCS performance graph, draw a horizontal line at the calculated Q/ITD value. Finally, check that the pump will provide sufficient flow rate.
Example:
A laser produces 700 W of waste heat. The water temperature exiting the laser should be less than 35°C. Ambient room temperature is 20°C. The laser equipment requires a flow rate of at least 1 gpm. Which MCS system should be selected?
First, determine Q/ITD Q/ITD = 700 W/(35°C-20°C) = 46.7 W/°C
Using the thermal performance graph, you can see that at flow rates above 0.5 gpm, MCS20 will provide adequate performance. The standard BB pump offers a flow rate of 1.3 gpm so it will work well. If you are considering an alternative pump, use the pump flow rate calculation to verify that with the given pressure drop, flow rate will be sufficient.
In most liquid-to-liquid cooling applications, we know the temperature of facility water (TF), the desired process set-point temperature (TP), the flow rate through the process (VP) and the heat load of the process, Q.
Finally, refer to the liquid cooling system performance curves to determine the facility process flow rate required to achieve calculated Q/ITD.
A solder reflow oven requires a process set point of 20 °C. The heat load is 10 kW and process water flow rate is 5 gpm. The facility water is at 10°C. Using the heat capacity graphs, we find that the ΔT through the process is approximately 7.6°C for the condition 10 kW at 5 gpm.
Ultimately, the required cooling capacity, temperature stability, set-point temperature and availability of facility cooling water will dictate which system to use. For further assistance in choosing a cooling system, contact our thermal design engineers to discuss your specific application requirements. Based on inputs such as your heat load and required flow rate, it will even recommend an appropriate product.
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