浸没式液冷：利用数据中心的现场事件技术
Immersion cooling: Harnessing live-event technology in data centers

2024 年 2 月 1 日，星期四

当 COVID-19 导致节日和现场活动被迫取消时，库拉索岛的音频技术初创公司 iXora 的前景一片黯淡。然而，在丹佛斯的帮助下，该公司很快意识到，他们的冷却技术可以重新用于数据中心，成为可能改变游戏规则的解决方案。
加勒比海岛国库拉索岛属于热带气候，对很多人来说，这种气候很宜人，但对电子产品来说，却可能是灾难性的。高温、长时间的阳光直射，加上热带雨水和含盐潮湿的空气，会很快腐蚀电气设备并损坏零部件。

活动音频初创公司的创始人艾克索拉在着手开发高性能放大器系统时，他们充分意识到了这些挑战。该解决方案不仅需要承受库拉索岛的恶劣气候，而且还要为用户提供从一个活动到另一个活动的便捷运输。空气冷却需要风扇和其他易磨损的移动部件，因此 iXora 寻找替代解决方案。该公司开发了一种闭路浸没式冷却系统，该系统以极高的效率提供必要的冷却。由于该系统是封闭的，因此也易于安装、拆卸和运输，并且有效地保护电子元件免受环境条件的影响。

iXora 一切顺利，直到 2020 年灾难降临；COVID-19 几乎在一夜之间摧毁了现场活动。公司创始人 Vincent Beek 和 Vincent Houwert 决定利用这个机会搬迁到荷兰，以寻求进一步的投资并完善放大器系统的设计。

浸没式冷却：简介

近年来，加密货币和人工智能等数字技术从相对默默无闻发展成为主流，产生了大量数据。因此，数据中心一直在寻求增加容量，同时提高效率。空气冷却长期以来一直是数据中心冷却的常态，但许多数据中心设施已过渡到或正在探索液体冷却，作为比空气冷却更高效、更具成本效益的替代方案。

液体冷却主要有两种方法：直接液体冷却和浸没式冷却。直接液体冷却涉及将冷却剂循环到特定组件。虽然比空气冷却更有效，但它通常不适合高强度加工操作。浸没式冷却通常涉及将电子设备浸入非导电液体槽中。与空气冷却相比，它提供了更高的效率和冷却密度，并且不需要风扇或其他主动冷却组件。然而，设计通常很复杂、定制且昂贵，需要大型槽来将服务器机架完全浸没其中。

转向新模式

iXora 意识到他们的封闭系统可以为数据中心提供完美的解决方案。它可以大幅提高服务器硬件的效率和容量，而无需对基础设施进行重大重新设计，而且与当时可用的浸没式冷却系统相比，成本要低得多。

该公司现已与数据中心专家乔布·维特曼 (Job Witteman) 联手，开始基于其现有的放大器冷却解决方案为数据中心市场设计原型封闭式浸没式冷却系统。iXora 并未采用传统的水平机架系统，而是寻求开发一种包含垂直盒式磁带的底盘，其中的介电油将冷却电子元件。与 iXora 之前的音频设备解决方案相比，这需要更为复杂的设计，并且需要深入了解典型数据中心运营的具体要求。此外，由于该原型是同类产品中的首款，因此还需要设计和开发针对该应用的独特新系统和组件。

原型挑战

其中一个例子就是新系统的热交换器，它需要将热量从每个盒式磁带中转移出去。该设计要求每个盒式磁带有两个耦合器，以将它们连接到底盘和设施的更广泛的冷却设备。在这些耦合器中实现低压降至关重要，因为每个小的压降都可能导致冷却性能中断。盒式磁带还需要易于连接和断开以进行维护，并且零泄漏，因为任何与数据中心设备接触的液体都可能对操作造成严重风险。

iXora 向丹佛斯寻求帮助，为其系统开发定制联轴器。除了零泄漏外，这些联轴器还需要提供精确对准、低连接力和紧凑尺寸。凭借其在联轴器技术方面的丰富经验，丹佛斯产品工程师能够根据流量、最大联轴器尺寸、压力要求和热交换率以及数据中心冷却应用特有的一系列其他因素准确计算出所需的条件。根据这些计算，丹佛斯得出结论，铝干式断流器快速断开接头是最合适的解决方案。然后丹佛斯按照规格制造了这些产品。

合作成功

原型取得了成功，丹佛斯联轴器的表现优于所有其他测试的联轴器。iXora 的运营和销售主管 Vincent Beek 解释说：“丹佛斯联轴器实现了完全对准、轻松连接和断开，而且至关重要的是，零泄漏。这对于维护至关重要。使用传统的全浸没系统，将服务器从液槽中取出可能很棘手。我们的系统实际上是即插即用的，因此您只需将其断开连接并直接将其带到车间即可。

“我们现在正处于现场测试阶段，今年将进行全球试点，明年将扩大规模进行量产。如果没有丹佛斯，这一切都不可能实现。作为一家初创公司，很难引起大公司的注意，尤其是在帮助研发方面。他们看到了我们的解决方案，立即接受了，我们从他们的专业知识中受益匪浅，”Beek 说道。

丹佛斯动力系统高级销售开发经理 Jeroen Veraart 对双方合作关系的发展感到满意：“这是一次真正的合作。iXora 确实从我们这里受益匪浅，但我们也从他们身上学到了很多东西。通过与他们合作，我们找到了可以进一步改进和完善我们产品的新方法。

“与 iXora 合作是我们的梦想，”Veraart 继续说道。“作为一家初创公司，总是存在风险，但他们充满热情，愿意学习，总是能提出创造性的想法和解决方案。最终，他们打造出了一个非常令人印象深刻的系统。浸没式冷却显然是数据中心的未来，我预计，短短几年内，这个市场将大幅增长。这对双方来说都是一次非常有益的合作，我期待看到它继续蓬勃发展。”

Immersion cooling: Harnessing live-event technology in data centers
Thursday, February 1, 2024

When COVID-19 wiped out festivals and live events, things were looking bleak for Cura?ao-based audio technology start-up iXora. However, with some help from Danfoss, the company soon realized that their cooling technology could be repurposed into a potentially game-changing solution for data centers.
The Caribbean island of Cura?ao enjoys a tropical climate, which may be pleasant for many people, but can be disastrous for electronics. Heat and long hours of direct sunlight, combined with tropical rains and salty, moist air, can very quickly corrode electrical equipment and ruin components.

The founders of event audio start-up iXora were well aware of these challenges when they set about developing their high-performance amplifier system. The solution needed to not only withstand the challenging Cura?ao climate, but also offer users easy transport from event to event. Air cooling requires fans and other moving parts that are subject to wear and tear, so iXora looked at alternative solutions. The company developed a closed-circuit immersion cooling system, which provided the necessary cooling at an extremely high efficiency. Because the system was closed, it was also easy to set up, take down, and transport, and it effectively shielded electronic components from ambient conditions.

Everything was going well for iXora until disaster struck in 2020; COVID-19 wiped out the live event scene almost overnight. Company founders Vincent Beek and Vincent Houwert decided to use the opportunity to relocate to the Netherlands to seek further investment and finesse the design of the amplifier system.

Immersion cooling: An introduction
In recent years, digital technologies such as cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence have emerged from relative obscurity to mainstream, producing vast amounts of data. As a result, data centers have sought to increase capacity while simultaneously improving efficiency. Air cooling had long been the norm for data center cooling, but many data center facilities have transitioned to or are exploring liquid cooling as a more efficient and cost-effective alternative to air cooling.

There are two main approaches to liquid cooling: direct liquid cooling and immersion cooling. Direct liquid cooling involves circulating coolants to specific components. While more efficient than air cooling, it is often not suitable for high-intensity processing operations. Immersion cooling typically involves submerging electronics in a bath of non-conductive liquid. It provides far greater efficiency and cooling density compared to air cooling and requires no fans or other active cooling components. However, designs are often complex, custom, and expensive, requiring large baths in which to submerge server racks entirely.

Pivoting to a new model
iXora realized that their closed system could provide the perfect solution for data centers. It could substantially improve the efficiency and capacity of server hardware without the need for significant infrastructure redesign — and at a much lower cost compared to the immersion cooling systems available at the time.

The company, now joined by data center expert Job Witteman, began designing a prototype closed immersion cooling system for the data center market, based on its existing amplifier cooling solution. Rather than the traditional horizontal rack system, iXora instead sought to develop a chassis containing vertical cassettes, in which dielectric oil would cool the electronic components. This required a vastly more sophisticated design compared to iXora’s previous solutions for audio equipment, and a deep understanding of the specific requirements of typical data center operations. Furthermore, because the prototype would be the first of its kind, it also required the design and development of new systems and components unique to the application.

Prototype challenges
One example of this was the new system’s heat exchanger, required to transfer heat away from each cassette. The design required two couplings per cassette to connect them both to the chassis, and to the facility’s wider cooling equipment. Achieving a low pressure drop in these couplings was vital, as each small pressure drop could cause disruptions in the cooling performance. Cassettes also required easy connection and disconnection for maintenance, with zero leakage, as any liquid coming into contact with data center equipment could pose a serious risk to operations.

iXora approached Danfoss for help in the development of custom couplings for their system. As well as zero leakage, these also needed to provide precision alignment, a low connect force, and a compact size. Drawing on its extensive experience in coupling technology, Danfoss product engineers were able to calculate exactly what was required based on the flow rate, maximum coupling size, pressure requirements, and heat exchange rate, alongside a range of other factors specific to data center cooling applications. Based on these calculations, Danfoss concluded that aluminum dry break quick-disconnect couplings would be the most suitable solution. These were then manufactured to specification by Danfoss.

Success in partnership
The prototype was a success, with the Danfoss couplings outperforming all other couplings tested. iXora’s head of operations and sales, Vincent Beek, explained: “The Danfoss couplings achieved full alignment, easy connection and disconnection and, crucially, zero leakage. This is vital for maintenance. With a conventional full immersion system, it can be tricky getting servers out of the liquid bath. Ours is effectively plug and play, so you can just disconnect it and carry it straight to the workshop.

“We’re now onto the field-testing stage, with a global pilot to follow this year, and then next year we’ll be scaling up to mass production. None of this would have been possible without Danfoss. As a start-up it can be difficult to get the attention of larger companies, particularly when it comes to help with R&D. They saw our solution, immediately bought into it, and we’ve benefited greatly from their expertise,” Beek said.

Jeroen Veraart, senior sales development manager, Danfoss Power Solutions, has been pleased with how the relationship developed: “This was a true partnership. iXora benefited from us for sure, but we’ve learned a lot from them as well. As a result of working with them we’ve identified new ways in which we can improve and refine our products further.

“iXora were a dream to work with,” Veraart continued. “With a start-up there’s always an element of risk, but they were enthusiastic, willing to learn, and always coming up with creative ideas and solutions. At the end of it they’ve got a really impressive system. Immersion cooling is clearly the future for data centers, and in just a few years I expect that market will grow considerably. This has been a really rewarding partnership for both parties, and I look forward to seeing it continue to flourish.”

关于我们

北京汉深流体技术有限公司是丹佛斯中国数据中心签约代理商。产品包括FD83全流量自锁球阀接头，UQD系列液冷快速接头、EHW194 EPDM液冷软管、电磁阀、压力和温度传感器及Manifold的生产和集成服务。在国家数字经济、东数西算、双碳、新基建战略的交汇点，公司聚焦组建高素质、经验丰富的液冷工程师团队，为客户提供卓越的工程设计和强大的客户服务。

公司产品涵盖：丹佛斯液冷流体连接器、EPDM软管、电磁阀、压力和温度传感器及Manifold。
未来公司发展规划：数据中心液冷基础设施解决方案厂家，具备冷量分配单元（CDU）、二次侧管路（SFN）和Manifold的专业研发设计制造能力。组建高素质、经验丰富的液冷工程师团队，为客户提供卓越的工程设计和强大的客户服务。