Moving from air cooling to liquid cooling is a decision that every thermal engineer seems to have to make today.   First of all, processors themselves in some cases are getting hotter.  And if that weren’t enough, when processors get cooler, then more are being used in smaller spaces, creating a thermal management problem just as pronounced as in the original case.   One company tackling this issue is Congatec, from Deggendorf, Germany.  In a recent white paper, “Full speed ahead while keeping a cool head: A smart cooling solution for unbridled processor performance” Congatec’s Konrad Pfaffinger makes the case for using heat pipes in some of the smallest of embedded computing boards, COM Express.

For our readers who have never heard of COM Express, this is an embedded board type.  COM stands for Computer-on-Module.  Thepurpose of such a design is create small modular systems and to create a compute engine that can be embedded.

The specification defines 3 module sizes:

• Compact: 95 x 95 mm
• Basic: 95 x 125 mm
• Extended: 110 x 155 mm

It is an actual standard, and our readers can see that standard and other information on COM Express at the PICMG Group here.

But while the size might be small, and the intention low power, the opportunity to embedd COM Express modules in many different places lends itself to applications that can take advantage of higher wattage CPUs.  And when that happens, eventually the thermal management moves beyond a simple heat sink and air mover.   Here is a diagram of Congatec’s heat pipe implementation for their conga-TS77  3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7 or i5 COM Express Module:

The white paper is well worth a read on this important topic, you can get your PDF copy here at coolingZONE by clicking to, “Full speed ahead while keeping a cool head: A smart cooling solution for unbridled processor performance”

Our readers should know that our August conference, coolingZONE-12 International Conference and Exhibition will have a complete track on the important topic of moving from air to liquid cooling with the use of heat pipes, including the folowing:

• “Transitioning from Air to liquid cooled: Design of Heat exchangers and cold plates” taught by Alfonso Ortega, Ph.D.
• “Intrachip Microfluidic Cooling – Gen3 Thermal Packaging Technology” by Avram Bar-Cohen, Ph.D.
• “Indirect Liquid Cooling of Electronics with Micro- and Mini-Scale Cold Plates and Heat Sinks: Theoretical and Practical Implications for Enhanced Cooling and Energy Recovery” by Alfonso Ortega, Ph.D.
• “Next Generation Embedded Liquid Cooling with Ultra Low Thermal Resistance” by Michael M. Ohadi, Ph.D.

You can see abstracts of these presentations and more at coolingZONE-12 Conference Program