Combining Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Flow Network Modeling (FNM) for Design of a Multi-Chip Module (MCM) Cold Plate

Abstract

The objective of the study is to improve on performance of the current liquid cooling solution for a Multi-Chip Module (MCM) through design of a chip-scale cold plate with quick and accurate thermal analysis. This can be achieved through application of Flow Network Modeling (FNM) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in an interactive manner. Thermal analysis of the baseline cold plate design is performed using CFD to determine initial improvement in performance as compared to the original solution, in terms of thermal resistance and pumping power. Fluid flow through the solution is modeled using FNM and verified with results from the CFD analysis. In addition, CFD is employed to generate flow impedance curves of non-standard components within the cold plate, which are used as input for the Hardy Cross method in FNM. Using the verified flow network model, design parameters of different components in the cold plate are modified to promote uniform flow distribution to each active region in the chip-scale solution. Analysis of the resultant design using CFD determines additional improvement in performance over the original solution, if available. Thus, through complementary application of FNM and CFD, a robust cold plate can be designed without requiring expensive fabrication of prototypes and with minimal computational time and resources.