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Types of Liquid Cold Plates and Key Design Considerations
In the field of thermal management, space is the ultimate resource — encompassing temperature rise allowance, geometric limitations, and, increasingly, energy consumption constraints. As green, energy-efficient data centers rise in prominence, these factors become critical to liquid cold plate design.
Similar to air-cooled heatsinks, the fundamental role of a liquid cold plate is to efficiently transfer heat to a flowing liquid coolant. To achieve this, the plate must maximize contact between solid surfaces and liquid, often using fin structures. Unlike air, liquid has higher viscosity and tighter boundary layers, necessitating precise flow directionality inside the cold plate. Sealing the coolant and preventing leaks are also critical; therefore, welding quality heavily influences long-term reliability and performance.
Below, we explore common types of liquid cooling plates from a thermal design perspective.
1. Monolithic Fin Cold Plates
In this design, the fins and baseplate are a single integrated structure, eliminating contact resistance. Manufacturing techniques include skiving, CNC machining, brazing, friction stir welding, laser welding, 3D printing, and powder metallurgy. (Example: Skived fin cold plates).
 | 2. Embedded Fin Cold PlatesHere, the baseplate is machined with cavities, and separately fabricated fins are attached via welding or bonding. Although contact resistance exists between fin and baseplate, this design allows greater flexibility with fin manufacturing, such as stamping, cold forging, folded fins, or 3D printing. Foam metals can also fill cavities for enhanced convection. |
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3. Milled Channel Cold Plates
Channels are directly milled into the plate, sealed with a cover using welding or gaskets plus bolts. This design offers low flow resistance and is suited for moderate heat loads distributed across a large area.
 | 4. Tubed Cold PlatesTubes carry the coolant through grooves machined in the baseplate, often clamped between two plates. The tube and base materials can differ, enhancing compatibility with diverse fluids. This design shares pros and cons with milled channel plates but offers more fluid adaptability. |
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5. Stamped and Inflated Cold Plates
Stamped cold plates use pressed flow channels sealed to a second aluminum sheet via welding. Inflated designs create flow channels by printing graphite traces between sheets and expanding them with high-pressure gas. These lightweight plates offer low-cost, high-volume production and are widely used in battery packs.
6. Thin-Wall Extruded Cold Plates
Extruded flow channels with welded manifolds create thin-walled cold plates, also known as "harp tubes." They are cost-effective for long flow paths and ideal for evenly distributed thermal loads, common in battery packs and some two-phase cooling applications.
Key Considerations in Cold Plate Design
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