3M Fluorinert Dielectric Fluids for Electronics

Main articles:

• Cooling systems
• Cooling technologies in data centers

2021: Immersion Cooling Data Center Solution Presentation

On September 22, 2021, 3M introduced solutions for immersion cooling of data centers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically shifted people's social and professional lives to the Internet. Work from home, telemedicine, the use of online services for entertainment contributed to a sharp increase in home data consumption, which from March 2019 to March 2020 increased by 18%, while the use of data by smartphones increased by 34%.

According to VTsIOM, in Russia from February 2020, the share of daily Internet users increased by 3 percentage points and amounted to 72%. Since the beginning of 2021, the share of those who make bank transfers through the Internet has increased by 8 percentage points (80%), by 7 percentage points of those who use it to obtain public services (64%) and for purchases of durable goods (42%). According to an IDC study, by 2025, the amount of data generated by humanity will be 163 zettabytes.

With the growth of data volumes, the load on servers in data centers is growing, for the cooling of which conventional aircraft are no longer enough.

Data centers absorb a huge amount of energy, according to Google estimates, each search query leads to the release of about 0.2 grams of ^CO2 into the atmosphere due to the energy needed for power, routers and servers.

Electronics cooling is the biggest part of data center energy costs. Processors used in data centers generate a huge amount of heat, and without efficient cooling, the temperature inside the devices increases, they become less efficient. This can also result in equipment failure and data loss.

3M introduces immersion cooling solutions for data centers. Dielectric fluids for 3M Fluorinert electronics and engineering fluids 3M Novec for single-phase and two-phase immersion cooling can be used to cool high-performance data center equipment, minimize operating costs and reduce the negative impact on. ecology

Immersion (immersion) cooling technology with 3M fluids is suitable for cooling the most powerful data centers. Unlike air cooling, which requires the separation of heated components by a sufficient distance for effective blowing, during submerged cooling we can place the equipment as compact as possible and cool it with 3M liquids. Thanks to the process of passive transfer of thermal energy to the heat exchanger, such technology reduces energy consumption for cooling by up to 95%, "said Erik Olson, global marketing manager for 3M Electronics Materials Solutions.

Dielectric liquids 3M can be used for single-phase and two-phase immersion cooling, i.e. cooling equipment, by directly immersing it in a non-conductive liquid, as well as for cooling "direct to chip," i.e., by supplying a loop of liquid 3M directly to the heating component. With single-phase immersion cooling, the liquid 3M does not change the aggregate state. The equipment is immersed in the liquid and heat from the electronic components is transferred to it. Pumps are typically used to move heated liquid to a heat exchanger where it is cooled and returned back.

With two-phase immersion cooling, the liquid boils and condensation occurs on a heat exchanger connected to the external cooling circuit, which significantly increases the heat transfer efficiency. When the heated electronics are immersed in a liquid having a boiling point equal to or lower than the heating temperature of the components, the liquid boils, evaporating. Steam condenses on the heat exchanger inside the tank and is transferred to the coolant in an external cooling circuit connected, for example, to a dry cooling tower or to a source of flowing cold water.

Immersion cooling will continue to play a key role in the development of a highly integrated world, said Nancy Chang, global marketing manager at 3M Electronics Materials Solutions. It will help develop technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, blockchain and autonomous vehicles in areas with high population density, where energy and real estate costs are high.

In Russia, specialists from the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, in collaboration with 3M Russia engineers and several partner companies, developed an installation with a 3M Novec 7100 liquid-based submersible cooling system.