How to Design of a Spiral Flow Channel liquid cooling Plate for a 1200W Heat Source?
1. Design Background and Core Requirements
In the heat dissipation system of 1200W power equipment, traditional straight-channel plates often suffer from problems such as local heat accumulation and low heat exchange efficiency. This design targets an impeller plate with dimensions of 150mm×150mm and a thickness of 25mm, matching a heat source with a diameter of 140mm. By optimizing the fluid flow path through a spiral flow channel, it achieves uniform heat transfer and efficient heat dissipation from the heat source, meeting the heat dissipation requirements for the long-term stable operation of the equipment. Design using friction stir welding process with bottom plate and cover plate
2. Core Design Parameters of the Spiral Flow Channel
With “adapting to the heat source and optimizing the flow field” as the core, the key parameters of the spiral flow channel are determined to ensure accurate matching with the heat dissipation requirements of the 1200W heat source and the dimensions of the impeller plate:
1.Basic Dimensions of the Flow Channel:
The flow channel width is set to 8mm, and the depth is 18mm (a 7mm plate thickness is reserved to ensure structural strength). The length of a single-circle flow channel is approximately 439.6mm (calculated based on the 140mm diameter of the heat source), with a total of 2.5 circles, resulting in a total flow channel length of about 1099mm.
2.Helical Lead Angle:
A constant lead angle of 15° is adopted to balance the fluid flow resistance and heat exchange contact area. An excessively small lead angle tends to cause fluid stagnation, while an excessively large one shortens the heat exchange time. A 15° angle allows the heat generated by the 1200W heat source to be uniformly transferred along the flow channel without local accumulation.
3.Inlet and Outlet Design:
The inlet and outlet are respectively located at the opposite corners of the impeller plate (20mm from the edge). The inlet diameter is 10mm and the outlet diameter is 12mm, which are compatible with conventional heat dissipation fluid pipelines. At the same time, it avoids interference between the inlet and outlet fluids, ensuring the stability of the flow field.
3. Design Advantages and Heat Dissipation Principle
(1) Core Advantages for Adapting to the 1200W Heat Source
•Maximized Heat Exchange Area: Compared with straight channels of the same size, the spiral flow channel increases the heat exchange area by approximately 60%, which can fully contact the heating area of the 140mm-diameter heat source and quickly absorb the heat generated by the 1200W power.
•No Dead Zones in the Flow Field: The spiral path enables the fluid (such as cooling liquid) to form a “spiral cycle” inside the 25mm-thick plate, avoiding the “short-circuit flow” problem of straight channels. It ensures uniform temperature in the 140mm heat source area, with the temperature difference controlled within 5℃.
•Structural Compatibility: The 150mm×150mm external dimension can be directly adapted to the installation space of most 1200W-class equipment. The 25mm thickness balances heat dissipation efficiency and equipment compactness, without the need for additional adjustments to the equipment structure.
(2) Heat Dissipation Principle
When the 1200W heat source operates, heat is transferred to the impeller plate body through thermal conduction. The fluid (such as heat-conducting oil or cooling liquid) in the spiral flow channel flows along the flow channel with a 15° lead angle. Within the total flow channel length of 1099mm, it continuously absorbs heat through “convective heat exchange”. At the same time, the spiral structure of the spiral flow channel enhances the turbulent effect of the fluid, increasing the heat exchange efficiency by approximately 40% compared with laminar flow. Finally, it realizes rapid cooling of the 1200W heat source, ensuring that the temperature of the core components of the equipment is controlled within the safe threshold.
4. Design Verification Directions
To further verify the feasibility of the design, the following two aspects can be carried out:
1.Simulation Verification: Use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation software Ansys 2022 R1 to simulate the flow field and temperature field under the 1200W heat source, and verify whether the fluid velocity in the spiral flow channel (it is recommended to control it at 0.8-1.2m/s) and the maximum temperature in the heat source area meet the design goals.
2.Physical Testing: Manufacture a spiral flow channel impeller plate sample with dimensions of 150×150×25mm, equip it with a 140mm-diameter 1200W simulated heat source, test the heat dissipation efficiency under different flow rates, compare the cooling effect with the traditional straight-channel impeller plate, and optimize the flow channel details.
5. Conclusion
Centering on the three core conditions of the 1200W heat source, the 150×150×25mm impeller plate size, and the 140mm heat source diameter, this design achieves a balance between heat exchange area, flow field stability, and structural compatibility within a limited space through the parameter optimization and structural design of the spiral flow channel. It provides an efficient and compact heat dissipation solution for 1200W-class equipment, and at the same time offers referable parameters and ideas for the flow channel design of impeller plates of similar sizes.
