Using Custom Cold Plates to Enhance Electrical Cooling

Just several decades ago, companies in various industries didn’t have a lot of choice when it came to their electrical thermal management solutions. The only viable way to prevent electrical enclosures from overheating was to utilize air conditioning or air compression solutions to circulate consistent streams of cold air through the enclosures. Today, however, companies have a greater range of cooling options than ever, such as high-performance cold plates that are designed to absorb large amounts of waste heat and transfer it efficiently.

How cold plates approach thermal management

Many modern thermal management solutions are based on natural and efficient heat transfer principles. This can include one or a combination of processes such as natural/forced convection, conduction, and/or phase-change cooling. Within cold plate cooling units, the metal of the cold plate is able to conduct heat at any point where it comes in contact with it, allowing the cooling fluid inside of the plate to absorb the heat. As it does so, the fluid transfers the waste heat to a cooler area of the unit, such as a custom heat sink, to dissipate it effectively.

Their value to companies in different industries

When companies utilize cold plates for their large-scale electrical cooling needs, the benefits are significant and can range from reducing energy costs to optimizing the system’s performance, and much more. The greatest value comes from the more natural heat transfer methods that cold plate cooling units utilize, which allows for high-performance waste heat management with maximum results and at minimal cost. These benefits are amplified when companies utilize custom-designed cold plates that provide specifically tailored thermal management results for any given application.

Customizing cold plates for maximum effect

Customizing thermal management solutions wasn’t a popular endeavor when those solutions consisted mainly of air conditioners or air compressors. However, with more efficient solutions like cold plates and other types of heat exchangers, customization comes a lot easier, and with much greater results, than companies might expect at first. Because of their simplified heat transfer methods and the customizable construction of cold plates, companies can optimize their cooling more efficiently than ever before. For example, cold plates can be stacked to enhance the rate of conduction and heat transfer processes, and the flow paths within each plate can be custom-machined to optimize the cooling fluid’s flow.

For more information about using custom cold plates to enhance electrical cooling, call Noren Custom Thermal Solutions in Taylor, TX, at 866-936-6736.