Micro-tube/multi-port counter flow radiator design for electronic cooling applications

Abstract

A counter flow radiator includes multiple layered cooling cores configured in series along a first direction that is the same as the direction of airflow used to cool fluid flowing through the counter flow radiator. Heated fluid inputs the counter flow radiator at a first end and flows through each cooling core in a serpentine-like path to the second end of the counter flow radiator, effectively progressing in a direction opposite that of the airflow.

1 . A fluid-air heat exchanger comprising:
 a. a plurality of fluid-air cooling cores, each cooling core includes at least one layer of one or more thermally conductive fluid conduits and at least one layer of thermally conductive cooling fins coupled to at least one fluid conduit layer, wherein each fluid conduit is configured along a first direction from a first end of the cooling core to a second end of the cooling core, further wherein the plurality of cooling cores are stacked side by side along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction such that the fluid conduits of the plurality of cooling cores are configured in parallel;   b. a first fluid header coupled to the first end of each cooling core, wherein the first header includes an inlet port configured to receive an input fluid; and   c. a second header coupled to the second end of each cooling core, wherein the first header and the second header are configured to direct fluid flow in series from a first cooling core closest to the inlet port of the first header to each successively stacked cooling core along the second direction,   
     wherein a second cooling core positioned furthest from the first cooling core within the plurality of stacked cooling cores is configured to receive an intake airflow into the fluid-air heat exchanger along the second direction and the first cooling core is configured to exhaust the airflow from the fluid-air heat exchanger. 
   
   
       2 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 1  wherein if a number of cooling cores is even, then the first fluid header includes an outlet port configured to output fluid received from the second cooling core. 
   
   
       3 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 2  wherein the first header includes at least one divider to separate the inlet port from the outlet port. 
   
   
       4 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 1  wherein if a number of cooling cores is odd, then the second fluid header includes an outlet port configured to output fluid received from the second cooling core. 
   
   
       5 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 1  wherein the first header and the second header cumulatively include at least one fluid divider configured to direct fluid flow from the inlet port to the outlet port via the plurality of cooling cores. 
   
   
       6 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 5  wherein the fluid flows between the first header, the second header, and from cooling core to cooling core in a serpentine-like manner. 
   
   
       7 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 1  wherein a temperature of the input fluid is greater than a temperature of the fluid output from the outlet port. 
   
   
       8 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 7  wherein a hot-to-cold fluid temperature gradient is formed along the second direction from the first cooling core to the second cooling core. 
   
   
       9 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 7  wherein a temperature of the intake airflow is colder than a temperature of the exhaust airflow. 
   
   
       10 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 7  wherein a hot-to-cold air temperature gradient is formed along the second direction from the first cooling core to the second cooling core. 
   
   
       11 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 1  wherein a temperature of the input fluid is less than a temperature of the fluid output from the outlet port. 
   
   
       12 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 11  wherein a cold-to-hot fluid temperature gradient is formed along the second direction from the first cooling core to the second cooling core. 
   
   
       13 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 11  wherein a temperature of the intake airflow is greater than a temperature of the exhaust airflow. 
   
   
       14 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 11  wherein a cold-to-hot air temperature gradient is formed along the second direction from the first cooling core to the second cooling core. 
   
   
       15 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 1  wherein each cooling core is exposed to a different temperature airflow. 
   
   
       16 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 1  wherein the inlet port is positioned proximate a first end of the first fluid header, and the first cooling core is positioned proximate the first end of the first fluid header and a first end of the second fluid header. 
   
   
       17 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 16  wherein the second cooling core is positioned proximate a second end of the first fluid header and a second end of the second fluid header. 
   
   
       18 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 1  wherein each layer of fluid conduits comprises a plurality of individual thermally conductive micro-tubes, wherein each micro-tube is configured such that fluid flow therethrough is isolated from each other micro-tube. 
   
   
       19 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 1  wherein each layer of fluid conduits comprises a plurality of individual thermally conductive micro-tubes, wherein each micro-tube includes one or more common openings with an adjacent micro-tube such that fluid flow therethrough is intermixed between adjacent micro-tubes. 
   
   
       20 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 1  wherein each cooling fin is configured along the second direction. 
   
   
       21 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 1  wherein each cooling core includes a plurality of core layers, each layer including at least one layer of cooling fins and a layer of at least one fluid conduit, further wherein each core layer within a given cooling core is stacked along a third direction that is perpendicular to the first direction and perpendicular to the second direction. 
   
   
       22 . A fluid-air heat exchanger comprising:
 a. a plurality of fluid-air cooling cores, each cooling core includes at least one layer of one or more thermally conductive fluid conduits and at least one layer of thermally conductive cooling fins coupled to at least one fluid conduit layer, wherein each fluid conduit is configured along a first direction from a first end of the cooling core to a second end of the cooling core, further wherein the plurality of cooling cores are stacked side by side along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction such that the fluid conduits of the plurality of cooling cores are configured in parallel;   b. a first fluid header coupled to the first end of each cooling core, wherein the first header includes an inlet port configured to receive an input fluid; and   c. a second header coupled to the second end of each cooling core, wherein the first header and the second header are configured to direct fluid flow in series from a first cooling core closest to the inlet port of the first header to each successively stacked cooling core along the second direction, wherein the first cooling core is configured to receive an intake airflow into the fluid-air heat exchanger along the second direction, and a second cooling core positioned furthest from the first cooling core within the plurality of stacked cooling cores is configured to exhaust the airflow from the fluid-air heat exchanger.   
   
   
       23 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 22  wherein if a number of cooling cores is even, then the first fluid header includes an outlet port configured to output fluid received from the second cooling core. 
   
   
       24 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 23  wherein the first header includes at least one divider to separate the inlet port from the outlet port. 
   
   
       25 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 22  wherein if a number of cooling cores is odd, then the second fluid header includes an outlet port configured to output fluid received from the second cooling core. 
   
   
       26 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 22  wherein the first header and the second header cumulatively include at least one fluid divider configured to direct fluid flow from the inlet port to the outlet port via the plurality of cooling cores. 
   
   
       27 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 26  wherein the fluid flows between the first header, the second header, and from cooling core to cooling core in a serpentine-like manner. 
   
   
       28 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 22  wherein a temperature of the input fluid is greater than a temperature of the fluid output from the outlet port. 
   
   
       29 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 28  wherein a hot-to-cold fluid temperature gradient is formed along the second direction from the first cooling core to the second cooling core. 
   
   
       30 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 28  wherein a temperature of the intake airflow is colder than a temperature of the exhaust airflow. 
   
   
       31 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 28  wherein a cold-to-hot air temperature gradient is formed along the second direction from the first cooling core to the second cooling core. 
   
   
       32 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 22  wherein a temperature of the input fluid is less than a temperature of the fluid output from the outlet port. 
   
   
       33 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 32  wherein a cold-to-hot fluid temperature gradient is formed along the second direction from the first cooling core to the second cooling core. 
   
   
       34 . The fluid-air beat exchanger of  claim 32  wherein a temperature of the intake airflow is greater than a temperature of the exhaust airflow. 
   
   
       35 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 32  wherein a hot-to-cold air temperature gradient is formed along the second direction from the first cooling core to the second cooling core. 
   
   
       36 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 22  wherein each cooling core is exposed to a different temperature airflow. 
   
   
       37 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 22  wherein the inlet port is positioned proximate a first end of the first fluid header, and the first cooling core is positioned proximate the first end of the first fluid header and a first end of the second fluid header. 
   
   
       38 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 37  wherein the second cooling core is positioned proximate a second end of the first fluid header and a second end of the second fluid header. 
   
   
       39 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 22  wherein each layer of fluid conduits comprises a plurality of individual thermally conductive micro-tubes, wherein each micro-tube is configured such that fluid flow therethrough is isolated from each other micro-tube. 
   
   
       40 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 22  wherein each layer of fluid conduits comprises a plurality of individual thermally conductive micro-tubes, wherein each micro-tube includes one or more common openings with an adjacent micro-tube such that fluid flow therethrough is intermixed between adjacent micro-tubes. 
   
   
       41 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 22  wherein each cooling fin is configured along the second direction. 
   
   
       42 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 22  wherein each cooling core includes a plurality of core layers, each layer including at least one layer of cooling fins and a layer of at least one fluid conduit, further wherein each core layer within a given cooling core is stacked along a third direction that is perpendicular to the first direction and perpendicular to the second direction. 
   
   
       43 . A fluid-air heat exchanger comprising:
 a. a plurality of fluid-air cooling cores, each cooling core includes at least one layer of one or more thermally conductive fluid conduits and at least one layer of thermally conductive cooling fins coupled to the at least one fluid conduit layer and mounted to pass air through the fluid-air cooling core, wherein each fluid conduit is configured along a first direction from a first end of the cooling core to a second end of the cooling core, further wherein the plurality of cooling cores are stacked side by side in series along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction such that the fluid conduits of the plurality of cooling cores are configured in parallel;   b. a first fluid header coupled to the first end of each cooling core, wherein the first header includes an inlet port configured to receive an input fluid; and   c. a second header coupled to the second end of each cooling core, wherein the first header and the second header are configured to direct fluid flow in series from a first cooling core to each successively stacked cooling core along the second direction.   
   
   
       44 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 43  wherein if a number of cooling cores is even, then the first fluid header includes an outlet port configured to output fluid received from a last cooling core in the series. 
   
   
       45 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 44  wherein the first header includes at least one divider to separate the inlet port from the outlet port. 
   
   
       46 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 43  wherein if a number of cooling cores is odd, then the second fluid header includes an outlet port configured to output fluid received from a last cooling core in the series. 
   
   
       47 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 43  wherein the first header and the second header cumulatively include at least one fluid divider configured to direct fluid flow from the inlet port to the outlet port via the plurality of cooling cores. 
   
   
       48 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 47  wherein the fluid flows between the first header, the second header, and from cooling core to cooling core in a serpentine-like manner. 
   
   
       49 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 43  wherein each layer of fluid conduits comprises a plurality of individual thermally conductive micro-tubes, wherein each micro-tube is configured such that fluid flow therethrough is isolated from each other micro-tube. 
   
   
       50 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 43  wherein each layer of fluid conduits comprises a plurality of individual thermally conductive micro-tubes, wherein each micro-tube includes one or more common openings with an adjacent micro-tube such that fluid flow therethrough is intermixed between adjacent micro-tubes. 
   
   
       51 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 43  wherein each cooling fin is configured along the second direction. 
   
   
       52 . The fluid-air heat exchanger of  claim 43  wherein each cooling core includes a plurality of core layers, each layer including at least one layer of cooling fins and a layer of at least one fluid conduit, further wherein each core layer within a given cooling core is stacked along a third direction that is perpendicular to the first direction and perpendicular to the second direction.