Method of condensing vapor in two-phase flow within a cooling apparatus

Abstract

A method of condensing vapor present in two-phase bubbly flow within a cooling apparatus can include mixing a first flow of coolant containing two-phase bubbly flow with a second flow of coolant containing single-phase liquid flow. The two-phase bubbly flow can have a first flow quality greater than zero and can include vapor bubbles dispersed in liquid coolant. The single-phase liquid flow can have a flow quality of about zero. Mixing the first flow of coolant and the second flow of coolant within the cooling apparatus can result in heat transfer from the first flow of coolant to the second flow of coolant and can cause vapor bubbles within first flow of coolant to condense, thereby providing a third flow of coolant with a third flow quality that is less than the first flow quality.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of condensing vapor in two-phase bubbly flow within a cooling apparatus, the method comprising:
 providing a first flow of coolant comprising two-phase bubbly flow, the two-phase bubbly flow comprising vapor bubbles dispersed in liquid coolant, the first flow of coolant having a first flow quality greater than zero;   providing a second flow of coolant comprising single-phase liquid flow, the second flow of coolant having a second flow quality of about zero; and   mixing the first flow of coolant and the second flow of coolant to form a third flow of coolant, wherein mixing the first flow of coolant and the second flow of coolant causes heat transfer from the first flow of coolant to the second flow of coolant and causes vapor bubbles within first flow of coolant to condense, wherein the third flow of coolant has a third flow quality less than the first flow quality of the first flow of coolant.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing the first flow of coolant comprises providing a first predetermined flow rate of two-phase bubbly flow, and wherein providing the second flow comprises providing a second predetermined flow rate of single-phase liquid flow, wherein the second predetermined flow rate is greater than or equal to the first predetermined flow rate. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the second predetermined flow rate is at least two times greater than the first predetermined flow rate. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the second predetermined flow rate is at least four times greater than the first predetermined flow rate. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first flow quality is about 0.05-0.10, 0.07-0.15, 0.10-0.20, 0.15-0.25, 0.2-0.4, or 0.3-0.45, and wherein the second flow quality is about zero. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the third flow quality is about 0-0.05, 0.04-0.1, 0.08-0.15, or 0.1-0.2. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the first predetermined flow rate is about 0.1-10, 0.2-5, 0.3-2.5, 0.6-1.2, or 0.8-1.1 liters per minute. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing the first flow of coolant comprises providing the first flow of coolant from a primary cooling line comprising a heat sink module fluidly connected to the primary cooling line, where the heat sink module is configured to mount on a heat-providing surface. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein providing the second flow of coolant comprises providing the second flow of coolant from a bypass, the bypass comprising a pressure regulator configured to adjust a flow rate of the second flow of coolant through the bypass. 
     
     
         10 . A method of condensing vapor in two-phase bubbly flow in a cooling apparatus, the method comprising:
 providing a first flow of coolant comprising two-phase bubbly flow, the two-phase bubbly flow comprising liquid coolant and a plurality of vapor bubbles of coolant suspended in the liquid coolant, the first flow having a first flow quality, the first flow having a first predetermined pressure of about 10-20, 15-25, or 20-30 psia and a first temperature about equal to a saturation temperature of the first flow of coolant at the first predetermined pressure;   providing a second flow of coolant comprising single-phase liquid flow, the single-phase liquid flow having a second flow quality; the second flow having a second predetermined pressure of about 10-20, 15-25, or 20-30 psia and a temperature below a saturation temperature of the second flow of coolant at the second predetermined pressure; and   mixing the first flow and the second flow to form a third flow of coolant, the third flow having a third flow quality, the third flow quality being less than the first flow quality of the first flow.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein providing the first flow comprises providing a first predetermined flow rate of two-phase bubbly flow, and wherein providing the second flow comprises providing a second predetermined flow rate of single-phase flow, wherein the second predetermined flow rate is greater than or equal to the first predetermined flow rate. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the second predetermined flow rate is at least two times greater than the first predetermined flow rate. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the second predetermined flow rate is at least four times greater than the first predetermined flow rate. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the first flow quality is about 0.05-0.10, 0.07-0.15, 0.10-0.20, 0.15-0.25, 0.2-0.4, or 0.3-0.45, and wherein the second flow quality is about zero. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the third flow quality is about 0-1, 0-0.5, 0-0.25, 0-0.2, 0-0.05, 0-0.02, or 0-0.1. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the first predetermined flow rate is about 0.1-10, 0.2-5, 0.3-2.5, 0.6-1.2, or 0.8-1.1 liters per minute. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein mixing the first flow with the second flow to form the third flow results in condensing of at least a portion of the plurality of vapor bubbles from the first flow as heat is transferred from the first flow to the second flow. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first flow comprises a dielectric coolant comprising R-245fa, HFE-7000, or HFE-7100. 
     
     
         19 . A method of condensing vapor in two-phase bubbly flow in a cooling apparatus, the method comprising:
 providing a cooling apparatus comprising: an inlet manifold, an outlet manifold, a cooling line extending from the inlet manifold to the outlet manifold, and a bypass extending from the inlet manifold to the outlet manifold, wherein the cooling line is fluidly connected to a heat sink module that is mounted on a heat-providing surface;   providing a flow of single-phase liquid coolant to the inlet manifold;   flowing a first flow portion of the flow of single-phase liquid coolant through the cooling line from the inlet manifold to the outlet manifold, wherein the first flow portion passes through the heat sink module and absorbs a sufficient amount of heat from the heat-providing surface to cause a fraction of the first flow portion to change phase from liquid to a vapor thereby forming a two-phase bubbly flow of coolant;   flowing a second flow portion of the flow of single-phase liquid coolant through the bypass line from the inlet manifold to the outlet manifold; and   mixing the first flow portion and the second flow portion in the outlet manifold to form a mixed flow, wherein mixing the first and second flow portions causes heat transfer from the first flow portion to the second flow portion thereby condensing at least a portion of the vapor from the first flow portion.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein flowing the first flow portion of the flow of single-phase liquid coolant through the cooling line comprises flowing a first flow rate of about 0.1-10, 0.2-5, 0.3-2.5, 0.6-1.2, or 0.8-1.1 liters per minute of coolant through the first cooling line, and wherein flowing the second flow portion of the flow of single-phase liquid coolant through the bypass line comprises flowing a second flow rate through the bypass, the second flow rate being greater than or equal to the first flow rate.