5G base station liquid cold plate cooling technology

      5G network has become a key development direction in the field of communication due to its three recognized advantages of ultra-high speed, low latency, and massive connectivity. The high performance requirements for electronic information devices also mean higher computing power and more heat, and the energy consumption of 5G devices has reached 2-4 times that of 4G devices. Therefore, it is urgent to reduce the energy consumption of 5G networks while developing 5G services. Liquid cooling technology is an emerging technology in the cooling of communication equipment, which has the advantages of being able to handle higher power densities, running cleanly, quietly, and at low cost. Liquid cooling technology will become a solution that simultaneously balances efficient computing and efficient heat dissipation for electronic devices.

   Compared with immersion and spray liquid cooling technologies, the cold plate liquid cooling technology does not directly contact the cooling liquid with devices such as BBUs, but rather dissipates heat through cold plates assembled on electronic components that need to be cooled. Therefore, this method has less modification to BBUs and cabinets, stronger operability, and is currently the most mature and widely used liquid cooling solution. Cold plate liquid cooling technology also has significant advantages compared to traditional air cooling technology:
(1) More heat is carried away: liquids of the same volume carry away nearly 4000 times more heat than air of the same volume.
(2) Faster temperature transfer: Liquid thermal conductivity is 25 times that of air.
(3) Better noise reduction effect: At the same level of heat dissipation, the noise level of liquid cooling is reduced by 20-35dB compared to air cooling.
(4) Energy saving: Liquid cooling systems save about 30% to 50% of electricity compared to air-cooled systems.

     With the large-scale construction of 5G base stations and the increasing demand for cost-effective and environmentally friendly cooling solutions, liquid cooling solutions will become the future of high-performance computing heat dissipation and green data centers. In the process of construction and operation, cold plate liquid cooling technology, as one of the important implementation methods of liquid cooling technology, has gradually begun to be tested and applied in the industry. In the future, besides its own evolution, cold plate liquid cooling technology will also have a huge impact on computer rooms, power supply and distribution, IT equipment, and so on. The industry should pay close attention to the transformation of liquid cooling technology and study its impact on 5G construction, in order to promote the application of technology and achieve the construction of high-performance 5G base stations.