Design and experimental study of a miniature vapor compression refrigeration system for electronics cooling

As the chip power continuous to increase, traditional passive heat dissipation techniques are becoming obsolete and new active cooling techniques are becoming necessary. Among various new active cooling techniques, the Vapor Compression Refrigeration (VCR) system is the leading technology. This paper presents a miniature VCR system for electronics cooling. The dimension of the system is 300 x 230 x 70 mm(3) and its cooling capacity is 200 W. It includes a commercial miniature compressor, a capillary tube, a custom-made condenser and a cold plate. The system is tested systematically by experiments. The results indicate that the temperature of the cold plate can be maintained at about 60 degrees C for hours as required in electronics cooling. Moreover, the second-law efficiency of the system is about 31%. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.