Water-cooling applications for telecommunications and computer energy systems

The authors note that water cooling of power supplies has proven to be a viable alternative to air cooling in computer applications and should be given serious consideration by the designers of telecommunications equipment, especially where the electronics are densely packaged. The design of a water-cooled, 725 A switched-mode power supply is used as a vehicle to demonstrate the basic problems encountered in practical water cooled applications. These problems include compromises between the conflicting requirements to optimize the thermal transfer mechanisms with the need for insulation, safety, and condensation and corrosion control. Materials are being developed to satisfy those requirements.<>