Open Access

ARTICLE

Influence Mechanism of the Nano-Structure on Phase Change Liquid Cooling Features for Data Centers

Yifan Li^*, Congzhe Zhu, Rong Gao^*, Bin Yang

School of Energy and Safety Engineering, Tianjin Chengjian University, Tianjin, 300384, China

* Corresponding Authors: Yifan Li. Email: ; Rong Gao. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Advancements in Energy Efficiency and Thermal Management for Data Center)

Energy Engineering 2025, 122(11), 4523-4539. https://doi.org/10.32604/ee.2025.068480

Received 30 May 2025; Accepted 24 July 2025; Issue published 27 October 2025

Abstract

The local overheating issue is a serious threat to the safe operation of data centers (DCs). The chip-level liquid cooling with pool boiling is expected to solve this problem. The effect of nano configuration and surface wettability on the boiling characteristics of copper surfaces is studied using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The argon is chosen as the coolant, and the wall temperature is 300 K. The main findings and innovations are as follows. (1) Compared to the smooth surface and fin surface, the cylindrical nano cavity obtains the superior boiling performance with earlier onset of nucleate boiling (ONB), larger heat flux because of the higher heat transport rate. (2) The nano cavity with hydrophilicity can improve the response speed and heat dissipation efficiency. Compared to the contact angle θ = 121°, the formation times of nucleate bubble and film boiling for the θ = 0° are reduced by 90.84% and 93.57%, respectively. (3) A deeper cavity of 3.3 nm is beneficial for triggering boiling and improving the heat dissipation rate. The highest heat flux can be achieved at 21.86 × 10⁸ W/m², which can meet the cooling requirements of the micro devices with ultra-high heat flux (10⁷–10⁸ W/m²). The coupling effect of nano configuration and surface wettability is illustrated, and the essential reasons for the enhanced heat transport are revealed. The findings can guide the optimization of cooling systems and promote the practical application of phase change liquid cooling in DCs.

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