VARIED FLOW STACKED RADIATORS

Abstract

A radiator apparatus and a radiator assembly include a plurality of radiators stacked together such that a fluid passing through the radiator apparatus passes through each radiator of the plurality of radiators. Each radiator has fins spanning across a thickness of the radiator. The fins define channels for the fluid to flow through the radiator. The channels have respective orientations in the plurality of radiators. The orientations of the channels in adjacent radiators differ such that a direction of the fluid passing through the plurality of radiators changes between adjacent radiators.

Claims

1. A radiator apparatus comprising: a plurality of radiators stacked together such that a fluid passing through the radiator apparatus passes through each radiator of the plurality of radiators, each radiator having fins spanning across a thickness of the radiator, the fins defining channels for the fluid to flow through the radiator, the fins having respective orientations in the plurality of radiators, wherein the orientations of the channels in adjacent radiators differ such that a direction of the fluid passing through the plurality of radiators changes between adjacent radiators.

2. The radiator apparatus of claim 1, wherein the orientations of the channels cause the fluid to pass through the radiator apparatus in the shape of an S.

3. The radiator apparatus of claim 1, further comprising gaps between adjacent radiators through which the fluid can flow when passing between adjacent radiators.

4. The radiator apparatus of claim 1, wherein all the orientations of the channels within a radiator of the plurality of radiators is the same.

5. The radiator apparatus of claim 1, wherein all the orientations of the channels within two non-adjacent radiators of the plurality of radiators are the same.

6. The radiator apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of radiators includes four radiators.

7. The radiator apparatus of claim 1, wherein none of the orientations of the channels is the same.

8. A computing system including the radiator apparatus of claim 1.

9. A computing system including a plurality of radiator apparatuses, each of the plurality of radiator apparatuses being the radiator apparatus of claim 1.

10. The computing system of claim 9, wherein each radiator apparatus is oriented to be non-parallel with the fluid passing through the computing system.

11. A radiator assembly comprising: a pair of tanks configured to distribute and collect a fluid to/from a radiator stack; and a radiator apparatus including: a plurality of radiators stacked together to form the radiator stack, the plurality of radiators being configured such that a fluid passing through the radiator apparatus passes through each radiator of the plurality of radiators, each radiator having fins spanning across a thickness of the radiator, the fins defining channels for the fluid to flow through the radiator, wherein orientations of the channels of adjacent radiators differ such that a direction of the fluid passing through the plurality of radiators changes between the adjacent radiators.

12. The radiator assembly of claim 11, wherein the orientations of the channels cause the fluid to pass through the radiator apparatus in the shape of an S.

13. The radiator assembly of claim 11, further comprising gaps between the adjacent radiators through which the fluid can flow when passing between the adjacent radiators.

14. The radiator assembly of claim 11, wherein the orientation of the channels within a radiator of the plurality of radiators is the same.

15. The radiator assembly of claim 11, wherein the orientations of the channels within two non-adjacent radiators of the plurality of radiators are the same.

16. The radiator assembly of claim 11, wherein the plurality of radiators includes four radiators.

17. The radiator assembly of claim 11, wherein none of the orientations of the channels is the same.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The disclosure, and its advantages and drawings, will be better understood from the following description of representative embodiments together with reference to the accompanying drawings. These drawings depict only representative embodiments, and are therefore not to be considered as limitations on the scope of the various embodiments or claims.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a radiator assembly.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of stacked radiators within a radiator assembly.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of fins and channels within a radiator.

[0020] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a radiator assembly, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 5 is a detailed partial cross-sectional view of the radiator assembly of FIG. 4, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 6 is another detailed partial cross-sectional view of the radiator assembly of FIG. 4, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a computing system containing radiator assemblies of the present disclosure, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of a radiator assembly 400, according to aspects of the present disclosure. The radiator assembly 400 includes four radiators 402a-d, forming a radiator stack or radiator apparatus. However, the radiator assembly 400 can include any number of stacked radiators, such as two, three, five, six, etc. The radiator assembly 400 further includes tanks 403 on opposite sides of the four radiators 402a-d. The tanks 403 are to distribute and collect a fluid to/from the four radiators 402a-d. Unlike the conventional radiator assembly 100 of FIG. 1, the fins of each radiator 402a-d have different orientations relative to the fins of the other radiators 402a-d.

[0025] For example, and referring to FIG. 5, shown is a detailed view of the radiator assembly 400 of FIG. 4, according to aspects of the present disclosure. As shown, fins 404a-d for the radiators 402a-d, respectively, each have different orientations relative to the other of the fins 404a-d. Specifically, the arrows 406a-h illustrate the directions of airflow through the radiator assembly 400. Moreover, with respect to each one of the radiators 402a-d, the arrows 406c-f illustrate the orientations of channels 408a-d formed by the fins 404a-d of the radiators 402a-d. In other words, the airflow through the radiators 402a-d is through the channels 408a-d. As shown, the orientations of the channels 408a-d for the radiators 402a-d vary. For example, the orientations of the channels 408a-d cause the fluid to pass through the radiator assembly 400 in the shape of an S.

[0026] According to some aspects, and as shown in FIG. 5, none of the orientations of the channels 408a-d are the same. Alternatively, as discussed above, orientations of the channels of adjacent radiators (e.g., radiators 402a and 402b) may differ. Thus, as shown by arrows 406e and 406f, the orientations of the arrows differ such that the direction of the airflow passing through the plurality of radiators changes between radiators 402a and 402b. However, the orientations of channels (e.g., radiators 406f and 406d) for two non-adjacent radiators (e.g., radiators 406a and 406c) can be the same (not shown). The difference between the adjacent channels 408a-d of the radiators 402a-d alleviates the pressure drop through the radiator assembly 400. According to some aspects, the widths and/or pitches of the channels 408a-d and/or the fins 404a-d can vary. Different channel and fin pitch or width size can control the overall pressure drop, which can increase heat transfer efficiency.

[0027] According to some aspects, the fins of a single radiator, and therefore the channels of the radiator, may have the same orientation, such as shown for the radiators 402a-d of FIG. 5. However, according to some alternative aspects, the fins of a single radiator, and therefore the channels of the radiator, may have varying orientations. According to these aspects, the adjacent fins of adjacent radiators stacked within a radiator assembly can still have different orientations such that the airflow through adjacent channels still varies through the local areas of the radiator assembly.

[0028] Referring to FIG. 6, the radiator assembly 400 can include gaps 600a-c between adjacent radiators 402a-d. The gaps 600a-c can help increase cooling performance by allowing a boundary layer on the fins 404a-d to re-develop.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 7, a computing system 700 is shown, according to aspects of the present disclosure. The computing system 700 includes multiple of the radiator assembly 400 (radiator assemblies 400). The radiator assemblies 400 can be oriented relative to airflow through the computing system 700, as represented by the arrow 702, such that some of the airflow 702 passes through the radiator assemblies 400. For example, the radiator assemblies 400 can be slightly off parallel from the airflow orientation into the computing system 700, as represented by the arrow 702. Because of the orientations of the fins and channels of the radiator assemblies 400 described above, the pressure drop of the airflow 702 through the computing system 700 is less than with conventional radiator assemblies.

[0030] Although the disclosed embodiments have been illustrated and described with respect to one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur or be known to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.

[0031] While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Numerous changes to the disclosed embodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein, without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above described embodiments. Rather, the scope of the disclosure should be defined in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.