Ultralight Cold Plate

Ultralight Cold Plate (UCP) can be used to cool power-dissipating elements, based on micro-macro vascular pipes embedded in high thermal conductive carbon substrate. The UCP was developed at CERN for sensors and chips thermal management in the new Inner Tracking System (ITS) which was installed at the ALICE experiment in 2022. 

The UCP comprises a high thermal conductivity carbon plate and embedded ultralight polyimide cooling pipes. Different carbon materials are integrated into the plate thickness to enhance thermal performance and guarantee structure integrity. The dissipating elements that need to be cooled down are in thermal contact with the UCP through glue or thermal interface materials. The heat is transferred from the dissipating elements into the cooling pipes by the carbon substrate and is removed by the coolant flowing in the pipes. Several coolants have been used, from single-phase liquid (water) to two-phase evaporative (C4F10), with others tested (such as CO2). The UCP technology can have many applications in high-energy physics, cryogenics, and drug production.

The technology is unique because of its offering. No similar technologies are currently present in the market. Further, the UCP offers unique cooling performance and minimum material thickness and weight. Additionally, the resin system for the CFRP is cyanate ester resin, which is preferable to epoxy resin for its low humidity absorption and better dimensional stability in time. The choice of the material for the cooling pipes embedded in the structure is driven by the requirement of low material budget, high thermal conductivity, and radiation hardness. Finally, in the UCP, the pipes are always embedded in the carbon structure and never directly exposed. In this way, their intrinsic fragility and tendency to pinch and buckle under localised load is managed.