Electrical circuits encased in fluid may reshape data-center design

Keeping electrical circuits dry is generally considered a vital safety measure, but at Sandia National Laboratories’ high-performance computing center, technicians adjust live circuits submerged in liquid.

“It’s pretty cool — and a little unusual — to walk into a computing lab and see electrical hardware submerged in fluid,” said Sandia engineer David Damm.

Complete immersion of computer components appears to be the most effective way to cool them, explains David J. Martinez, engineering program project lead for Sandia’s Infrastructure Computing Services.

“We place whole computers — their power cables, everything — in a liquefied solution,” Martinez said. “We take an entire rack and drop it into fluid contained in big immersion tanks.”

Martinez believes that this direct contact between a liquid coolant and electrified equipment could reshape the future designs of data centers.

Read the complete news release.