Descripción del proyecto
Un nuevo material para unos centros de datos más fríos
La refrigeración de los equipos informáticos de los centros de datos plantea problemas, ya que puede suponer hasta el 40 % del consumo total de energía de un edificio de oficinas típico. Los principales retos son la eliminación y el transporte del calor. El equipo del proyecto ThermoDust, financiado con fondos europeos, resolverá el problema del control térmico. Su solución radica en nuevos materiales flexibles que se pueden procesar mediante la fabricación por adición y que ofrecen unas prestaciones térmicas sin precedentes. Tomando como punto de partida el polvo metálico de tamaño micrométrico (utilizado habitualmente en los procesos de fusión de lecho de polvo o de pulverización en frío), el equipo del proyecto explorará la adición de una fase de material bidimensional con buen rendimiento al polvo de la materia prima. El objetivo final es elaborar un material radicalmente nuevo con un rendimiento extraordinario en el transporte de calor.
Objetivo
Thermal management is in the strong need for new material’s innovation. Stunningly, large data centres spend up to 40% of the total energy consumption to run the cooling system. Other examples are in the cooling of electronics and in the thermal control of electric vehicles batteries. Here, the development of innovative solutions is hindered by heat removal and transport unsolved problems; the design aspect of thermal control devices has achieved so much but is already under pressure. New flexible materials, that can be processed with Additive Manufacturing (AM) and with thermal performances not yet seen, are now strongly required. In ThermoDust we will achieve a real breakthrough in this direction; we are set to join nanotechnology, process engineering with scalable industrial AM for the specific purpose of solving the thermal control problem; this is not an incremental step as it has not been done before. Our starting ground is micron-sized metallic powder, typically used in Powder Bed Fusion or Cold Spray processes. We will explore the addition of a performing 2D-material phase to the feedstock powder by using innovative techniques, with the final aim of engineering a radically new material (ThermoDust) with outstanding heat-transport performance. We will also prove it will be possible to use AM to process ThermoDust in order to form demonstrator devices that will outperform the current means of heat dissipation. And we intend to prove this in 3 key sectors: electronics, EV vehicles and aerospace with the development of specific proofs of concept. We are confident to be able to achieve the overall objectives through a sophisticated multi-disciplinary methodology that will rely upon scientific investigations, and the exploitation of discoveries to establish Europe as a leader in heat management, paving the way for innumerable new innovative products and markets in ICT, aerospace, electric vehicles and related areas.
Ámbito científico
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Convocatoria de propuestas
HORIZON-EIC-2021-PATHFINDEROPEN-01
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoriaRégimen de financiación
HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC GrantsCoordinador
D02 CX56 DUBLIN 2
Irlanda