Researchers at Purdue University are developing a miniature refrigeration system small enough to fit inside laptops and personal computers, a cooling technology that would boost performance while shrinking the size of computers.The Purdue research focuses on learning how to design miniature components called compressors and evaporators, which are critical for refrigeration systems.

The researchers developed an analytical model for designing tiny compressors that pump refrigerants using penny-size diaphragms and validated the model with experimental data. In related research, the engineers are among the first to precisely measure how a refrigerant boils and vaporizes inside tiny "microchannels" in an evaporator and determine how to vary this boiling rate for maximum chip cooling. The research is led by Suresh Garimella and Eckhard Groll, both professors of mechanical engineering, and findings have been presented during the 12th International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference and the 19th International Compressor Engineering Conference on July 14-17 at Purdue.

“New types of cooling systems will be needed for future computer chips that will likely generate 10 times more heat than today's microprocessors, especially in small ‘hot spots’," Garimella said. The ability to cool below ambient temperature could result in smaller, more powerful computers and also could improve reliability by reducing long-term damage to chips caused by heating. One of the challenges is the difficulty to make a compressor really small that runs efficiently and reliably. Another is learning how to manufacture the devices at low cost, reveals the entity’s press release. Meanwhile, other researchers led by Issam Mudawar, professor of mechanical engineering, have developed a technology that uses "microjets" to deposit liquid into tiny channels and remove five times more heat than other experimental high-performance chip-cooling methods for computers and electronics.