GE has come up with a thin cooling solution that may someday be employed in tablets or laptops.
It uses something called “dual-piezoelectric cooling jets” (DCJ), which “suck in cool air and push out warm air,” CNET explained.
It is about half the size of current alternatives and is quieter because it lacks blades for fans. DCJ also uses half the power of fans. DCJ increases the rate of heat transfer to over 10 times that of natural convection.
DCJ was initially developed for cooling jet engines, but now is seen as useful for consumer electronics devices.
“DCJ was developed as an innovative way to dramatically reduce the amount of pressure losses and loading characteristics in aircraft engines and power generation in gas and wind turbines,” Peter de Bock, a researcher at GE Global Research, explained in a company statement. “Over the past 18 months we have addressed many challenges adapting this technology in areas of acoustics, vibration, and power consumption such that the DCJ can now be considered as an optimal cooling solution for ultra-thin consumer electronics products.”
“With new tablet and netbook roadmaps moving to platforms measuring less than 6mm high, it is clear that consumers are demanding thinner and more powerful electronic devices,” Chris Giovanniello, vice president of Microelectronics & Thermal Business Development at GE Licensing, added in the statement.
“GE’s patented DCJ technology not only frees up precious space for system designers, but it consumes significantly less power, allowing as much as 30 minutes of extra battery life. Best of all, DCJ can be made so quiet that users won’t even know it’s running. Thermal management is becoming a big problem for many companies trying to miniaturize their electronics, and as a result we are getting strong demand to evaluate the DCJ technology in many markets, from consumer electronics, to automotive, to telecom and industrial sectors.”
GE has licensed the DCJ technology to Fujikura, a thermal systems provider. CNET predicts it won’t be seen in products for a couple of years.
In its review of the news, The Register notes how dusty the interior of a PC case can get, but the DCJ’s air velocity helps keep the casing clean.
The DCJ is just one example of the varied technology produced by GE that has practical applications. Another example is GE's new high-efficiency (HE) topload washer. It has five cubic feet capacity and uses less energy and less water than traditional washers, TMCnet said.
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Edited by Brooke Neuman