Researchers at General Electric has developed a new air-cooling system based on human lungs called DCJ, which adapts the technology that GE researchers originally developed for commercial jet engines. DCJ behave as a micro-fluidic bellows that provide high-velocity jets of air to cool electronic components such as a laptop processor. The turbulent air flow of the DCJ increases the heat transfer rate to more than ten times that of natural convection and is going to support the next generation of thinner, quieter and more powerful tablets, laptops and other electronic devices, the researchers at General Electric says. You’ll find a demonstration of the new air-cooling system in the video below.
“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,” said Peter de Bock, lead Electronics Cooling Researcher at GE Global Research. “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.”
Compared to conventional cooling assemblies used in electronic devices today, GE’s DCJ technology enables cooling solutions only 4mm tall, representing a more than 50% decrease in height. In addition, the DCJ is very stingy on power, consuming less than half the power of a comparable fan, and its simple construction will deliver higher reliability leading to millions of dollars in repair cost savings for OEMs.
GE is currently providing DCJ demonstration kits for OEMS wishing to evaluate the DCJ technology for their next generation products.
