Unifying Immersion Insights Into Minimum Requirements And Fluids & Materials in Immersion Cooling

Author: Punith Shivaprasad, Meta; Peter Cooper, Chevron; Ralph Brink, Seagate / OCP Cooling Environments Working Group Collection: 2023 Global Summit - Cooling Environments

Summary

This presentation provides a comprehensive status update on the OCP Fluids & Materials (F&M) workstream as of October 2023, reporting progress across seven active focus groups tasked with qualifying immersion cooling fluids for large-scale data center deployment. The workstream's deliverable is a standardized OCP Immersion Fluid Specification that gives fluid vendors a clear requirements framework—something the industry lacked—so that end users can procure with confidence. The presentation reviews the revised Immersion Requirements Rev 2.1, updates on the Intel Fluid Specification (approved December 2022), oxidation stability testing methodologies, safe handling classification work, and the newly initiated immersion component validation workstream targeting optical interfaces.

The workstream adopted a data-driven approach by creating four Figures of Merit (FOM) derived from thermophysical fluid properties to compare fluids objectively: FOM1 for natural convection, FOM2 for forced convection, FOM3 for pressure drop (dynamic viscosity), and FOM4 for two-phase critical heat flux. The Intel Fluid Specification approved in December 2022 has published its performance thresholds in two tiers (Tier 1 and Tier 2) and now additionally requires a specification sheet submission from fluid vendors—but as of October 2023, no vendor had yet submitted actual fluid performance data despite many active discussions. The Auto Ignition Temperature (AIT) requirement was raised from 250°C to 300°C per IEC 62368-1, driven by safety standards alignment.

The F&M workstream is deeply engaged on PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) regulatory risk, particularly its impact on two-phase immersion fluids, and is monitoring evolving PFAS restrictions that create supply-chain uncertainty. A panel discussion on PFAS regulation was scheduled for the same afternoon. The workstream calls on fluid manufacturers, IT vendors, and system integrators to participate in specification data submissions and component validation testing.