GE develops Dual Piezoelectric Cooling Jets for mobile devices

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Pressure

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This sounds very promising, delivering localized cooling with less noise and lower power usage, using bellows, like human lungs, to dissipate heat.


At least I find it interesting enough to warrant a thread. At 2:15 the show how it can cool a modern ultrabook, although the whole presentation is a bit cheezy with no real-world measurements.

It can be made in various form factors to suite any device.

different-dcj-form-factors.jpg
 
Ion wind stuff is great if you want free oxygen radicals to cause cancer in your lungs... ;)

This piezo stuff is quite different though. Having seen that video, I wonder how feasible that thing really is. The opening for air is REALLY tiny, so the air exchange must be very small. Resistance and turbulence won't allow for all that high flow rates to reach the center of the device, where the majority of the heat is produced. I doubt it could adequately cool even a ULV processor at 17 or whatever watts TDP.

Also, what kind of noise (and what KIND of noise!) does that thing produce? While there's no impeller there must certainly be turbulence. If it wiggles at a high frequency the noise should be high frequency as well (and thus be quite irritating.)

Also, what about material fatigue? How long does that thing last before either the metal cracks or the piezo disc snaps in two? :p
 
Interestingly simple technology. The engineers obviously need lab coats and calculators to go with the safety glasses though, because they need more cliches to make them look smarter.
 
In the end this is just a piezo diaphragm pump for air instead of fluid ... probably using the same kind of valves they use for micropumps as well (asymmetrical constriction, ie. a V with the tip cut off).
 
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