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Material Selection: Your Manifold Material Choice Determines System Reliability

Material Selection

Why Material Selection Matters

Liquid cooling is now baseline infrastructure in hyperscale data centers due to AI, GPU, and HPC deployments exceeding air cooling limits. Liquid cooling loops have become long life infrastructure assets, with reliability expectations comparable to mechanical plant systems.

Manifolds sit at the interface between facility plant, CDUs, and rack‑level cooling hardware, meaning the material directly affects hydraulic performance, leakage risk, QA, and long term system stability.

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Stainless Steel: The Clear Choice for Data Center Manifolds

Strength & Dimensional Stability

Stainless steel maintains uniform wall thickness and predictable hydraulics, ensuring stable flow paths even under demanding operating conditions.

Weld‑qualified joints

ASME‑qualified welded manifolds (Section IX, B31, BPE) deliver metallurgical continuity, support NDE inspection, and provide full hydrostatic testing and traceable documentation.

Fewer Joints & Lower Leak Risk

Steel can be bent and formed for complex routes, reducing the number of joints, and therefore reducing potential leak points in mission critical cooling.

High Flow Integrity

Consistent geometry and smooth internal surfaces support efficient flow, enabling predictable system hydraulics for HPC and AI workloads.

Pressure & Temperature Stability

Steel retains mechanical properties under warm water cooling, elevated flow velocities, and continuous pressure cycling typical of modern high‑density liquid cooling.

Chemical Compatibility via Passivation

Passivation to ASTM A380/A967 forms a self‑healing chromium‑oxide layer, enhancing corrosion resistance and long‑term system reliability.

Built to Endure

Building Infrastructure That's Ready for What Comes Next

In this article, Aidan Jones, Tate’s Head of Research and Development for EMEA, highlights why stainless steel is the backbone of high-density liquid cooling.

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Tate's Liquid Cooling Options

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Manifolds

Tate’s Liquid Cooling Manifolds deliver coolant from the CDU to the coldplate, enabling direct-to-chip liquid cooling for high-density data centres. By regulating flow, pressure, and temperature, they ensure even heat dissipation across all servers, improving efficiency and performance.
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Ceiling Supported Manifolds

Installed in the Tate Ceiling Suspended HAC, the load of the Tate Manifold System is supported via the Tate Forte LEC structural ceiling. Tate Forte LEC is fully compatible for air and liquid cooled computer racks making it the ideal solution to future proof your data center with added flexibility. 
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Floor Mounted Manifolds

Installed within the Tate Hot Aisle Containment System (HAC), these manifolds are ideal for high density environments where space and performance matter most. Their integrated design delivers liquid cooling right at the source ensuring thermal efficiency for AI and HPC workloads. 
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Underfloor Manifolds

Designed for both new builds and retrofit, modular underfloor manifolds route cooling below the raised floor, minimising disruption and supporting fast installation. A practical options for scaling capacity while maintaining uptime. 
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Floor Supported and Custom Configurations

When a standard layout isn’t enough, our floor-supported and hybrid options provide flexibility for any site-specific constraint. These solutions adapt to unique layouts, combining in rack and underfloor or custom routing without compromising performance scalability or accessibility. 
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Long-Term Performance

Sustainability

Stainless steel aligns with long life infrastructure expectations and delivers stable material performance over decades of service.
Steel also forms a self renewing chromium‑oxide passive layer (autopassivating), supporting long‑term corrosion resistance in treated coolant loops.

This long lifecycle helps support reduced waste and long‑term durability goals.

The Tate Difference

Proven Delivery at Scale

Over 1 GW of liquid cooling piping delivered for hyperscale, high‑density deployments.

Modular, Pre‑Fabricated Steel Systems

Schedule 10 stainless‑steel manifolds, fully pre‑fabricated, pressure tested, and verified off‑site with complete quality documentation.

Optimised for Fast Track Builds

Flanged modular assemblies install quickly with no field welding, reducing programme risk and site hours.

Engineered for High Density Cooling

Steel delivers predictable, stable performance with cleaner routing, fewer joints, and long‑term reliability under thermal and pressure cycling.

For assured performance and long term stability, stainless steel remains the most trusted material for mission critical data center cooling.

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Want to learn more? Read the whitepaper or connect with our team directly.
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