HK1142478A - Data center cooling - Google Patents

Description

Data center cooling system

The application is filed on 6/7/2005, and is a divisional application with the application number of 200580021256.X and the name of the invention of 'data center cooling system'.

Technical Field

Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to cooling of rack-mounted devices, and more particularly, to the infrastructure of a data center with a cooling system.

Background

Communication and information technology equipment is typically designed to be mounted to a rack and supported within a housing. In small wiring closets as well as equipment rooms and large data centers, equipment racks and enclosures are commonly used to house and arrange communications and information technology equipment, such as servers, CPUs, internet equipment and storage devices. The equipment rack may be an open structure and enclosed within a housing of the rack. Standard racks typically include front-mounted rails, where multiple components of the equipment, such as servers and CPUs, are mounted on the front-mounted rails and vertically stacked in the rack. The equipment capacity of a standard rack is related to the height of the mounting rails. The height is set in standard increments of 1.75 inches, expressed in units of "U" or rack height capacity "U". A typical U height or value for a rack is 42U. Standard racks may be sparsely or densely populated with various different components and components produced by different manufacturers at any given time.

Most rack-mounted communications and information technology equipment consumes electrical power and generates heat. The heat generated by rack-mounted equipment is detrimental to the performance, safety, and service life of the equipment components. In particular, rack-mounted equipment supported within an enclosure is particularly susceptible to damage from heat generated during operation and hot spots generated by the equipment within the confines of the enclosure. The heat generated by the racks depends on the electrical power consumed by the equipment in the racks during operation. The heat output of the racks may vary from a few watts/U to 500 watts/U of rack capacity, or even higher, depending on the number and type of components assembled in the racks. Users of communication and information technology equipment add, subtract and rearrange rack-mounted components as their needs change and new needs develop. Thus, the heat generated by a given rack or enclosure has also increased correspondingly from tens of watts to over 10,000 watts, and over 10,000 watts.

Typically, rack-mounted equipment is self-cooled by drawing air along the front or inlet side of the rack or enclosure, passing the air over the components of the equipment, and then exhausting the air from the back of the rack or enclosure or the sides of the vents. The airflow needs to provide sufficient air for cooling and, therefore, may vary accordingly depending on the number and type of rack-mounted components and the configuration of the rack and enclosure.

Equipment rooms and data centers are typically equipped with air conditioning or cooling systems that provide cool air and circulate cool air to rack-mounted equipment and enclosures. Most air conditioning and cooling systems, such as the system disclosed in U.S. patent No. 6,494,050, require that the equipment room or data center be equipped with a raised floor structure to facilitate the system air conditioning and circulation functions. These systems typically use open floor tiles and floor grills or vents for releasing cool air from air channels installed beneath the raised floor of the equipment room. Open floor tiles and floor grills or vents are typically installed in front of the equipment racks and cabinets and are arranged in parallel along the aisles between the rows of racks and cabinets.

The raised floor structures required by cooling systems and methods are often not effective in meeting the cooling requirements of rack-mounted units. In particular, racks that include high power equipment with a hot exhaust output of about 5,000 watts to 10,000 watts present particular challenges for such systems and methods. Raised floor structures typically provide an open floor tile and floor grid or vent having an area of 12 x 12 inches, and raised floor structures that can release about 200 cubic inches to 500 cubic inches of cool air. Racks for high power equipment may be elevated to 10,000 watts or over 10,000 watts and require air flow to about 1,600 cubic inches, so about 3.5 to 8 open tiles, floor grills or vents need to be provided along the perimeter of the rack to provide sufficient cool air to meet the cooling requirements of the rack. In equipment rooms with densely arranged racks and cabinets, such a floor structure is difficult to achieve and impossible to achieve if the racks and cabinets are arranged in parallel in a row. Thus, air cooling systems and methods incorporating raised floor configurations are typically only used when the racks and enclosures are spatially separated to provide sufficient floor area to accommodate numerous open floor tiles, grills, or vents. For typical rack space, the above requirements impose limitations on equipment density. The problem of how to distribute cold air from one or more central air conditioning systems is exacerbated if a raised floor is not used, as cold air must typically be distributed and passed through the room housing the rows of racks.

Equipment rooms and data centers are often reconfigured to meet the needs of new and/or different equipment requiring individual racks and enclosures to be repositioned and/or relocated. In such a context, raised floor air conditioning cooling systems and methods are stationary and can only be reconfigured and/or retrofitted, typically at considerable expense, to meet the needs of rearranging, relocating and/or newly installing equipment racks. The construction of raised floors does not easily and inexpensively meet the new and changing needs of users to meet the manner in which equipment racks are deployed and equipment rooms and data centers are reconfigured through raised floor structures.

In addition, the cooling systems and methods that require raised floor structures lack physical flexibility and portability to effectively address the wide variation in power consumption between different racks and enclosures in the same equipment room, and particularly between racks and enclosures mounted in the same row. Cooling systems and methods that rely on raised floor air passageways and open floor tiles, grills or vents cannot be easily and inexpensively changed or concentrate cool air into high power racks that consume relatively large amounts of electrical power and have high thermal exhaust output. Additionally, newly installed equipment may require more electrical power than replaced or existing equipment and create thermal problem areas within the energy equipment compartment.

Further, particular problems in existing air conditioning solutions are: hot spots in the room arise due to the lack of proper recirculation of rack exhaust air back to the return side of the room air conditioner. This can result in the racks drawing in unwanted hot air. In an attempt to address the air circulation problem, many room air conditioners are designed to provide cool air at about 58 degrees Fahrenheit and receive return air at a typical temperature of about 78 degrees Fahrenheit. One problem with such air circulation is: outputting 58 degrees fahrenheit of cold air, and potentially cool air to achieve the temperature, often requires the addition of a humidity conditioning system to increase the air humidity in the data center. The installation and operation of such a humidity conditioning system requires a high outlay.

Accordingly, there is a need to provide a system and method for cooling rack-mounted communications and information technology equipment to efficiently and economically meet the cooling requirements of both raised-floor mounted data centers and data centers that do not have raised floors. Rack cooling systems and methods are inexpensive and can support particularly high power racks and/or enclosures or it is desirable to be able to overcome thermal problem areas in equipment rooms or data centers.

Disclosure of Invention

A first aspect of the present invention is directed to a modular data center. The modular data center includes a plurality of racks, each rack having a front and a back, wherein the plurality of racks are arranged in a first row and a second row such that the back of the racks in the first row faces the second row and the back of the racks in the second row faces the first row. The data center also includes a first end panel coupled between the first rack of the first row and the first rack of the second row, the first end panel having a bottom edge and a top edge. Still further, the data center includes a second end panel coupled between the second rack of the first row and the second rack of the second row, the second end panel having a top edge and a bottom edge, and a top panel coupled between the top edge of the first panel and the top edge of the second panel.

The modular data center may be designed such that the roof panel is coupled to a top end of at least one rack in the first row and a top end of at least one rack in the second row such that the roof panel, the first end panel, the second end panel, and the first and second rows of racks form an enclosure along a perimeter of an area between the first row of racks and the second row of racks. Most racks further include cooling equipment that draws air from the area, cools the air, and returns cooled air from the front of one of the racks. At least one of the first end panel and the second end panel includes a door. Further, at least a portion of the top panel is transparent. At least one of the plurality of racks of the modular data center includes an uninterruptible power supply rack to provide uninterrupted power to other additional rack equipment in at least the plurality of racks. The first row of racks of the modular data center is substantially parallel to the second row of racks. In addition, the modular data center may be designed as one of the plurality of racks that includes cooling equipment that draws air from an area between the first row and the second row, cools the air, and returns cool air from a front of one of the one or more racks.

Another aspect of the invention is directed to a method of cooling electronic equipment contained in racks in a data center. The method includes arranging the racks in two rows including a first row and a second row substantially parallel to the first row, a back side of at least one rack in the first row facing a back side of at least one rack in the second row. The method also includes forming an enclosure around an area between the first row and the second row, and drawing air from the area into one of the racks and outputting air from a front of the one of the racks.

The method includes the further step of cooling the air drawn into one of the racks prior to outputting the air from the front face. The step of forming the chassis includes coupling the first and second side panels and the top panel between the first and second rows. At least one of the first side panel and the second side panel comprises a door and the top panel comprises a transparent portion. Additionally, the method includes providing power to equipment in the rack using the uninterruptible power supply.

Another aspect of the invention is directed to a modular data center including a plurality of racks, each rack having a front and a back, wherein a plurality of the racks are arranged in a first row and a second row such that the back of the racks in the first row faces the second row and the back of the racks in the second row faces the first row. The modular data center further includes means for enclosing a first area between the first row and the second row, means for drawing air from the enclosed area, cooling the air, and returning cool air to the second area.

The means for drawing air further comprises means for delivering cooled air through the front face of one of the racks. The modular data center may also be comprised of devices that provide uninterruptible power to equipment in the racks. The access means allowing access to the first area may be designed as a feature of the modular data center.

Moreover, another aspect of the present invention is directed to a modular data center having a plurality of equipment racks, each equipment rack configured to draw in cool air from a first area and provide exhaust air to a second area, and a mode in which at least one enclosure panel is coupled between a first rack and a second rack of the plurality of equipment racks. At least one of the equipment racks includes a cooling equipment structure for drawing exhaust air from the second area and providing cooling air to the first area, and a plurality of the equipment racks and at least one enclosure panel substantially enclose the second area.

The at least one enclosure panel may be a top panel coupled from a top end of one equipment rack to a top end of another equipment rack. The data center further includes at least one end panel mounted between one of the plurality of equipment racks and another of the plurality of equipment racks, the at least one end panel including a door providing access from the first area to the second area. At least a portion of the top panel may be transparent and at least one of the plurality of equipment racks may include an uninterruptible power supply.

Another aspect of the invention is directed to a method of cooling equipment in a plurality of equipment racks. The method includes drawing cool air from a first area into at least one of the equipment racks and providing exhaust air from the at least one of the equipment racks to a second area, providing an enclosure around a perimeter of the second area, exhausting air from the second area to a second rack of the plurality of equipment racks, cooling the exhaust air to produce cooled air, and providing the cooled air to the first area. The method also includes arranging the plurality of equipment racks in two rows and forming a second zone between the two rows.

In general, in another aspect, the invention provides a modular data center for supporting and cooling electronic equipment, the data center comprising a plurality of racks, a first portion of the racks configured to support heat-generating electronic equipment, a second portion of the racks configured to support at least one cooling element, each first portion of the racks having a front side and a back side and configured to support the heat-generating electronic equipment such that gas is drawn into the equipment from the front side of the equipment and heated by the equipment into hot gas, the electronic equipment then exhausting the heated gas from the back side of the racks, at least one panel coupled to a pair of the racks to form a gap between the pair of racks, wherein the racks and the at least one panel are arranged and coupled to form a horizontally closed arrangement horizontally enclosing the hot zone and defining a top opening that allows gas to be vertically exhausted from the hot zone, the back side of the first portion of the rack is disposed adjacent the hot zone such that heated gas is discharged into the hot zone when the heat generating device is mounted to the rack.

Implementations of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The data center further includes at least one cooling element configured to draw heated gas from the hot zone into the at least one cooling element, cool the heated gas to a relatively cool gas, and exhaust the heated gas from the at least one cooling element to a cold zone that is spaced apart from the hot zone in the rack. The at least one cooling element is configured to direct cold gas to a front face of the first portion of the rack. The at least one cooling element is configured to direct cold gas to a bottom portion of the front face of the first portion of the rack. The at least one cooling element is configured to cool the gas and discharge the gas at about 72 degrees fahrenheit. The data center further includes an uninterruptible power supply coupled to the at least one cooling element and configured to provide backup power to the at least one cooling element.

Implementations of the invention may also include one or more of the following features. The at least one panel is a door configured to open to the hot zone and close to restrict heated air in the hot zone from exiting the data center horizontally through the gap. The at least one panel has a height at least proximate to a shortest height of one of the first and second portions of the bracket. The plurality of racks are arranged in two parallel rows and wherein at least one of the panels includes two doors disposed opposite each other at ends of the rows and coupling the two rows to each other at respective ends.

In general, in another aspect, the invention provides a system for containing and cooling electronic equipment that generates heat during operation, the system comprising a plurality of racks, a first portion of the racks configured to allow gas to pass from a front side of the racks, then through an interior of the racks, and out from a back side of the racks, the first portion of the racks further configured to include the electronic equipment in an arrangement such that the equipment can draw gas from the front side of the racks, pass through a device that heats the gas to produce heated gas, and out from the back side of the racks, the plurality of racks arranged to horizontally surround a substantial portion of a horizontal enclosure of a hot zone, a closure horizontally coupling at least two of the plurality of racks to complete the horizontal enclosure around the hot zone, the closure and the plurality of racks providing a top opening such that the system provides a substantially non-upper boundary to the hot zone, and cooling means are arranged on at least one of the racks for cooling the heated gas to produce a relatively cool gas and supplying the relatively cool gas to the front face of the first portion of the racks, the plurality of racks being arranged such that, during operation, the electronic device discharges the heated gas into the hot zone.

Implementations of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The cooling device is configured to direct relatively cool gas to a bottom portion of the front face of the first portion of the rack. The cooling system is configured to cool the gas to approximately 72 degrees fahrenheit to produce a relatively cool gas. The closure includes at least one thermally insulated door configured to open into the hot zone when open and to restrict heated gas in the hot zone from horizontally exhausting from the hot zone between the shelves in which the closure is coupled when closed. The racks are arranged in two rows side by side, wherein the closing means comprise two doors placed opposite at the ends of the rows and coupling the two rows to each other at the respective ends. The system further includes an uninterruptible power supply coupled to the cooling device and configured to provide backup power to the cooling device.

In general, in another aspect, the invention provides a method of operating and cooling rack-mounted electronic equipment, the method includes providing electrical power to the rack-mounted electronic equipment to draw air into a rack that supports the equipment through a front face of the rack, heating the gas to produce a heated gas, and discharging the heated gas to a hot zone, other than into a cooling mechanism, the method limits horizontal discharge of heated gases from the hot zone, the method using a rack supporting the device and at least one panel coupled to at least two of the plurality of racks, while allowing the heated gas to exit the hot zone upwardly substantially unimpeded, at least until the gas rises to the top of the rack, drawing at least a portion of the heated gas from the hot zone into the cooling mechanism, and cooling the sucked gas to generate a cooling gas and supplying the cooling gas to the front surface of the supporter.

Implementations of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The restricting includes injecting more heated gas into the hot zone, the horizontal flow of the heated gas being impeded by at least one fence coupled by a gap between the pair of racks. The supplying includes directing the cooling gas to a bottom of the front face of the rack.

The invention can be more fully understood with reference to the following drawings, detailed description and claims.

Drawings

For a better understanding of the present invention, some of the descriptions of the drawings are expressly incorporated herein by reference, including:

fig. 1 is a perspective view of a modular data center cooling system for rack-mounted units according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of another modular data system similar to the system of FIG. 1. And

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a process for installing a cooling system in a modular data center in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a system including a rack-mounted device and a cooling element in accordance with the present invention. And

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a process for a cooling apparatus using the cooling elements in the system of FIG. 4.

Detailed Description

Various embodiments of the present invention provide an infrastructure for a data center equipped with a cooling system for cooling rack-mounted electronic equipment. Various embodiments of the present invention provide a modular data center for rack-mounted equipment, wherein the modular data center provides power configuration, cooling, and support structure for the rack-mounted equipment. In certain embodiments, power distribution elements and cooling are provided by a backup system to prevent downtime due to power and machine failures. As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, other embodiments, such as embodiments for providing an infrastructure for non-electronic devices, are also within the scope of the present invention.

A System for providing Power configuration to Rack-mounted equipment, entitled "Adjustable Scalable Rack Power System and Method," disclosed in U.S. patent application No. 10/038,106, the contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference, may be adapted for use with various embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a modular data center 10 is shown. The modular data center 10 includes a power distribution unit 14, a power protection unit 12, a floor mounted cooling unit 16, equipment racks 18, and a hot room 22. The modular data center 10 is equipped with doors 52 with windows 54, a roof panel 56, cooling water supply and return piping 60, and a voltage feed 58. If the cooling element 16 is of the liquid cooling direct refrigeration type, the supply and return cooling water 60 may consist of condenser water; if the cooling element 16 is of the condensed water type, the cooling water 60 supplied and returned consists of a condenser; or if the cooling element 16 is of the air cooled direct refrigeration type, then the cooling water supply and return line 60 is a chilled water supply and return line. The data center 10 is a modular component including power distribution components 14, power protection components 12, floor mounted cooling components 16, and equipment racks 18, mounted adjacent to one another to form rows 32 and 34. Rows 32 and 34 are completely parallel. The power distribution unit 14 and the power protection unit 12 are mounted immediately adjacent to each other and may be mounted at the end of one row. The floor mounted cooling element 16 may be mounted adjacent to the power distribution element 14. The other enclosures, i.e., equipment racks 18, form at least one additional row in the data center 10. The hot room 22 is installed between rows 32 and 34, with rows 32 and 34 comprising two perimeter walls of the modular data center 10.

The power distribution unit 14 typically includes transformers and power distribution circuitry, such as circuit breakers, that provide distributed power to each of the racks of the modular data center 10. The power distribution unit 14 provides back-up power to the racks 18 and may monitor the total amount of maximum current. The uninterruptible power supply may provide continuous power to the power distribution unit 14. More preferably, the power distribution unit 14 comprises a 40 kilowatt uninterruptible power supply with N +1 redundancy and is capable of adding another power module to provide N +1 redundancy. In one embodiment of the invention, the power distribution unit 14 receives input power from the voltage feed 58 through the top of the rack. In one embodiment, the voltage feed 58 is a 240 volt feed (208 volt feed in three phases) coupled to the power distribution element 14 accessed from the top panel 56. Alternatively, the input power may be received from a lower end of the rack, such as through a raised floor or the back of the rack.

The power protection unit 12 provides backup power protection for centralized information technology equipment, and the power protection unit 12 is mounted inside the equipment rack 18. The power protection unit 12 has individual power modules and battery modules that can be added or removed individually to meet different installation needs. The use of multiple power modules and battery modules allows for continued operation and provides redundancy in the event of failure of any one of the power modules and battery modules. For example, the power protection components may include Symmetra, an uninterrupted, scalable power supply available from Power conversion America of West Kingston, Rhode Island, having a three-phase input and a three-phase outputAlternatively, the Power protection components may comprise one of the Uninterruptible Power supplies described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,982,652, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Providing Uninterruptible Power", the contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.

The floor mounted cooling element 16 rejects heat by using condensate that enters the element through the supply line 60. Alternatively, the cooling element may provide heat rejection using DX compression cooling by using a direct evaporative refrigerant-based element, which may be the element itself. The cooling element may comprise a primary condensate pipe and a secondary direct evaporation pipe in the same structure. The cooling element may be designed to use air, water or glycol. The cool air may be released through the bottom or top of the element. In one embodiment of the invention, the cool air is released from the front of the cooling element 16 such that the airflow from the back of the rack flows out of the front of the rack. The cooling element 16 can furthermore be designed in the form of one, two or three modules. The embodiment shown in fig. 1 is a cooling element using three modules.

In the embodiment of fig. 1, both rows 32 and 34 are comprised of six racks. In embodiments of the present invention, the number of racks and the functionality of the devices in the racks may vary. In one embodiment of the invention, the rack 18 is a modified standard 19 inch rack that may be NETSHEL VXIs available from united states power conversion corporation of West Kingston, RI.

The back of each power distribution unit 14, power protection unit 12, floor mounted cooling unit 16, and equipment racks 18 face the interior, or hot room 22, of the modular data center 10. In essence, the back of the racks in row 32 face the back of the racks in row 34. In one embodiment, the rear doors of the equipment racks 18 are eliminated so that each rack 18 remains open to the interior of the heating chamber. As shown in the embodiment, the modular data center includes seven equipment racks 18. Alternatively, in another embodiment, six equipment racks 18 are grouped in rows, but more than seven equipment racks 18 may be grouped in rows in the data center 10 and may be adjacent to each other or other enclosures in the data center 10, such as the power distribution unit 14, the power protection unit 12, or the floor mounted cooling unit 16.

The door 52 mounted at the end of the rack row is linked by hinges 53 to a detachable structure 55. A detachable structure 55 is mounted to the rear of the power protection unit 12. The detachable structure may be located at the rear of the power protection unit 12, the power distribution unit 14, or the equipment racks 18, depending on which unit is located at the end of the rack in the data center 10. The detachable structure 55 allows the door 52 to be quickly removed for replacement of the power protection unit 12, if desired. The heating chamber can be accessed through a door 52 and monitored through a sight glass 54. More preferably, a door 52 is mounted at the end of each of the hot rooms 22. Typically, door 52 is a 2 x 36 inch area, insulated, locked, steel door with an insulated viewing window 54.

Water or refrigerant supply and return lines 60 may be routed through supply lines to the top panel 56 or directly to the top of the rack. The voltage feed 58 may also be accessible through the top panel 56 or the top of the rack. Optionally, water or refrigerant supply and return piping 60 and voltage feed 58 enter the heating chamber through a raised floor above which the modular data center is built; alternatively, the water or refrigerant supply and return line 60 and voltage feed 58 may come from a location outside of one of the heating chambers and into the heating chamber, for example, into the side of the rack.

The roof panel 56, which may preferably be translucent plexiglass, is supported by steel structures 62 positioned at intervals along the length 72 of the data center 10. The top panel 56 extends over and covers the top of the hot room 22 positioned in the middle of the rack row. The top panel 56 is removable so that the rack 18 or the power protection unit 12 can be removed when needed. The top panel 56 is a translucent plexiglas structure and allows room light to enter the confined space of the hot room 22. In addition, the plexiglas top panel 56 is preferably sufficiently airtight.

The hot room 22 is completely enclosed and has walls formed by the back of the racks 18 and a door 52 attached to each end of the hot room 22. Alternatively, a panel without a door may be used as a wall to form the heating chamber. When the top panel 56 is in place, the hot room 22 is a substantially enclosed passageway. The modular data center 10 is therefore an enclosed computer infrastructure defined by the outer perimeter of the front face of each rack 18, the power protection components 12, the power distribution components 14 or the cooling components 16, and the hot room 22 in the central portion of the structure. The exterior walls of the hot room, which are part of the two exterior walls of the modular data center 10, are made up of doors 52.

Referring to FIG. 2, a top view of a modular data center 10 in one embodiment of the present invention is shown. The modular data center of fig. 2 is similar to the modular data center of fig. 1, except that row 32 and row 34 each have five racks instead of six racks per row as in fig. 1. Like numbers refer to like embodiments, and the modular data center 10 of fig. 2 is comprised of a power distribution unit 14, a power protection unit 12, a floor mounted cooling unit 16, equipment racks 18, and a hot room 22. The power protection unit 12 is positioned directly adjacent one side of the power distribution unit 14, while the floor mounted cooling unit 16 is positioned adjacent the other side of the power distribution unit 14. A maintenance clearance area 20 surrounds the perimeter of the modular data center 10. In fig. 2, one embodiment of the invention is shown with six equipment racks 18 and a cooling element 16 having two modules.

The size of modular data center 10 depends on the number of racks that comprise each rack row. For example, a data center 10 having six equipment racks 18 with a width of 120 inches as indicated by arrow 28, a length of 120 inches as indicated by arrow 29, and a heating chamber (row spacing) width of 36 inches as indicated by arrow 24, and a preferred width 26 of the maintenance clearance area is 36 inches. The floor surface area of the data center 10 is preferably 192 inches in length 30 and 192 inches in width 31 within the confines of the service clearance area 26. Alternatively, referring to FIG. 1, a data center 10 with seven equipment racks 18 may have a width of 120 inches and a length of 144 inches. The floor surface area of the alternating data centers is 192 inches by 216 inches within the scope of the maintenance clearance area 26. The dimensions of a given modular data center are merely examples and may vary significantly based on the type and size of racks used in designing the data center.

The modular data center 10 may be operated after a source of cold water, condensate or refrigerant piping 60, and a voltage feed 58 are provided. The data center may include different power input designs, but a 40 kilowatt design is preferred, for example, allowing 6.7 kilowatts per rack in a system with six equipment racks 18, or 5.7 kilowatts per rack in a system with seven equipment racks 18. Cooling water or refrigerant enters the floor mounted cooling unit 16 through the supply line 60. Since the cooling unit 16 is connected to the common supply line 60 by a flexible hose that is easily disconnected, the common supply line 60 can simultaneously supply cooling water to one or more cooling units.

The modular data center 10 provides cooling for the equipment of the data center as follows. The room air or ambient air is filtered through the front of the racks 18 to cool the equipment mounted on the racks 18. Air enters through the front of the racks 18 and exits the rear of the racks 18. As the air passes through the equipment racks 18, the air temperature increases. Respectively, to discharge the warm air into the heating chambers 22. The hot room 22 maintains the temperature of the warm air and prevents the warm air from mixing with the ambient room air. The cooling unit 16 draws warm air from the hot room and returns cool air to the outside room of the data center 10. The warm air enters the cooling element 16 directly from the hot room 22. The cooling element lowers the air temperature and releases cool air to the surrounding area. At a sufficiently cooled temperature, the air is recirculated to the surrounding space. For example, the cooling unit 16 typically receives 95 degrees Fahrenheit air from the hot room and cools the air to approximately 72 degrees Fahrenheit before the air is released into the surrounding area of the data center 10. The floor mounted cooling element 16 operates at higher supply and return temperatures, allowing high efficiency to be achieved without potential heat removal.

With reference to fig. 3 and with further reference to fig. 1-2, the data center 10 is configured to perform a process for cooling equipment installed in enclosed racks that use an infrastructure with independent power supplies and coolant. Process 100 includes the steps shown, although processes may be altered, e.g., added, deleted or moved, corresponding to the steps shown.

The process 100 of fig. 3 includes a step 102 in which a power distribution unit supplies power to a plurality of equipment racks 18, the equipment racks 18 possibly including a variety of electronic equipment, and thus requiring a consistent power supply to avoid system downtime. The voltage feed 58 is connected to the power distribution unit 14 and the power protection unit 12 is mounted adjacent to the power distribution unit 14 to ensure back-up power supply.

At step 104, the racks 18 draw in cool air from the ambient space on their front faces. In the racks and/or the equipment within the racks, there may be, for example, an air distribution element that exhausts indoor air into the racks 18 and distributes the air through the racks to cool the components within the racks. As the air passes through the racks 18, the air temperature increases.

In step 106, the racks 18 discharge the air at an elevated temperature into the heating chamber 22. Air is exhausted from the back of the chassis 18. As previously mentioned, in one embodiment of the present invention, the rack 18 does not have a rear door. In other embodiments, a rear door may be included on the rack, with warm air being expelled into the heating chamber through vents in the door. In the heating chamber 22, the air maintains an elevated temperature and is prevented from mixing with ambient air. In one embodiment of the invention, the modular data center is designed to maintain an air pressure inside the heating chamber that is nearly the same as the air pressure outside the heating chamber. Allowing one of the doors to open and preventing cool air from entering the hot chamber. In such an embodiment, the cooling element provides 160 cubic feet per kilowatt of cold gas.

In step 108, the cooling element draws in warm air from the hot room 22. The cooling unit 16 cools the warm air from the heating chamber with the cool air output from the cool water supply 60. In step 110, the cooling element releases the cooled gas into the surrounding space to complete the cooling cycle. Air from the surrounding space is again drawn into the housing 18 and the cycle continues.

Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims and are within the spirit of the invention. For example, the equipment racks 18 force air up. The air, including hot air, may change temperature after flowing through the racks 18. The data center 10 may be designed to distribute other gases than just air. In addition, a refrigerant or other refrigerant may be used rather than just cold water. Still further, a controller may be coupled to the data center for monitoring air temperature and flow rate, as well as power supply so that sufficient and consistent power may be provided to each rack. The data center may include individual equipment racks 18 with individual cooling elements 16, with the individual cooling elements 16 creating an individual data center whereby power is distributed to the individual data center 10 or to the data center of multiple individual racks simultaneously.

In one embodiment of the invention, one or more cooling elements are centrally mounted in the modular data center for compensating for hot air drawn into the cooling elements from each rack. In other embodiments, the cooling elements may be located in another location, and in one embodiment, one or more cooling elements may be mounted proximate to a rack or racks in the modular data center that generate significant amounts of heat.

Still further, in various embodiments of the present invention, the top panel covering the hot zone may include a large number of fans, and the fans may be controlled to exhaust air from the hot zone when an air conditioning unit of the modular data center fails, and/or when the air temperature of the hot zone exceeds a predetermined value or the air pressure of the hot zone exceeds a predetermined value.

In the various embodiments of the invention described above, the racks of a modular data center are described as being arranged in two rows. In other embodiments, the racks may be arranged in other collective configurations. Further, one or more racks may be used on one side of the modular data center and on one or both sides of the panel.

Other embodiments are within the scope and spirit of the invention. Referring to fig. 4, the system 210 includes a power protection component 212, a power distribution component (PDU)214, a floor mounted cooling system 215, the floor mounted cooling system 215 including a plurality of cooling components 216, equipment racks 218 and doors 220, 222. As used in the present invention, the means 212, 214, 216, 218 are directed to the functional element(s) (as appropriate), the mounting bracket, and/or the housing/support comprising the bracket and the device. Accordingly, the frame 218 as used in the present invention refers to a mounting bracket (for mounting heat-generating electronic equipment) and/or to a support including the mounting bracket, and allows passage of air through the support. The system 210 is configured with devices 212, 214, 216, 218 arranged in rows 224, 226 connected by gates 220, 222. Together with the doors 220, 222 forming the other two sidewalls of the hot region 228, the back sides of the devices 212, 214, 216, 218 are disposed adjacent to (and connected as far as possible) each other to form the other two sidewalls of the hot region 228. The doors 220, 222 facilitate control of access to equipment in the rack 218, for example, by locking to restrict access to the hot region 228. When cooling element 216 is disposed proximate to an end element disposed adjacent PDU214 as shown, it is not required and other positions of cooling element 216 relative to other devices 212, 214, 218 are acceptable.

Although the system 210 is shown arranged in two rows 224, 226 connected by gates 220, 222, other arrangements are acceptable. For example, the system 210 may be configured as a triangle, a ring, or a rectangle/square, among others. Further, two doors 220, 222 as shown may be used, other numbers of doors, e.g., one or three, may be used. Also, the panel that is not open may serve in place as part or all (although preferably part) of the door. The system 210 provides a horizontal or vertical confinement environment to define the hot region 228 and to impede horizontal venting of gases from the hot region 228 except through the cooling system 215.

The system 210 helps to maintain heated air in the hot region 228 and to isolate the heated air exhausted from the racks 218 from the cooled air provided by the cooling system 215. The equipment in the racks 218 draw cooled air from the front sides 230, 232 of the racks 218 and exhaust heated air from the back sides of the racks 218 into the hot zone 228. The flow of air through the apparatus blocks the flow of air from the hot region 228 through the rack 218 and toward the front sides 230, 232. Further, the doors 220, 222 are thermally insulated doors that help to maintain the heat of the gas in the hot region 228. The devices 212, 214, 216, 218 and the doors 220, 222 provide a top opening 229 that allows gas to be vented vertically from the hot region 228 to the hot region 228, i.e., by way of a rise. The doors 220, 222 are at least as tall as one of the shortest heights of the devices 212, 214, 216, 218 to facilitate maintaining heated gas in the hot region 228. Preferably, the devices 212, 214, 216, 218 and the doors 220, 222 are of uniform height. The doors 220, 222 and the flow of gas through the racks 218 facilitate maintaining heated gas in the area 228 and isolating the heated gas in the area 228 from gases outside the system 210. Insulating and maintaining the heated gas advantageously helps to prevent the heated gas from flowing vertically and combining with the cooled gas provided by the cooling system 215. Devices such as power protection element 212 and PDU214 vent small amounts of heated gas into hot zone 228.

The cooling system 215 is configured to draw heated air from the hot region 228, cool the heated air, and provide cooled air to the exterior of the system 210 near the bottom of the front faces 230, 232 of the racks 218. The system 215 is powered by a voltage feed 240 and uses cooling water or other refrigerant from a supply line 242 to cool the incoming air. The water or other refrigerant is raised in temperature and exits the system 215 via return line 244 for re-circulation. Preferably, the cooling element 216 is arranged and configured to draw a volume of heated air/gas from the hot region 228 before the heated gas rises and exits the hot region 228. The heated gas, which is typically around 95 degrees fahrenheit, is cooled by the unit 216 to about 72 degrees fahrenheit and exits the front 234 of the unit 216 near the front 230, 232 of the rack 218. If no cooling elements 216 are disposed in the same row 224 or 226 of equipment racks 218, naturally occurring convection effects cause cooling gas to flow from one or more areas of the elements 216 into the front 232 of the racks 218 located in the other row 224, 226. Preferably, the cooling unit 216 provides a large supply of cooled air at the floor (near the bottom of the racks 218) so that a large portion of the cooled air is drawn into the equipment racks 218. The element 216 can direct the cooled gas for use as desired, e.g., fans, ducts, vents, vanes, ducts, and the like. Element 216 cools the gas without significant latent heat removal (dehumidifying cooling) and without humidifying the gas.

The cooling system 215 is a Computer Room Air Conditioner (CRAC) disposed proximate to the heat-generating equipment on the equipment racks 218. The cooling system 215, which is located proximate to the racks 218, reduces and/or eliminates the problems created by systems having CRACs that are disposed substantially away from the heat-generating equipment, in particular problems with having cooled air from the CRACs delivered to the heat-generating equipment. For example, the cooling system 215 may use a lower air/gas velocity, reduce the pressure drop (pressure loss of the fan coil CRAC), and thus use a lower fan power to propel the air/gas than the installed system.

Various embodiments of system 210 may be sized the same as data center 10 shown in fig. 1. For example, a system 210 having seven equipment racks 218 may have a length of 216 inches, including 36-inch service clearance areas at both ends, and a width of 192 inches, including 36-inch service clearance areas on both sides.

Various embodiments of system 210 may include features of system 10 not specifically related to system 210. For example, the doors 220, 222 may have windows configured for adult observation. Still further, the system 210 may include a UPS connected via PDU214 to provide power to equipment in the system 210 to help ensure an uninterruptible power supply for devices needed in the system 210. Other features may also be included in the system 210.

With further reference to fig. 4 and to fig. 5, the system 210 is configured to complete a cooling device routine 250 stored in a sealed rack using an infrastructure having independent power and coolant supplies. The routine 250 includes the steps shown, although the routine 250 may be modified, for example, by adding, deleting, or moving steps relative to the steps shown.

At step 252, power is provided to the equipment racks 218 from the power distribution unit 214. The equipment racks 218 may include various electronic devices that use a continuous power source to avoid system downtime. The power is supplied through a voltage feed 240 connected to the power distribution element 214, and the power protection element 212 is preferably disposed proximate to the power distribution element 214 and configured to ensure a backup power supply.

At step 254, the racks 218 draw cool air from the ambient space through the front faces 230, 232 of the racks 218. Thus, for example, air distribution elements are disposed within the racks 218 and/or within equipment included in the racks 218 to draw indoor air into the racks 218 and distribute the air through the racks 218 to cool components within the racks 218. As the air flows through the racks 218, the temperature of the air increases.

At step 256, the racks 18 exhaust the air at an elevated temperature into the hot zone 228. Air is exhausted from the back of the rack 218, for example, through slots or vents in the rear door, or directly into the area 228 if the rack 218 does not have a rear door. Air is blocked in the hot zone 228 by the devices 212, 214, 216, 218, doors 220, 222 and air flows into the zone 228, thereby preventing warm air from mixing with ambient air.

At step 258, the cooling element 216 draws warm air from the hot region 228. The cooling element 16 uses cooling water from the cooling water supply 242 to cool the air from the hot zone 228.

At step 260, cooled air is raised from the cooling element 216 to the surrounding space. The cooling air is exhausted from the elements 216 and directed to the front faces 230, 232 of the racks 218. Air in the surrounding space is again drawn into the racks 218 and the cycle begins. Preferably, the components 216 and racks are configured such that the cooling air provided by the components, and the racks 218 draw in cooling air, such that a substantial amount of cooling air is drawn into the racks 218, e.g., to facilitate reducing mixing of the cooling air and heated air from the hot zone 228.

Various embodiments of the invention may provide one or more of the following functions. Mixing of cooling air with exhaust air in a data center is reduced. Hot spots around the high power racks may be reduced by the high power racks contained in the modular data center as described above. The use of spot cooling allows the air conditioning elements of the data center included in the modular data center to operate more efficiently and to generate cooled air at higher temperatures, thereby eliminating the need for a humidification system. The temperature gradient may be reduced compared to prior systems. The reliability of the device may be improved compared to existing device/cooling arrangements. The cooling elements can operate efficiently and approach their design capabilities. The equipment can be cooled using less energy than previous systems. The efficiency of the cooling element may be improved compared to existing systems, and the cooling element may be more compact and/or have a lower capacity compared to existing systems for providing similar cooling effects (e.g., due to cooling a smaller area). Standard firewall protection and lighting may be used in data centers. Compared with the prior art, the actual safety is improved.

The invention also provides further properties, e.g. measurable thermal ratios close to 1 can be obtained. The measurable thermal ratio (SHR) is the measurable cooling capacity QS divided by the total cooling capacity QT (SHR QS/QT). The measurable and total cooling capacity in the BTU is expressed as:

QS＝(T₁-T₂)×CFM×1.08

QT＝(H₁-H₂)×CFM×4.45

wherein, T₁Is the temperature of the gas entering the cooling element 216, T₂Is the temperature of the gas, H, removed from the cooling element 216₁Is the heat content, H, of the gas entering the cooling element 216₂Is the heat content of the gas exiting the cooling element 216, 1.08 is a constant that multiplies the transition increment temperature of standard air by BTU when multiplied by CFM, 4.45 is a constant that multiplies the transition increment heat capacity of standard air by BTU when multiplied by CFM, which is the amount of gas in cubic feet per minute (drawn into and exhausted from element 216, respectively). For example, at 36% RH (relative humidity), for increasing temperature T₁80 degrees Fahrenheit, increasing heat capacity H₁Is 27.82 but/lb, and at 95% relative humidity, a discharge temperature T of 50 degrees Fahrenheit₂And a heat capacity discharged H of 19.89 but/lb₂And SHR is about 0.92.

Having thus described, various alterations, modifications and improvements to at least one illustrated embodiment of the invention will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be within the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of example only, and not limiting. The invention is limited only by the following claims and equivalents thereto.

Claims (6)

1. A modular data center for housing and cooling electronic equipment, the data center comprising:

a plurality of racks, a first portion of the racks being configured to support the heat-generating electronic equipment and a second portion of the racks being configured to support the at least one cooling member, the first portion of each rack having a front side and a back side and being configured to support the heat-generating electronic equipment such that air is drawn into the heat-generating electronic equipment from the front side of the heat-generating electronic equipment and heated by the equipment into heated air, which is then exhausted from the back side of the rack by the heat-generating electronic equipment;

wherein the supports are arranged and coupled to form a horizontally enclosed array that horizontally encloses the hot zone and defines a top port that allows gas to be vertically exhausted from the hot zone;

wherein the back side of the first portion of the support is disposed adjacent the hot zone such that heated gas is discharged into the hot zone when the heat generating device is mounted to the support.

2. The data center of claim 1, further comprising at least one cooling element configured to draw heated gas from the hot zone into the at least one cooling element, cool the heated gas to become an opposing cooled gas, and discharge the heated gas from the at least one cooling element into a cold zone, the cold zone being separated from the hot zone by a support.

3. The data center of claim 2, wherein the at least one cooling element is configured to direct cooling gas toward a front surface of the first portion of the rack.

4. The data center of claim 3, wherein the at least one cooling element is configured to direct cooling gas to a bottom portion of the front face of the first portion of the rack.

5. The data center of claim 2, wherein the at least one cooling element is configured to cool the gas to approximately 72 degrees fahrenheit and exhaust the gas at the temperature.

6. The data center of claim 2, further comprising an uninterruptible power supply coupled to the at least one cooling element and configured to provide backup power to the at least one cooling element.