JP2016070579A - Air conditioning system - Google Patents

Abstract

A technology for ensuring the reliability of an air conditioning system in a data center or the like at the time of a power failure is provided.
When a power failure occurs, the ICT device 6a is switched to the power supply from the UPS 9 side without interruption, whereby data processing is continued, and the server is urgently caused by livestock cooling heat in the cold water pipe W1. Room cooling is maintained. During this time, the temperature sensors S1 and S2 compare the cold water outlet temperature (Tr) of the air conditioner 5 with the engine cooling water tank 4 internal temperature (Tc). When Tr> Tc, the circulation pump P1 is stopped and the operation of the circulation pump P2 is started, whereby the cooling of the server room is maintained by the regenerative heat of the cooling water tank 4 for the cooling water system.
[Selection] Figure 1 (c)

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioning system technology that ensures air conditioning reliability of a data center or the like when power supply is unstable, such as a power failure.

Conventionally, in a data center, an engine power generator is installed as an emergency power source in order to ensure power supply quality (reliability) for the ICT device and the air conditioner.
For ICT devices that require a high level of reliability, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) having a capacity (backup time) corresponding to the required reliability is installed.

On the other hand, power supply backups for emergency power generators are generally used for heat source units, air conditioners, etc., but the server room temperature rise from engine startup to stable operation may not be negligible. In some cases, it has a dedicated cold storage heat exchanger.
In addition, as a system for ensuring the minimum air conditioning until the emergency power generator starts up in a data center, for example, a technique using a latent heat storage material has been proposed (Patent Document 1).

  Referring to FIG. 12, the air conditioning system 100 according to the above document is a system that cools the ICT device 105 accommodated in the server room 104. The calorific value per unit time of the ICT device is calculated in advance, and the total calorific value of the ICT device 105 from the occurrence of a power failure until the emergency power generator is activated is predicted. Then, the latent heat storage material 102 having a cold storage heat capacity corresponding to the predicted heat generation amount is placed in the cold air region of the air conditioner 101, and the latent heat storage material 102 is solidified by the cold air of the air conditioner 101 during normal operation. At the time of a power failure, the server 103 is cooled until the emergency power generator is activated by operating the fan 103 and blowing and melting the latent heat storage material 102 to release cold storage heat.

JP 2012-26620 A

However, a data center that accommodates a large number of high heat generation ICT devices has a narrow space for air conditioner equipment, and it is often difficult to secure an installation space for a dedicated regenerator.
Moreover, the system which installs a latent heat storage material in a double floor etc. also has the problem that an installation cost and a maintenance cost become large.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an air conditioning system that can use existing equipment and ensure air conditioning reliability when power supply is unstable in a data center air conditioning system. The gist of the present invention is as follows. That is, the air conditioning system according to the present invention is
(1) In an air conditioning system for supplying cold water produced by a heat source machine to a cooling target space via a cold water circulation pipe and cooling the cooling target space,
As an emergency power supply, equipped with a water-cooled engine power generator,
The engine power generator includes a cooling water tank for circulating and supplying engine cooling water, and
In a predetermined system operating condition, the regenerative heat of the cooling water storage water is configured to be supplied to the cooling target space.
It is characterized by that.

  The “cooling target space” refers to, for example, a data center / server room, and specifically, a heat exchanger provided in an indoor air conditioner (AHU), a fan coil unit (FCU), etc. disposed in the server room. Heat is exchanged between the cold water and the room air, and the room (cooling target space) is cooled.

(2) In the invention of (1), further comprising an emergency battery (UPS), wherein the predetermined system operating condition is during a power failure, and from the start of the engine power generator to stable operation It is characterized by being between.

(3) In the invention of (1), the predetermined system operating condition is a demand cut request.

(4) In each of the above inventions, when the cold water outlet temperature (Tr) of the cold water circulation pipe is higher than the cooling water tank storage temperature (Tc), the cold storage water of the cooling water tank storage water is supplied to the cooling target space. It is configured as described above.

(5) In each of the above inventions, the water stored in the cooling water trough can be cooled by the heat source unit during normal operation.

  According to each of the above inventions, it is possible to secure server room cooling in the event of an emergency such as the occurrence of a power failure, without being equipped with a dedicated regenerator or a latent heat storage material.

It is a figure showing composition of air-conditioning system 1 concerning a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the cold water circulation path | route at the time of normal operation of the air conditioning system. Similarly, it is a figure which shows the cold water circulation path | route until the engine electric power generating apparatus 3 at the time of a power failure reaches a steady operation state. It is a figure which shows the electric power feeding system of the air conditioning system. It is a figure which shows the cold water supply control flow at the time of the power failure generation of the air conditioning system. It is a figure which shows the electric power feeding system at the time of normal operation. It is a figure which shows the electric power feeding system of the state switched to the electric power feeding from UPS9. It is a figure which shows the electric power feeding system of the state which transferred to the cooling by the cold water in the cooling water tank. It is a figure which shows the electric power feeding system of the state switched to engine electric power feeding. It is a figure which shows the structure of the air conditioning system 20 which concerns on 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the cold water supply control flow at the time of the power failure generation of the air conditioning system. It is a figure which shows the structure of the air conditioning system 30 which concerns on 3rd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the air conditioning system 40 which concerns on 4th embodiment. It is a figure which shows the cold water circulation path | route when the cooling water tank temperature Tc at the time of normal operation of the air conditioning system 40 is below threshold value Th. Similarly, it is a figure which shows the cold water circulation path | route when the cooling water tank temperature Tc exceeds threshold value Th. It is a figure which shows the structure of the conventional air conditioning system.

  Hereinafter, each embodiment of the air-conditioning system according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 (a) to 11 (c). In order to avoid redundant explanation, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals in the respective drawings. Needless to say, the scope of the present invention is described in the claims and is not limited to the following embodiments.

(First embodiment)
This embodiment relates to an aspect of maintaining server room cooling when a power failure occurs.
<Air conditioning system configuration>
Referring to FIG. 1A, an air conditioning system 1 is arranged in a heat source machine (chiller) 2 that produces cold water and a server room 7, is supplied with cold water from the heat source machine 2, and is accommodated in a server rack 6. An air conditioner (AHU) 5 that cools the plurality of ICT devices 6a, an emergency engine power generator 3 that supplies power to the heat source device 2 and the ICT device 6a in the event of a power failure, and cooling water to the engine power generator 3 The cooling water tank 4 for this is provided as a main structure.

The cooling water tank 4 is provided with a cooling tower 4a for cooling the water stored in the cage, collects engine exhaust heat, transports it to the cooling tower 4a via the pipe W5, and cools it as cold water via the pipe W6. It is configured to return to the water tank 4.
The chilled water in the tub is joined to the chilled water pipes W1 and W2 via the circulation pump P2 and the chilled water pipes W3 and W4. It can be supplied.

<Cooled water circulation and server room cooling>
With reference to FIG.1 (b), the cold water produced with the heat-source equipment 2 at the time of normal operation is supplied to the air conditioner 5 via the cold water piping W1, and the server room 7 is cooled. The recovered exhaust heat from the server room 7 is returned to the heat source unit 2 via the cold water pipe W2, and is discarded into the atmosphere by heat exchange with the outside air.
The air conditioner 5 exchanges the high-temperature exhaust gas that is returned to the inside of the machine with cold water in the heat exchanger 5a to cool air, and sends it to the double floor 7a space by the blower fan 5b. The cold air sent to the server room 7 through the double floor 7a space is sucked into each server rack 6, cools each ICT device 6a, becomes high-temperature exhaust, and returns to the air conditioner 5 again.

<Power supply system configuration>
Referring to FIG. 2, the power supply system of the air conditioning system 1 includes a commercial power supply 8, an emergency engine power generation device 3, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) 9, and power supply to the heat source device 2 and the like at the time of a power failure. The system link device 8a is switched to the power supply system switching device 9a for switching the power supply to the UPS 9 side, and the power lines E1-E10 are connected between the devices.

Each of the UPSs 9 includes a battery, a rectifier, and an inverter (not shown) as main components, and is configured to be able to supply power to the ICT device 6a by switching the power supply system switching device 9a during a power failure. Further, the UPS 9 is configured to be able to supply power to the blower fan 5b of the air conditioner 5 and the main circulation pump P1 and the auxiliary circulation pump P2 in the chilled water pipe W4 path in the event of a power failure.
On the other hand, the heat source device 2, the cooling water tank 4, and the like are configured to receive power from the commercial power supply 8 side during normal times and from the engine power generation device 3 side during power outages by the system linkage device 8a.

<Control system configuration>
The power supply control at the time of a power failure of the air conditioning system 1 is performed by a command of a control unit (not shown), and as will be described later, the circulation pump P2 is operated based on the measured values of the temperature sensors S1 and S2 at the time of the power failure. The server room 7 is configured to be allowed to cool until the operation is started.
<Chilled water supply control during power outage>

The air conditioning system 1 is configured as described above. Next, an aspect of cold water supply control when a power failure occurs during the cooling operation of the air conditioning system 1 will be described.
Referring to FIG. 3, during normal operation, power is supplied to all devices and apparatuses by a commercial power supply (S101). When a power failure occurs (Y in S102), the engine power generator 3 is activated (S103). The power supply system in this case is shown in FIG.
Further, the power supply system switching device 9a switches the power supply from the UPS 9 side to the ICT device 6a without interruption. The same applies to the circulation pump P1 and the blower fan 5b (S104). As a result, the data processing is continued, and the server room cooling is maintained urgently by the stock cooling heat in the cold water pipe W1. The power supply system in this case is shown in FIG.

During this time, the temperature sensors S1 and S2 compare the air conditioner 5 cold water outlet temperature (Tr) with the engine cooling water tank 4 internal temperature (Tc) (S105). When Tr> Tc (Y in S105), it is determined that it is more effective to use the cold water in the cooling water tank 4, the circulation pump P1 is stopped, and the circulation pump P2 is started by power supply from the UPS 9 (S106). ). The power supply system in this case is shown in FIG. Thereby, about a cooling water system, as shown in FIG.1 (c), server room air_conditioning | cooling is maintained with the cold storage heat of the cooling water tank 4 (S107).
When N in S105, that is, Tr ≦ Tc, it is not effective to use the cold water in the cooling water tank 4, so that the cooling by the animal cooling heat in the cold water pipe W1 is continued.

From the start of the engine power generator 3 (S103) to the steady operation state (N in S108), the power supply from the UPS is continued. In S107, when Y, that is, when the steady operation state is reached, all devices are switched to engine power supply (S109). The power supply system in this case is shown in FIG.
Thereafter, the engine power supply is continued until the power supply is restored (N in S110). When the power supply is restored (Y in S110), the power supply is returned to the commercial power supply 8 (S111).

In addition, although this embodiment demonstrated cold water supply control when a power failure generate | occur | produces during air_conditionaing | cooling operation, it can respond similarly not only in this but in the case of demand cut (peak power suppression) execution, for example. In this case, the engine power generator 3 is not activated, and the server room is cooled by the regenerative heat of the cooling water tank 4 when the air conditioner 5 cold water outlet temperature (Tr)> the engine cooling water tank 4 internal temperature (Tc). .
The same applies to the following embodiments.

(Second embodiment)
Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. With reference to FIG. 8, the structure of the air conditioning system 20 which concerns on this embodiment differs from the above-mentioned air conditioning system 1 in the cooling mechanism of an engine cooling water tank. That is, in the air conditioning system 20, the engine exhaust heat is not cooled by the cooling tower, but is cooled by heat exchange with the cold water circulated and supplied from the heat source unit 2.
That is, the cooling water tank 21 of the air conditioning system 20 includes a heat exchanger 21a and W20 and W21 branching and joining the cold water pipes W1 and W2. With such a configuration, engine exhaust heat is recovered, and the temperature in the water tank can be always precooled to a predetermined temperature or lower.
Since the other configuration is the same as that of the air conditioning system 1 described above, a duplicate description is omitted.

  Next, aspects of power supply and server room cooling in the event of a power failure in the air conditioning system 20 will be described. Referring to FIG. 9, during normal operation, power is supplied to all devices and apparatuses by a commercial power supply (S201). Further, cold water circulation from the heat source device 2 is performed so that the water temperature in the cooling water tank 21 is maintained at a predetermined temperature or lower.

  When a power failure occurs (Y in S203), the engine power generator 3 is activated (S204). Further, the power supply system switching device 9a switches the power supply from the UPS 9 side to the ICT device 6a without interruption. The same applies to the circulation pump P1 and the blower fan 5a (S205). As a result, the data processing is continued, and the server room cooling is maintained urgently by the stock cooling heat in the cold water pipe W1.

Next, the circulation pump P1 is stopped, and the operation of the circulation pump P2 is started by power supply from the UPS 9 (S206). Thereby, about a cooling water system, server room cooling is maintained by the cold storage heat of the cooling water tank 4 (S207).
The flow after S208 is the same as the flow after S108 in FIG. 3 in the above-described embodiment.

(Third embodiment)
Furthermore, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. Referring to FIG. 10, the configuration of the air conditioning system 30 according to the present embodiment is different from the air conditioning systems 1 and 20 described above in the cooling mechanism of the engine cooling water tank. That is, the cooling water tank 31 of the air conditioning system 30 includes a heat exchanger 32 inside, and is connected to the cold water pipes W3 and W4. Since the other configuration is the same as that of the air conditioning system 1 described above, a duplicate description is omitted.
With such a configuration, in the event of an emergency such as a power outage, heat is indirectly exchanged with the water in the cold water pipes W1 and W2 through the heat exchanger 32 without directly circulating the water in the cooling water tank 31. is there.
By adopting this method, the water quality of the engine cooling water tank storage water does not necessarily have to be kept equal to the circulating cold water flowing in the cold water pipes W1 and W2, and there is an advantage in terms of maintenance and cost compared to the direct circulation supply method.
In addition, since the piping system is hermetically sealed in this method, there is an advantage that less conveyance power is required compared with the direct circulation supply method in which the piping system is opened.

(Fourth embodiment)
Furthermore, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. The present embodiment relates to a mode in which the cold water circulation path is changed in accordance with the cooling water temperature in the engine cooling water tank during normal operation.
Referring to FIG. 11A, the configuration of the air conditioning system 40 according to the present embodiment is different from that of the above-described air conditioning system 1 or the like in that the pipe W41 connecting the engine cooling water tank 4 and the return side cold water pipe W2 is connected to the cold water pipe. In addition to W4. On-off valve V41 is interposed in the pipe W41 path. In addition, an on-off valve V42 and a circulation pump P42 are interposed in the pipe W4 path. Further, an open / close valve V43 is interposed between the connection points 45 and 46 of the cold water pipe W2 and the pipe W41.
Since the other configuration is the same as that of the air conditioning system 1 described above, a duplicate description is omitted.

Next, the cold water circulation system at the time of normal operation of this embodiment will be described. During operation, the water temperature Tc in the cooling water tank 4 is measured by the temperature sensor S2.
Referring to FIG. 11B, when the water temperature Tc is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value (Th) (Tc ≦ Th), the on-off valves V41, V42 are closed, V43 is opened, and the circulation pump 41 is stopped. Thereby, the cold water manufactured with the heat-source equipment 2 circulates through the path | route of the thick line in the figure. In this case, the return side cold water does not pass through the cooling water tank 4.

Referring to FIG. 11C, when the water temperature Tc exceeds a predetermined threshold value (Th) (Tc> Th), the on-off valves V41, V42 are opened, the V43 is closed, and the circulation pump 41 is operated. Thereby, the return side cold water is returned to the heat source unit 2 via the inside of the cooling water tank 4.
By such control, the temperature in the cooling water tank can be maintained at a low temperature below a certain level, and it is possible to further improve the cooling capacity of the server room 7 until the engine power generation device 3 reaches stable operation at the time of a power failure. .

  In the present embodiment, similarly to the above-described embodiment, a heat exchanger is provided inside the cooling water tank, and the water in the cold water pipe is indirectly connected through the heat exchanger without directly circulating the water in the cooling water tank. It is also possible to adopt a mode in which heat exchange is performed.

1, 20, 30, 40 ... Air conditioning system 2 ... Heat source unit 3 ... Emergency engine power generator 4, 21, 31 ... Engine cooling water tank 5 ... Air conditioner 5a ... Heat exchanger 5b ... Blower fan 6a ... ICT device 7 ... Server room 8 ... Commercial power sources E1 to E10 ... Power lines P1, P2, P42 ... Circulation pumps S1, S2 ... Temperature sensors V41 to V43 ... Open / close valve

Claims (5)

In an air conditioning system for supplying cold water produced by a heat source machine to a cooling target space via a cold water circulation pipe and cooling the cooling target space,
As an emergency power supply, equipped with a water-cooled engine power generator,
The engine power generator includes a cooling water tank for circulating and supplying engine cooling water, and
In a predetermined system operating condition, the regenerative heat of the cooling water storage water is configured to be supplied to the cooling target space.
An air conditioning system characterized by that. Equipped with an emergency battery (UPS),
2. The air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined system operating condition is during a power failure and during a period from start of the engine power generation device to stable operation.   2. The air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined system operating condition is a demand cut request.   When the cold water temperature (Tr) of the cold water circulation pipe is higher than the cooling water tank storage temperature (Tc), the cooling water storage water is configured to supply cold storage heat to the cooling target space. The air conditioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   5. The air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein the water storage in the cooling water tank can be cooled by the heat source unit during normal operation.

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