Thermal Management and HVAC Analysis Inside a Data Center

AIM: Thermal Management and HVAC Analysis Inside a Data Center.

Introduction:

CRAC:

A computer room air conditioning (CRAC) unit is a device that monitors and maintains the temperature, air distribution and humidity in a network room or data centre. One CRAC setup that has been successful is the process of cooling air and having it dispensed through an elevated floor. The air rises through the perforated sections, forming cold aisles. The cold air flows through the racks where it picks up heat before exiting from the rear of the racks. The warm exit air forms hot aisles behind the racks, and the hot air returns to the CRAC intakes, which are positioned above the floor.

PDU:

A PDU, or Power Distribution Unit, is a device used in data centres to control and distribute electric power.

A rack-mounted PDU mounts directly into the equipment rack so it can monitor and control the power supply to specific servers, switches, and other data center devices and assist in balancing power loads. These PDUs can be described by several different names including 'Smart' or Intelligent PDUs.

Simulation Setup:

Steady-State Simulation. Radiation Off. Ideal Gas Law for Density. 1000 Iterations. Zero Equation Turbulence Model. Gravity Enabled

Geometry and Meshing-

Results:

Red Hot-Spot having a temperature of 29.3 Degree Celcius in high-density center.

Velocity Vector Coloured With Temperature-

Particle Traces-

Iso-Surface for 15 C (Blue) and 27 C (Orange). Orange iso-surfaces shows hot spots in the data centre.

Conclusion:

Simulation results shows the expected Airflow path and temperature regions as seen in the "Velocity Vector Coloured With Temperature" image.