Optimization of Enclosed Aisle Data Centers Using Bypass Recirculation

2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin W. Demetriou ◽  
H. Ezzat Khalifa
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Data Center ◽  
Data Centers ◽  
Total Power ◽  
Total Energy Consumption ◽  
Air Conditioners ◽  
Data Center Cooling ◽  
Flow Through

The work presented in this paper describes a simplified thermodynamic model that can be used for exploring optimization possibilities in air-cooled data centers. The model is used to evaluate parametrically the total energy consumption of the data center cooling infrastructure for data centers that utilize aisle containment. The analysis highlights the importance of reducing the total power required for moving the air within the computer room air conditioners (CRACs), the plenum, and the servers, rather than focusing primarily or exclusively on reducing the refrigeration system’s power consumption. In addition, the benefits of introducing a bypass recirculation branch in enclosed aisle configurations are shown. The analysis shows a potential for as much as a 60% savings in cooling infrastructure energy consumption by utilizing an optimized enclosed aisle configuration with bypass recirculation, instead of a traditional enclosed aisle in which all the data center exhaust is forced to flow through the CRACs. Furthermore, computational fluid dynamics is used to evaluate practical arrangements for implementing bypass recirculation in raised floor data centers. A configuration where bypass tiles, with controllable low-lift fans, are placed close to the discharge of CRACs results in increased mixing and is shown to be a suitable method for providing nearly thermally uniform conditions to the inlet of the servers in an enclosed cold aisle. Other configurations of bypass implementation are also discussed and explored.

Energy Modeling of Air-Cooled Data Centers: Part I—The Optimization of Enclosed Aisle Configurations

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin W. Demetriou ◽  
H. Ezzat Khalifa
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Power Consumption ◽  
Temperature Rise ◽  
Data Center ◽  
Data Centers ◽  
Total Power ◽  
Optimum Operating ◽  
Cooling Power ◽  
Inlet Temperature ◽  
Total Energy Consumption

The work presented in this paper describes a simplified thermodynamic model that can be used for exploring optimization possibilities in air-cooled data centers. The model is used to parametrically evaluate the total energy consumption of the data center cooling infrastructure for data centers that utilize aisle containment. The analysis highlights the importance of reducing the total power required for moving the air within the CRACs, the plenum, and the servers, rather than focusing primarily or exclusively on reducing the refrigeration system’s power consumption and shows the benefits of bypass recirculation in enclosed aisle configurations. The analysis shows a potential for as much as a 57% savings in cooling infrastructure energy consumption by utilizing an optimized enclosed aisle configuration with bypass recirculation, instead of a traditional enclosed aisle, where all the data center exhaust is forced to flow through the computer room air conditioners (CRACs), for racks with a modest temperature rise (∼10°C). However, for racks with larger temperature rise (> ∼20°C), the saving are less than 5%. Furthermore, for servers whose fan speed (flow rate) varies as a function of inlet temperature, the analysis shows that the optimum operating regime for enclosed aisle data centers falls within a very narrow band and that power reductions are possible by lowering the uniform server inlet temperature in the enclosed aisle from 27°C to 22°C. However, the optimum CRAC exit temperature over the 22-to-27°C range of enclosed cold aisle temperature falls between ∼16 and 20°C because a significant reduction in the power consumption is possible through the use of bypass recirculation. Without bypass recirculation, the power consumption for a server inlet temperature of 22°C enclosed aisle case with a server temperature rise of 10°C would be a whopping 43% higher than with bypass recirculation. It is worth noting that, without bypass recirculation maintaining the enclosed cold aisle at 22°C instead of 27°C would reduce power consumption by 48%. It is also shown that enclosing the aisles together with bypass recirculation (when beneficial) also reduces the dependence of the optimum cooling power on server temperature rise.

Data Center Cooling Efficiency With Simulation-Based Optimization

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent M. Billet ◽  
Christopher M. Healey ◽  
James W. VanGilder ◽  
Zachary M. Pardey
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Data Center ◽  
Data Centers ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Economic Importance ◽  
Cooling Efficiency ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
Data Center Cooling ◽  
Efficient Control

The efficient control of cooling for data centers is an issue of broad economic importance due to the significant energy consumption of data centers. Many solutions attempt to optimize the control of the cooling equipment with temperature, pressure, or airflow sensors. We propose a simulation-based approach to optimize the cooling energy consumption and show how this approach can be implemented with simple power-consumption models. We also provide a real-life case study to demonstrate how energy saving cooling setpoints can be found using calibrated simulations and smooth metamodels of the system.

Review on Cooling System Energy Consumption in Internet Data Centers

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (04) ◽  
pp. 1630008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kofi Owura Amoabeng ◽  
Jong Min Choi
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Data Center ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Data Centers ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
High Heat ◽  
Total Energy Consumption ◽  
It Industry ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Conventional Cooling

Due to the advancement of the telecommunication and information technology (IT) industry, internet data centers (IDCs) have become widespread in the public and private sectors. As such, energy demand in the center has also become increasingly prominent. Several technologies on energy management have been studied to determine the options available to minimize the energy required to operate the data center as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The cooling system is required to remove the high heat dissipated by the IT electronic components especially the servers in order to ensure safe and reliable working condition. However, it utilizes more than one-third of the total energy consumption in the data center. In this study, the energy efficiency technologies that are usually applied to cooling systems in data centers were reviewed. The aim is to find out the strategies that will reduce the energy consumption of the cooling system since the cooling demand in data center is all year round. Prior to that, the performance metric tool that is mostly used in analyzing data center efficiency was discussed. The conventional cooling system technologies that are utilized in data centers were also provided. Lastly, innovative cooling technologies for future solutions in data centers were discussed.

Theoretical and Empirical Energy Impacts of Economization in Data Centers

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Comperchio ◽  
Sameer Behere
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Data Center ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Data Centers ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Close Monitoring ◽  
Direct Expansion ◽  
System Architectures ◽  
Air Conditioners

Data center energy consumption can be divided into three broad categories: Information Technology (IT), Electrical, and Mechanical. An efficient data center uses the least amount of non-IT energy, which is typically divided between the mechanical and electrical systems. Mechanical systems generally contribute a large portion of the non-IT energy use by providing cooling from compressor-based equipment [1,2] and because of this, strategies to reduce compressor energy consumption can lead to significant mechanical system energy savings. The most efficient way to reduce compressor energy is through elimination or significant reduction in annual runtime. This is possible with the use of integrated airside or waterside economizers. This paper demonstrates the impacts of economization in data centers through data collected from four operating facilities over the course of implementing various economizer improvement projects. System architectures include water-cooled centrifugal chiller plant with waterside economization, direct expansion air handling units (AHU) with airside economization, air-cooled centrifugal chillers with integrated waterside economization, and direct expansion computer room air conditioners (CRAC) with evaporative cooling and waterside economization. A systematic and methodical comparison of the baseline and post-conditions is discussed, comparing expected to observed economizer operating conditions. The comparison of multiple real-world scenarios revealed a range of variances in expected operation of economizer sequences to actual observations, indicating a need for close monitoring of system performance by data center operators to fully realize economizer benefits within facilities.

Dynamic Control of Airflow Balance in Data Centers

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Paul Linder ◽  
Jim Van Gilder ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Enda Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Total Energy ◽  
Pressure Sensor ◽  
Data Center ◽  
Data Centers ◽  
Dynamic Control ◽  
Air Pressure ◽  
Cooling Efficiency ◽  
Total Energy Consumption ◽  
Flow Network

Abstract Efficient cooling of data center infrastructure is an important way to reduce total energy consumption. Containment, with separation of hot and cold airflows has allowed significant increase in efficiencies. However, balancing the airflow, so that IT equipment in an aisle only receives the cooling airflow that that aisle needs is still often not done. We propose a new architecture where IT racks are clustered together with shared hot aisles ducted to a common ceiling plenum. Each aisle has an actively controlled damper used to balance the airflow to the cooling infrastructure. Using a differential air pressure sensor in each aisle and an algorithm designed to balance the flow network, we minimize the cooling airflow and maximize cooling efficiency.

Energy Modeling of Air-Cooled Data Centers: Part II—The Effect of Recirculation on the Energy Optimization of Open-Aisle, Air-Cooled Data Centers

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin W. Demetriou ◽  
H. Ezzat Khalifa
Keyword(s):  
Power Consumption ◽  
Temperature Rise ◽  
Data Center ◽  
Data Centers ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Optimal Operation ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
Total Energy Consumption ◽  
Air Supply ◽  
Data Center Cooling

The work presented in this paper describes a simplified thermodynamic model that can be used for exploring optimization possibilities in air-cooled data centers. The model has been used to identify optimal, energy-efficient designs, operating scenarios, and operating parameters such as flow rates and air supply temperature. The model is used to parametrically evaluate the total energy consumption of the data center cooling infrastructure, by considering changes in the server temperature rise. The results of this parametric analysis highlight the important features that need to be considered when optimizing the operation of air-cooled data centers, especially the trade-off between low air supply temperature and increased air flow rate. The analysis is used to elucidate the deleterious effect of temperature non-uniformity at the inlet of the racks on the data center cooling infrastructure power consumption. A recirculation non-uniformity metric, θ, is introduced, which is the ratio of the maximum recirculation of any server to the average recirculation of all servers. The analysis of open-aisle data centers shows that as the recirculation non-uniformity at the inlet of the racks increases, optimal operation tends toward lower recirculation and higher power consumption; stressing the importance of providing as uniform conditions to the racks as possible. Cooling infrastructure energy savings greater than 40% are possible for a data center with uniform recirculation (θ = 0) compared to a data center with a typical recirculation non-uniformity (θ = 4). It is also revealed that servers with a modest temperature rise (∼10°C) have a wider latitude for cooling optimization than those with a high temperature rise (≥20°C).

On the Computations of Flow Regimes and Thermal Patterns in Large Scale High Compute Density Data Centers

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Essam E. Khalil ◽  
Mena H. Aziz
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics ◽  
High Power ◽  
Data Center ◽  
Power Dissipation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Data Centers ◽  
Computer Systems ◽  
Cfd Modelling ◽  
Density Data

High power dissipation from microprocessors, support chips, memory chips and mass storage has resulted in large overall power dissipation from computer systems. The deployment of these computer systems in large numbers and in very dense configurations in a data center had resulted in very high power densities at room level. These computer systems are deployed in a rack. A standard 2-meter high rack can accommodate an equivalent of 34 thin desktop systems. If the maximum power dissipation from each system is 300W, a single rack in a data center can be assumed to dissipate 7.2 KW. A data center can have hundreds of these 7.2 KW racks. Due to such high heat loads, designing the air conditioning system in a data center using simple energy balance is no longer adequate. Moreover, the data center design cannot rely on intuitive design of air distribution. It is necessary to model the airflow and temperature distribution in a data center. In this paper, a computational fluid dynamics model of a prototype data center is presented to make the case for such modeling. The present paper is devoted to investigate the air flow patterns, temperatures and relative humidity in large compute density data centers. Computational fluid dynamics software is utilized to simulate the data center flow pattern. The paper used the simulation techniques as embedded in the commercially available CFD code (FLUENT 6.2). The CFD modelling techniques solved the continuity, momentum and energy conservation equations in addition to standard k–ε model equations for turbulence closure.

scholarly journals Energy Recovery Potential in Industrial and Municipal Wastewater Networks Using Micro-Hydropower in Spain

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 691
Author(s):  
Aida Mérida García ◽  
Juan Antonio Rodríguez Díaz ◽  
Jorge García Morillo ◽  
Aonghus McNabola
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Total Energy ◽  
Energy Recovery ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Distribution Networks ◽  
Total Power ◽  
Energy Potential ◽  
Total Energy Consumption ◽  
Recovery Potential

The use of micro-hydropower (MHP) for energy recovery in water distribution networks is becoming increasingly widespread. The incorporation of this technology, which offers low-cost solutions, allows for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions linked to energy consumption. In this work, the MHP energy recovery potential in Spain from all available wastewater discharges, both municipal and private industrial, was assessed, based on discharge licenses. From a total of 16,778 licenses, less than 1% of the sites presented an MHP potential higher than 2 kW, with a total power potential between 3.31 and 3.54 MW. This total was distributed between industry, fish farms and municipal wastewater treatment plants following the proportion 51–54%, 14–13% and 35–33%, respectively. The total energy production estimated reached 29 GWh∙year−1, from which 80% corresponded to sites with power potential over 15 kW. Energy-related industries, not included in previous investigations, amounted to 45% of the total energy potential for Spain, a finding which could greatly influence MHP potential estimates across the world. The estimated energy production represented a potential CO2 emission savings of around 11 thousand tonnes, with a corresponding reduction between M€ 2.11 and M€ 4.24 in the total energy consumption in the country.

scholarly journals A Simple Transient Poiseuille-Based Approach to Mimic the Womersley Function and to Model Pulsatile Blood Flow

Dynamics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-17
Author(s):  
Andrea Natale Impiombato ◽  
Giorgio La Civita ◽  
Francesco Orlandi ◽  
Flavia Schwarz Franceschini Zinani ◽  
Luiz Alberto Oliveira Rocha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Blood Flow ◽  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Quadratic Function ◽  
Pulsatile Blood Flow ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Simplified Analysis ◽  
Function Models ◽  
Flow Reversals

As it is known, the Womersley function models velocity as a function of radius and time. It has been widely used to simulate the pulsatile blood flow through circular ducts. In this context, the present study is focused on the introduction of a simple function as an approximation of the Womersley function in order to evaluate its accuracy. This approximation consists of a simple quadratic function, suitable to be implemented in most commercial and non-commercial computational fluid dynamics codes, without the aid of external mathematical libraries. The Womersley function and the new function have been implemented here as boundary conditions in OpenFOAM ESI software (v.1906). The discrepancy between the obtained results proved to be within 0.7%, which fully validates the calculation approach implemented here. This approach is valid when a simplified analysis of the system is pointed out, in which flow reversals are not contemplated.

Characterization of an Isolated Hybrid Cooled Server With Failure Scenarios Using Warm Water Cooling

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uschas Chowdhury ◽  
Manasa Sahini ◽  
Ashwin Siddarth ◽  
Dereje Agonafer ◽  
Steve Branton
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Data Centers ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Warm Water ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Inlet Temperature ◽  
Cooling Efficiency ◽  
Water Cooling ◽  
Liquid Cooling ◽  
Total Energy Consumption

Modern day data centers are operated at high power for increased power density, maintenance, and cooling which covers almost 2 percent (70 billion kilowatt-hours) of the total energy consumption in the US. IT components and cooling system occupy the major portion of this energy consumption. Although data centers are designed to perform efficiently, cooling the high-density components is still a challenge. So, alternative methods to improve the cooling efficiency has become the drive to reduce the cooling cost. As liquid cooling is more efficient for high specific heat capacity, density, and thermal conductivity, hybrid cooling can offer the advantage of liquid cooling of high heat generating components in the traditional air-cooled servers. In this experiment, a 1U server is equipped with cold plate to cool the CPUs while the rest of the components are cooled by fans. In this study, predictive fan and pump failure analysis are performed which also helps to explore the options for redundancy and to reduce the cooling cost by improving cooling efficiency. Redundancy requires the knowledge of planned and unplanned system failures. As the main heat generating components are cooled by liquid, warm water cooling can be employed to observe the effects of raised inlet conditions in a hybrid cooled server with failure scenarios. The ASHRAE guidance class W4 for liquid cooling is chosen for our experiment to operate in a range from 25°C – 45°C. The experiments are conducted separately for the pump and fan failure scenarios. Computational load of idle, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70% and 98% are applied while powering only one pump and the miniature dry cooler fans are controlled externally to maintain constant inlet temperature of the coolant. As the rest of components such as DIMMs & PCH are cooled by air, maximum utilization for memory is applied while reducing the number fans in each case for fan failure scenario. The components temperatures and power consumption are recorded in each case for performance analysis.

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