| Title |
The Planning and Design of the Optimal Air Distribution System for IT Environments in (Internet) Data Centers |
| Authors |
Cho Jin-Kyun ; Jeong Cha-Su ; Kim Byung-Seon |
| Keywords |
Internet Data Center ; Air Distribution System ; IT Environment ; Hot/Cold Aisle ; CFD Simulation |
| Abstract |
A critical goal of a data center cooling system is to separate the equipment exhaust air from the equipment intake air in order to prevent equipment from overheating. This separation also significantly increases the efficiency and capacity of the cooling system. When equipment power density increases, the corresponding increase in exhaust air volume and intake air volume makes it more difficult to prevent equipment from drawing exhaust air from itself or neighboring equipment into its intake. Cooling systems for data centers are primarily differentiated in the way they distribute air. Air supply systems have 4, and air return systems have 3 different configurations which can be combined to create 12 basic types of cooling systems. But the 6 combinations of flooded and locally ducted distribution make up the vast majority of all installations except fully ducted air distribution methods. Once the air distribution system is selected, there are other elements that must be integrated into the system design. These include layout of racks in alternating rows, location of CRAC/CRAH units, quantity and location of vents, sizing of ductwork and proper internal configuration of racks. In this research, the design parameters and IT environmental aspects of cooling system were studied with a multi-megawatt data center. CFD simulation analysis was carried out in order to compare the heat removal efficiency combined with six types of air distribution systems by Star-CD simulation program. And IT environment of actual operating data center is surveyed. A method for planning and design of the appropriate air distribution system was described. IT professionals versed in precision air distribution mechanisms, components and configurations can work more effectively with HVAC/cooling engineers to ensure the specification and design of optimized cooling solutions. |