| Title |
CFD-based Comparison Study of Hot Aisle Containment and Cold Aisle Containment Solutions in High-density Data Centers |
| Authors |
Jinkyun Cho ; Wonbae Suh ; Jesang Woo |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.6110/KJACR.2020.32.9.419 |
| Keywords |
데이터센터; 공기분배시스템; IT공조환경; 열-복도차폐; 냉-복도차폐 Data center; Air distribution system; IT environment; Hot aisle containment; Cold aisle containment |
| Abstract |
High energy costs and spiking energy consumption rates have forced data centers to rethink cooling strategies. Although traditional cooling approaches, such as perimeter cooling through a raised floor plenum, are prevalent, containment approaches are gaining significant inroads. Hot aisle containment (HAC) and cold aisle containment (CAC) can improve the efficiency of legacy data center cooling and the air distribution systems. While both solutions mitigate the air recirculation and bypass, there are operational differences in application that have significant results on IT environment conditions and the thermal performance of cooling. Based on the computational fluid dynamics (CFD), the purpose of this study was to investigate the thermal performance of an air distribution system as compared to the two HAC and the CAC. By using the CFD models, the simulation and analysis were performed, with a focus on comparing the inlet air temperature distribution of rack servers based on the ASHRAE guideline. The selection of the HAC over the CAC can improve 43.2% in cooling system efficiency, corresponding to 15.9% reduction in the recirculation ratio. This paper analyzes the methods and highlights why HAC appears as the preferred solution. |