| Title |
An Experimental Comparison Study on the Thermal Performance of Hot- and Cold-Aisle Containment Systems for Data Center Cooling |
| Authors |
Jinkyun Cho ; Woosin Choi ; Seungmin Jang ; Jaehyung Lee ; Chihyeon Park ; Seunghwan Lee |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.6110/KJACR.2021.33.4.165 |
| Keywords |
데이터센터; IT 공조환경; 열복도 차폐; 냉복도 차폐; 현장측정; 성능평가지표 Data center; IT environment; Hot aisle containment; Cold aisle containment; Site measurement; Evaluation metrics |
| Abstract |
With the increased awareness of data center cooling and its energy cost impact, the hot aisle containment (HAC) system and the cold aisle containment (CAC) system are considered to be two of the most prominent techniques for IT environment control. This study investigated the thermal performance of the two systems in an experimental test, analyzing the thermal environment based on the inlet and outlet air temperature distribution according to the type of IT equipment. The filed measurements show that the HAC is more effective at cooling the IT equipment. The supply air temperature of the HAC system can be raised by 2.0℃, but the IT operation environment will be similar to that of the CAC system. The distributions of SHI and RHI of the HAC system were higher than those of the CAC system by 17.4% and 14.8%, respectively. Moreover, RTI was improved by 26.1%. This paper analyzes both systems and highlights the reasons why HAC is often the preferred solution. Even though the HAC could maintain a more stable IT environment than the CAC, the air distribution efficiency still operated imperfectly with losses in the distribution path and a mixing of hot and cold air. The development of a prototype of a fully air containment system could be a possible future development, as it could improve the two systems we tested and result in a lower risk of air recirculation and bypass. |