WATER-BASED DATA CENTER

• US 20090295167A1
• Filed: 04/28/2009
• Published: 12/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Clidaras, Jimmy, Stiver, David W.
• Granted Patent: US 8,853,872 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 290/55
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 13/20 wherein both members , i.e. wom and rem are movable relative to the sea bed or shore
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 15/00 Heat-exchange apparatus with the intermediate heat-transfer medium in closed tubes passing into or through the conduit walls ; Heat-exchange apparatus employing intermediate heat-transfer medium or bodies F28D17/00, F28D19/00, F28D20/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/20 Cooling means
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/1497 Rooms for data centers; Shipping containers therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/2079 within rooms for removing heat from cabinets
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/30 Energy from the sea, e.g. using wave energy or salinity gradient

Abstract

A system includes a cooling water intake conduit having a water intake in a submerged area of an open natural body of water, a first water-to-water heat exchanger having a first side in fluid communication with the cooling water intake conduit, and a closed water loop in fluid communication with a second side of the water-to-water heat exchanger and arranged to route water to cooling structures at a computer data center.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a cooling water intake conduit having a water intake in a submerged area of an open natural body of water;

a first water-to-water heat exchanger having a first side in fluid communication with the cooling water intake conduit; and

a closed water loop in fluid communication with a second side of the water-to-water heat exchanger and arranged to route water to cooling structures at a computer data center.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the cooling water intake conduit descends into the open natural body of water from a platform that is floating in the open natural body of water.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a water output port positioned to release water received in the cooling water intake conduit and passed through the water-to-water heat exchanger to the open natural body of water.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising one or more generators powered by natural movement of a fluid in an open environment and connected SO as to power computers in the computer datacenter.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising one or more rectifiers for producing direct current supply power from power supplied by the one or more electrical generators.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the one or more rectifiers provide power directly to computers in the data center without further DC-to-AC conversion of the power.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising one or more pumps to move water from the cooling water intake conduit and through the water-to-water heat exchanger.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein one or more pumps are located in the open natural body of water.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising one or more cooling towers in fluid communication with the first water-to-water heat exchanger, and arranged to cool water form the cooling water intake conduit that has been heated in the water-to-water heat exchanger.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a second water-to-water-heat exchanger in fluid communication with an output of the one or more cooling towers on a first side, and having a second side in fluid communication with a water loop that is arranged to route water to cooling structures at the computer data center.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a supplemental chiller cooling system to provide additional cooling when cooling water from the cooling water intake is insufficient to cool the data center.

12. A method of maintaining a computer data center, comprising:

drawing in cooling water from a sub-surface area of an open natural body of water;

pumping the cooling water through a first side of a first liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger; and

circulating water from a computer data center through a second side of the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger and to one or more cooling units at the computer data center.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the cooling water intake conduit descends into the open natural body of water from a platform that is floating in the open natural body of water.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising releasing water chilling water into the open natural body of water after passing the water through the first side of the water-to-water heat exchanger.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising generating power for computers in the computer data center from natural movement of a fluid in an open environment.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the natural movement of the fluid comprises movement of waves in the ocean.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising rectifying power from the one or more electrical generators and supplying the rectified power to the computer data center.

18. The method of claim 17, providing the rectified power directly to computers in the data center without further DC-to-AC conversion of the power.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising circulating the cooling water through one or more cooling towers in fluid communication with the first water-to-water heat exchanger, to cool the water.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising routing the cooling water through a second water-to-water-heat exchanger in fluid communication with an output of the one or more cooling towers on a first side, and circulating water through a second side of the second water-to-water heat exchanger and through cooling units at the data center.

21. A system, comprising:

a water or wind-powered electrical generation system;

one or more rectifiers to convert AC power from the electrical generation system to DC power; and

an electrical interface connected to a data center to provide the converted DC power to the data center without further DC-to-AC conversion.