FILTER FOULING DETECTION USING COMPARATIVE TEMPERATURE RISE ANALYSIS
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method, comprising:
- measuring an actual temperature rise between first and second locations along an airflow path through a chassis, the chassis containing one or more heat-generating components in the airflow path and an air filter in the airflow path upstream of the heat-generating components, wherein the first location is upstream of the heat-generating components and the second location is downstream of the heat-generating components;
computing an expected temperature rise between the first and second locations as a function of both an expected airflow rate and a power consumption of the heat-generating components; and
automatically generating a first electronic alert in response to the difference between the actual temperature rise and the expected temperature rise exceeding a setpoint.
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Abstract
One embodiment involves detecting the fouling of an air filter used to filter airflow entering a computer system. An expected airflow rate is obtained from a current fan speed. An expected temperature rise between two positions is computed as a function of the expected airflow rate and the power consumption of heat-generating components, such as servers. An actual temperature rise is obtained from temperature sensors. An electronic alert is automatically generated in response to the actual temperature rise exceeding the expected temperature rise by a setpoint. Different setpoints may be used to trigger distinct electronic alerts.
24 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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measuring an actual temperature rise between first and second locations along an airflow path through a chassis, the chassis containing one or more heat-generating components in the airflow path and an air filter in the airflow path upstream of the heat-generating components, wherein the first location is upstream of the heat-generating components and the second location is downstream of the heat-generating components; computing an expected temperature rise between the first and second locations as a function of both an expected airflow rate and a power consumption of the heat-generating components; and automatically generating a first electronic alert in response to the difference between the actual temperature rise and the expected temperature rise exceeding a setpoint. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer program product including computer usable program code embodied on a computer usable storage medium, the computer program product including:
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computer usable program code for measuring an actual temperature rise between first and second locations along an airflow path through a chassis, the chassis containing one or more heat-generating components in the airflow path and an air filter in the airflow path upstream of the heat-generating components, wherein the first location is upstream of the heat-generating components and the second location is downstream of the heat-generating components; computer usable program code for computing an expected temperature rise between the first and second locations as a function of both an expected airflow rate and a power consumption of the heat-generating components; and computer usable program code for automatically generating a first electronic alert in response to the difference between the actual temperature rise and the expected temperature rise exceeding a setpoint. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer system, comprising:
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a chassis defining an airflow pathway; a blower module having a fan blade configured for generating airflow through the airflow pathway of the chassis at a known fan speed; a plurality of modular servers independently and removably inserted in the chassis within the airflow pathway; an air filter removably positioned in the airflow pathway upstream of the servers; a first temperature sensor positioned in the airflow pathway at a first location upstream of the servers and a second temperature sensor positioned in the airflow pathway at a second location downstream of the servers; a management module in communication with the first and second temperature sensors and the blower module, the management module configured for measuring an actual temperature rise as the difference between a temperature measured with the second temperature sensor and a temperature measured with the first temperature sensor, computing an expected temperature rise between the first and second locations as a function of both an expected airflow rate and a power consumption of the servers, and automatically generating a first electronic alert in response to the difference between the actual temperature rise and the expected temperature rise exceeding a setpoint. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification