Data Centre Cooling Systems

• US 20130062047A1
• Filed: 05/25/2011
• Published: 03/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bripco BVBA
• Original Assignee: Bripco BVBA
• Inventors: Vaney, Nick, Kingham, Tom, Britton, Simon
• Granted Patent: US 9,930,812 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 165/287
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20745 within rooms for removing heat from cabinets, e.g. by air conditioning device
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20836 Thermal management, e.g. server temperature control

Abstract

A method of cooling a data centre having at least one hot aisle (145) and at least one cold aisle (144), including the steps of producing cooling air having controlled to have temperature and relative humidity within certain pre-defined limits; supplying the cooling air to a plurality of items of IT equipment (143) located in the data centre between the cold aisle and the hot aisle; measuring the velocity of air flowing from the hot aisle to the cold aisle through an opening (150) between the hot aisle and the cold aisle; and controlling the rate of supply of cooling air to the items of IT equipment in dependence on the velocity of air so measured.

Claims

1-41. -41. (canceled)

42. A method of cooling a data centre having at least one hot region and at least one cold region, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

producing cooling air controlled to have temperature and relative humidity within certain pre-defined limits;

supplying the cooling air, by means of an over-floor air duct, to a plurality of items of IT equipment located between the cold region and the hot region;

measuring the air flow rate from the cold region to the hot region through an opening between the hot region and the cold region, and

controlling the rate of supply of cooling air to the items of IT equipment in dependence on the air flow rate so measured.

43. A method according to claim 42, wherein the method further comprises the steps of producing cooling air at a first rate and subsequently producing cooling air at a second rate.

44. A method according to claim 42, wherein the cooling air is produced by one or more fans, including at least one variable speed fan.

45. A method according to claim 42, wherein the method further comprises the step of passing cooling air through an aperture of a first effective size, adjusting the size of the aperture to a second effective size, and subsequently passing the cooling air through the aperture of the second effective size.

46. A method according to claim 45, wherein the aperture is located upstream of the IT equipment and downstream of the apparatus used to produce the cooling air.

47. A method according to claim 45, wherein the step of controlling the rate of supply of cooling air includes varying the size of the aperture in dependence on the air flow rate through the opening.

48. A method according to claim 45, wherein the step of controlling the rate of supply of cooling air includes varying the rate of production of cooling air in dependence on the size of the aperture and on the air flow rate through the opening.

49. A method according to claim 42, wherein the method includes the step of controlling the rate of supply of cooling air to the IT equipment in dependence on at least one criterion concerning the air flow rate through the opening.

50. A method according to claim 49, wherein the method is performed such that if the air flow rate through the opening is below a first pre-set level, the size of an aperture through which cooling air passes is increased.

51. A method according to claim 49, wherein the method is performed such that if the air flow rate through the opening is below the first pre-set level and the size of an aperture through which cooling air passes has been increased to its operational maximum size, the rate at which cooling air is produced is increased.

52. A method according to claim 49, wherein the method is performed such that if the air flow rate through the opening is above a second pre-set level, the rate at which cooling air is produced is reduced.

53. A method according to claim 49, wherein the method is performed such that if the air flow rate through the opening is above the second pre-set level, and the rate at which cooling air is produced has been reduced to its operational minimum, the size of an aperture through which cooling air passes is reduced.

54. A method according to claim 42, wherein the IT equipment is arranged so that substantially all of the cooling air passes through the IT equipment along air flow paths internal to the items of IT equipment.

55. A method according to claim 49, wherein the data centre has a plurality of hot regions and cold regions, each of the plurality of cold regions being fed with cooling air via a dedicated variably sized aperture, and wherein the method comprises the steps of:

measuring a first air flow rate through a first opening between a first hot region and a first cold region;

measuring a second air flow rate through a second opening between a second hot region and a second cold region; and

supplying cooling air to IT equipment, on the one hand, between the first hot region and the first cold region and, on the other hand, between the second hot region and the second cold region, in dependence on the first and second measured air flow rates.

56. A method according to claim 55, wherein the method is performed such that

if the air flow rate through the first opening or the second opening is below the first pre-set level, the size of the aperture associated with the cold region connected to that opening is increased;

and

if the air flow rate through the first opening or the second opening is below the first pre-set level and the size of the aperture associated with the cold region connected to that opening has been increased to its operational maximum size, the rate at which cooling air is produced is increased.

57. A method according to claim 55, wherein the method is performed such that if the air flow rate through one of the first opening and the second opening is above the second pre-set level and the size of the aperture associated with the cold region connected to the other of the first opening and the second opening is not at its operational maximum size, the rate at which cooling air is produced is decreased.

58. A method according to claim 55, wherein the method is performed such that if the air flow rate through one of the first opening and the second opening is above the second pre-set level and the size of the aperture associated with the cold region connected to the other of the first opening and the second opening is at its operational maximum size, the size of the aperture associated with the cold region connected to the opening through which the air flow rate is above the second pre-set level is reduced.

59. A method according to claim 55, wherein the method is performed such that if the air flow rate through the first opening and the second opening is above the second pre-set level, the rate at which cooling air is produced is decreased.

60. A method according to claim 42, wherein the method includes a step of defining a maximum rate of production of cooling air in dependence on one or more characteristics of the IT equipment, and wherein cooling air is produced at a rate less than or equal to this maximum rate.

61. A method according to claim 42, wherein the cooling air is produced from supply air, the supply air comprising:

ambient air from outside the data centre, or

air exhausted by the IT equipment in the data centre, or

a mixture of ambient air and exhaust air;

and wherein how much, if any, ambient air and how much, if any, exhaust air the supply air comprises is controlled in dependence on the temperature and relative humidity of the ambient air.

62. A method according to claim 61, wherein cooling air is produced by adjusting the temperature and relative humidity of the supply air to be within the pre-defined limits by any one of mechanical cooling, adiabatic cooling, or a combination of mechanical and adiabatic cooling.

63. A method according to claim 62, wherein how much, if any, mechanical cooling, and how much, if any, adiabatic cooling is used to adjust the temperature and relative humidity of the supply air to within the pre-defined limits is controlled in dependence on the temperature and relative humidity of the outside air.

64. A method of cooling a data centre with cooling air, wherein the method comprises the following steps:

(a) defining criteria for the temperature and relative humidity of the cooling air, wherein the criteria are a range of temperatures and a range of humidities;

(b) determining the temperature and relative humidity of ambient air from outside the data centre;

(c) determining a set point for each of the temperature and relative humidity of cooling air, the set point satisfying the criteria defined in step (a) and being chosen in dependence on the temperature and relative humidity of the ambient air;

(d) producing cooling air having temperature and relative humidity substantially equal to those set points; and

(e) delivering the cooling air to a region in the data centre to be cooled.

65. A method according to claim 64, wherein the method further comprises the following steps:

(f) removing exhaust air from the region of the building to be cooled, the exhaust air including air heated as a result of heat exchange between the cooling air and the region in the building to be cooled; and

(g) choosing how much, if any, of the exhaust air and how much, if any, of the ambient air are used during step (c) to produce the cooling air in dependence on the temperature and relative humidity of the ambient air.

66. A method according to claim 64, wherein the criteria defined in step (a) defines a single line when represented on a psychrometric chart.

67. A method according to claim 64, wherein step (d) includes a first stage of producing cooling air having relative humidity higher than the set point for the relative humidity of cooling air and temperature lower than the set point for the temperature of cooling air, and a second stage of raising the temperature and lowering the relative humidity of the cooling air so produced, by passing it through a fan, so that the temperature and relative humidity are substantially equal to the set points for the temperature and relative humidity of cooling air.

68. A computer program comprising computer program code means adapted to perform the method of claim 64 when said program is run on a programmable controller.

69. Apparatus for supplying cooling air to a plurality of items of IT equipment in a data centre having at least one hot region and at least one cold region, wherein the apparatus comprises

an opening between the hot region and the cold region;

an air flow sensor located in said opening for measuring the rate at which air passes through the opening;

a source of cooling air, the cooling air having temperature and relative humidity within certain pre-defined limits, and

an adjustably sized aperture located upstream of the IT equipment and downstream of the source of cooling air;

wherein the apparatus is arranged such that the rate at which the cooling air is supplied to the IT equipment depends on the velocity measured by the sensor.

70. Apparatus according to claim 69, wherein the opening is a one-way duct.

71. A control system for a source of cooling air for cooling IT equipment in a data centre, wherein the control system includes

an input for receiving information about the temperature and relative humidity of ambient air outside the data centre;

memory for storing pre-loaded criteria for the relative humidity and temperature of the cooling air, said criteria covering a range of temperatures and a range of humidities, and

a processor for;

(a) determining a set point for each of the temperature and relative humidity of the cooling air in view of the pre-loaded criteria and the information received about the temperature and relative humidity of the ambient air;

(b) determining how much, if any, of the exhaust air and how much, if any, of the ambient air are used by the source of cooling air to produce cooling air having temperature and relative humidity substantially equal to the set points, in view of the information received about the temperature and relative humidity of the ambient air; and

(c) determining how much, if any, mechanical cooling and how much, if any, adiabatic cooling is used by the source of cooling air to produce cooling air having temperature and relative humidity substantially equal to the set points,

wherein the processor performs operations (a), (b) and (c) in view of the information received about the temperature and relative humidity of the ambient air.

72. Software adapted to perform steps (a), (b) and (c) in the method of claim 71 when said software is installed onto the memory of the control system.