AIR-SIDE ECONOMIZER FACILITATING LIQUID-BASED COOLING OF AN ELECTRONICS RACK

• US 20130068423A1
• Filed: 11/14/2012
• Published: 03/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: CAMPBELL, Levi A., CHU, Richard C., DAVID, Milnes P., ELLSWORTH, Michael J. Jr., SCHMIDT, Roger R., SIMONS, Robert E., IYENGAR, Madhusudan K.
• Granted Patent: US 8,966,922 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 165/104.14
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20136 Forced ventilation, e.g. by fans H05K7/202 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20209 Thermal management, e.g. fan control
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20236 by immersion
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/203 by immersion
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20745 within rooms for removing heat from cabinets, e.g. by air conditioning device
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20781 within cabinets for removing heat from server blades

Abstract

A cooling apparatus and method are provided for cooling an electronic subsystem of an electronics rack. The cooling apparatus includes a local cooling station, which has a liquid-to-air heat exchanger and ducting for directing a cooling airflow across the heat exchanger. A cooling subsystem is associated with the electronic subsystem of the rack, and includes either a housing facilitating immersion cooling of electronic components of the electronic subsystem, or one or more liquid-cooled structures providing conductive cooling to the electronic components of the electronic subsystem. A coolant loop couples the cooling subsystem to the liquid-to-air heat exchanger of the local cooling station. In operation, heat is transferred via circulating coolant from the electronic subsystem and rejected in the liquid-to-air heat exchanger of the local cooling station to the cooling airflow passing across the liquid-to-air heat exchanger. In one embodiment, the cooling airflow is outdoor air.

Claims

1. A method of cooling at least one electronic subsystem of an electronics rack, the method comprising:

obtaining a cooling apparatus comprising;

a local cooling station, the local cooling station comprising;

a liquid-to-air heat exchanger; and

ducting for directing cooling airflow across the liquid-to-air heat exchanger;

a least one cooling subsystem for association with the at least one electronic subsystem, one cooling subsystem of the at least one cooling subsystem to provide cooling to a respective electronic subsystem of the at least one electronic subsystem, the one cooling subsystem comprising at least one of a housing facilitating immersion cooling of one or more electronic components of the respective electronic subsystem, or a liquid-cooled structure providing conductive cooling of one or more electronic components of the respective electronic subsystem; and

at least one coolant loop for coupling the one cooling subsystem to the liquid-to-air heat exchanger of a respective local cooling station;

disposing the electronics rack and a respective local cooling station adjacent to each other, and employing the one coolant loop to couple in fluid communication the one cooling subsystem associated with the respective electronic subsystem and the liquid-to-air heat exchanger of the respective local cooling station; and

establishing cooling airflow through the ducting and across the liquid-to-air heat exchanger, and circulation of coolant through the liquid-to-air heat exchanger, the coolant loop and the one cooling subsystem, wherein heat is transferred via the circulating coolant from the respective electronic subsystem and rejected in the liquid-to-air heat exchanger of the respective local cooling station to the cooling airflow passing across the liquid-to-air heat exchanger.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronics rack comprises multiple electronic subsystems, and the cooling apparatus comprises multiple cooling subsystems, each cooling subsystem being associated with a respective electronic subsystem of the multiple electronic subsystems, and wherein the at least one coolant loop couples the multiple cooling subsystems to the liquid-to-air heat exchanger of the respective local cooling station, the at least one coolant loop facilitating circulation of coolant between the multiple cooling subsystems and the liquid-to-air heat exchanger of the respective local cooling station, and wherein heat is transferred via the circulating coolant from the multiple cooling subsystems and rejected in the liquid-to-air heat exchanger of the respective local cooling station to the cooling airflow passing across the liquid-to-air heat exchanger.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the cooling airflow comprises outdoor air drawn into the cooling apparatus.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the cooling apparatus further comprises a cooling airflow supply plenum and an airflow exhaust plenum, the ducting of the at least one local cooling station being coupled to the cooling airflow supply plenum and to the airflow exhaust plenum, and the ducting receiving cooling airflow from the cooling airflow supply plenum, directing the cooling airflow across the liquid-to-air heat exchanger, and exhausting heated airflow from the liquid-to-air heat exchanger to the airflow exhaust plenum.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the cooling apparatus further comprises a controllable evaporative cooling system associated with the cooling airflow supply plenum for selectively cooling outdoor air being drawn into the cooling airflow supply plenum, and a controller coupled to the controllable evaporative cooling system, the controller activating the controllable evaporative cooling system responsive to a temperature of the outdoor air exceeding a defined high temperature threshold.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the cooling apparatus further comprises a controllable recirculation fan for selectively recirculating a portion of exhausting airflow in the airflow exhaust plenum to the cooling airflow supply plenum, and a controller coupled to the controllable recirculation fan, the controller activating recirculation of at least a portion of the exhausting heated airflow in the airflow exhaust plenum to the cooling airflow supply plenum responsive to a temperature of the outdoor air being below a defined low temperature threshold.