Data center cooling

• US 9,392,733 B2
• Filed: 01/07/2011
• Issued: 07/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Schneider Electric IT Corporation (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: Schneider Electric IT Corporation (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: Day, Tony
• Primary Examiner(s): McAllister, Steven B
• Assistant Examiner(s): MILLER, SAMANTHA A
• Application Number:
  US12/987,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20110105010A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,013 Days
• Field of Search: 454/184
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2221/40 HVAC with raised floors
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20745 within rooms for removing heat from cabinets, e.g. by air conditioning device
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20754 Air circulating in closed loop within cabinets

Abstract

A system includes a substantially sealed, substantially airtight cabinet sized for housing a vertical array of heat-producing units, the cabinet having an exterior shell and the system including an interior divider wall disposed inside the cabinet, the shell and divider wall providing an equipment chamber adapted to support the array such that the array cooperates with the shell and divider wall in use to define a first plenum, the first plenum having a first inlet defined by the divider wall for receiving a flow of cooling gas and having a first outlet defined by a plurality of openings through the array whereby the first plenum communicates with the openings in use to exhaust substantially all of the flow of cooling fluid through the openings and hence through the array, wherein the divider wall is configured to allow the first inlet to admit the gas to the first plenum in a substantially horizontal direction.

Claims

1. A data center system for housing and cooling rack-mounted electronic heat-producing equipment, the system comprising:

a cabinet configured to house the rack-mounted electronic heat-producing equipment, the cabinet including a divider wall defining a first chamber and a second, separate, chamber within the cabinet, the first chamber being configured to house the electronic equipment in an equipment rack, the first and second chambers being in fluid communication with each other and displaced horizontally with respect to each other; and

cooling and circulating means, including a plurality of swappable vertically displaced adjustable variable-speed fans housed in the second chamber, and an only single removable heat exchanger cartridge vertically extending along at least a portion of a height defined by the plurality of swappable vertically displaced adjustable variable-speed fans, the only single removable heat exchanger cartridge of the cooling and circulating means being separated from the plurality of swappable vertically displaced adjustable variable-speed fans by a middle plenum vertically extending from a ceiling of the cabinet along at least the height defined by the plurality of swappable vertically displaced adjustable variable-speed fans such that the only single removable heat exchanger cartridge and each of the plurality of swappable vertically displaced adjustable variable-speed fans can be independently replaced, the each of the plurality of swappable vertically displaced adjustable variable-speed fans configured to be controlled to operate at a respective speed based, at least in part, on operation of others of the plurality of swappable vertically displaced adjustable variable speed fans to pull or push air flow through the only single removable heat exchanger cartridge of the cooling and circulating means to cause a substantially uniform top-to-bottom flow of a horizontally moving curtain of air through the cabinet;

wherein the only single removable heat exchanger cartridge of the cooling and circulating means is configured to be removed from the cabinet without removing any of the plurality of swappable vertically displaced adjustable variable-speed fans from the cabinet and with all of the plurality of vertically displaced adjustable variable-speed fans housed in the second chamber, separate from the first chamber housing the electronic equipment, running;

and wherein the cooling and circulating means is configured for drawing in heated gas from the first chamber to the second chamber using the plurality of vertically displaced adjustable variable-speed fans, cooling using the only single removable heat exchanger cartridge of the cooling and circulating means the drawn-in gas to produce cooled gas, and impelling the cooled gas through a first passage in the divider wall from the second chamber horizontally into the first chamber to cause circulation of the substantially uniform top-to-bottom flow of the horizontally moving curtain of air.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the cabinet defines the first passage and a second passage between the first and second chambers to provide the fluid communication between the chambers, the first and second passages being horizontally in line with both the cooling means and the electronic equipment.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the first and second passages extend substantially the full height of the cabinet.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the only single removable heat exchanger cartridge of the cooling and circulating means is configured to be removed from the system without turning off the electronic equipment.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the only single removable heat exchanger cartridge of the cooling and circulating means is coupled to at least one coolant supply duct through at least one dry-break connector.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the cooling means is for horizontally drawing in heated gas from the first chamber to the second chamber.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of vertically displaced fans are positioned such that one vertical line passes through the plurality of vertically displaced fans.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising slidable telescopic rails coupled to the only single removable heat exchanger cartridge of the cooling and circulating means, the slidable telescopic rails configured to slide from the cabinet with the single removable heat exchanger coupled to the slidable telescopic rails to enable removal of the only single removable heat exchanger cartridge of the cooling and circulating means.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the cooling and circulating means configured for cooling using the only single removable heat exchanger cartridge of the cooling and circulating means the drawn-in gas to produce the cooled gas is configured for cooling the drawn-in gas while the drawn-in gas travels primarily horizontally to produce the cooled gas, wherein the plurality of vertically displaced fans are positioned such that one vertical line passes through the plurality of vertically displaced fans.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the cabinet comprises a door mechanism, including a first door and a controller coupled to the first door, the controller configured to effect a locked state of the first door to inhibit access to the first chamber housing the electronic equipment in response to a difference between an internal environment inside the cabinet and an external environment outside the cabinet capable of resulting in dew formation inside the cabinet if the first door is opened.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of vertically displaced adjustable variable-speed fans comprises a non-return flap configured to close over a respective vertically displaced adjustable-speed fan when the respective vertically displaced adjustable-speed fan fails.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein in response to failure of one of the plurality of vertically displaced adjustable variable-speed fans and the closing of the respective non-return flap of the failed one of the plurality of vertically displaced adjustable variable-speed fans, respective speeds of remaining of the plurality of vertically displaced adjustable variable-speed fans increase in order to maintain the substantially uniform top-to-bottom flow of the horizontally moving curtain of air.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the each of the plurality of swappable vertically displaced adjustable variable-speed fans configured to be controlled to operate at the respective speed is further configured to:

operate at the respective speed based, at least in part, on operation of the others of the plurality of swappable vertically displaced adjustable variable speed fans to harmonize the cabinet'"'"'s internal and external environments.