Air-moving assembly with auxiliary turbine drive

• US 9,504,188 B1
• Filed: 11/30/2015
• Issued: 11/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2015
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Campbell, Levi A., David, Milnes P., Demetriou, Dustin W., Domitrovits, Michael J., Ellsworth, Michael J. Jr., Palmer, John V., Rosato, Sal M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoffberg, Robert J
• Application Number:
  US14/953,634
• Time in Patent Office: 358 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 27/04 with axially-movable friction surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 27/09 and with interengaging jaws or gear-teeth
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 41/07 between two cylindrical surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20136 Forced ventilation, e.g. by fans H05K7/202 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20745 within rooms for removing heat from cabinets, e.g. by air conditioning device
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/2079 within rooms for removing heat from cabinets

Abstract

Apparatuses and methods are provided for facilitating air-cooling of, for instance, one or more electronics racks within a data center. The apparatus includes an air-moving assembly and an auxiliary turbine drive. The air-moving assembly includes a shaft, one or more mechanical fans coupled to the shaft to rotate, at least in part, with the shaft, and a motor coupled to the shaft to rotatably drive the shaft. The auxiliary turbine drive is coupled to the shaft of the air-moving assembly to provide backup rotational energy to the shaft to facilitate continued rotation of the shaft during interruption in power to the motor. In one implementation, the auxiliary turbine drive is configured to facilitate, for a specified time period, continued rotation of the shaft at a specified percentage, or greater, rotational speed of the shaft compared with a shaft speed when rotatably driven by the motor.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an air-moving assembly, the air-moving assembly comprising;

a shaft;

one or more mechanical fans coupled to the shaft to rotate, at least in part, with the shaft facilitating, at least in part, air-cooling of an object; and

a motor coupled to the shaft to directly rotatably drive the shaft; and

an auxiliary turbine drive associated with the air-moving assembly, the auxiliary turbine drive coupling to the shaft of the air-moving assembly to provide backup rotational energy to the shaft to facilitate continued rotation of the shaft during interruption in power to the motor, wherein a liquid coolant facilitates, at least in part, cooling of air that cools the object, and the liquid coolant drives the auxiliary turbine device during the interruption in power to the motor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary turbine drive is sized to facilitate, for a specified period of time, the continued rotation of the shaft at a specified percentage speed of the shaft during the interruption in power to the motor compared with a rotational speed of the shaft when rotatably driven by the motor.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a computer room, and wherein the object comprises one or more electronics racks, and the air-moving assembly comprises a computer-room, air-moving assembly providing, at least in part, air movement within the computer room, the computer room comprising the one or more electronics racks to be cooled, and the specified period of time is preselected to be a time interval from a utility power interruption to the motor within which utility or backup power is to be reestablished to the motor.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a shaft extender to couple to the shaft to rotate therewith during the interruption in power to the motor, and a turbine coupling mechanism comprising a clutch coupling the shaft extender to the shaft during the interruption in power to the motor, wherein a turbine of the auxiliary turbine drive is coupled to the shaft extender, and couples to the shaft through the turbine coupling mechanism during the interruption in power to the motor.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a computer room, and wherein the object comprises one or more electronics racks, and the air-moving assembly comprises a computer room air-conditioner (CRAC) unit, the computer room air-conditioner unit comprising an air-to-liquid heat exchanger that uses the liquid coolant and provides the cooled air to the computer room, the computer room comprising the one or more electronics racks to be cooled, and wherein the auxiliary turbine drive comprises a turbine coupled to provide the backup rotational energy to the shaft during the interruption in power to the motor.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the turbine of the auxiliary turbine drive is coupled in parallel-fluid communication with the air-to-liquid heat exchanger.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the turbine of the auxiliary turbine drive is coupled to at least one of receive the liquid coolant from or return the liquid coolant to a coolant supply line or a coolant return line providing the liquid coolant to the air-to-liquid heat exchanger of the air-moving assembly.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary turbine drive further comprises a liquid supply tank comprising the liquid coolant, the liquid supply tank coupled to drive a turbine of the auxiliary turbine drive during the interruption in power to the motor.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the liquid supply tank comprises a liquid supply tower comprising the liquid coolant, the liquid coolant being fed in parallel to an air-to-liquid heat exchanger associated with the air-moving assembly, and to the turbine of the auxiliary turbine drive during the interruption in power to the motor.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a liquid exhaust tank coupled to receive the liquid coolant exhausted from the turbine of the auxiliary turbine drive during the interruption in power to the motor.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the liquid supply tank further comprises a pressurizer for selectively pressurizing the liquid supply tank upon the interruption in power to the motor to facilitate an increased flow of the liquid coolant from the liquid supply tank to the turbine of the auxiliary turbine drive.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an electromotive force (emf) decoupling mechanism coupled to a circuit line facilitating powering of the motor, the electromotive force (emf) decoupling mechanism automatically opening or decoupling with the interruption in power to the motor, and preventing the continued rotation of the shaft during the interruption in power to the motor from providing a back electromotive force through the motor.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the electromotive force decoupling mechanism comprises an electromagnetic switch, the electromagnetic switch being coupled to the circuit line, and automatically switching to an open circuit state with loss of the power to the motor through the circuit line.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a motor decoupling mechanism, the motor decoupling mechanism comprising a clutch coupling the shaft to a drive shaft of the motor, the drive shaft driving rotation of the shaft when the motor is operating, and the clutch automatically decoupling the shaft from the drive shaft during interruption in power to the motor.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a computer room, and wherein the object comprises one or more electronics racks, and the air-moving assembly comprises a computer-room air-conditioner (CRAC) unit, the computer-room air-conditioner unit comprising an air-to-liquid heat exchanger that uses the liquid coolant and provides the cooled air to the computer room, the computer room comprising the one or more electronics racks to be cooled, and wherein the auxiliary turbine drive provides, for the specified period of time, the continued rotation of the shaft to facilitate the computer-room air-conditioner unit providing additional of the cooled air to the data center during the interruption in power to the motor, and wherein the auxiliary turbine drive is coupled to the shaft to facilitate, for the specified period of time, the continued rotation of the shaft at a specified percentage, or greater, rotational speed of the shaft compared with a rotational speed of the shaft when rotatably driven by the motor.

16. A data center comprising:

at least one electronics rack to be cooled; and

an air-moving assembly, the air-moving assembly comprising;

a shaft;

one or more mechanical fans coupled to the shaft to rotate, at least in part, with the shaft facilitating, at least in part, air-cooling of the at least one electronics rack; and

a motor coupled to the shaft to directly rotatably drive the shaft; and

an auxiliary turbine drive associated with the air-moving assembly, the auxiliary turbine drive coupling to the shaft of the air-moving assembly to provide backup rotational energy to the shaft to facilitate continued rotation of the shaft during interruption in power to the motor to provide continued air-cooling to the at least one electronics rack during the interruption in power to the motor, wherein a liquid coolant facilitates, at least in part, cooling of air that cools the at least one electronics rack, and the liquid coolant drives the auxiliary turbine device during the interruption in power to the motor.

17. The data center of claim 16, wherein the auxiliary turbine drive is sized to facilitate, for a specified period of time, the continued rotation of the shaft at a specified percentage speed of the shaft during the interruption in power to the motor compared with a rotational speed of the shaft when rotatably driven by the motor.

18. The data center of claim 16, wherein the auxiliary turbine drive further comprises a liquid supply tank comprising the liquid coolant, the liquid supply tank coupled to drive a turbine of the auxiliary turbine drive during the interruption in power to the motor.

19. The data center of claim 18, wherein the liquid supply tank comprises a liquid supply tower comprising the liquid coolant, the liquid coolant being fed in parallel to an air-to-liquid heat exchanger associated with the air-moving assembly, and to the turbine of the auxiliary turbine drive during the interruption in power to the motor.

20. A method of facilitating cooling, the method comprising:

providing an air-moving assembly, the air-moving assembly comprising;

a shaft;

one or more mechanical fans coupled to the shaft to rotate, at least in part, with the shaft facilitating, at least in part, air-cooling of an object; and

a motor coupled to the shaft to directly rotatably drive the shaft; and

providing an auxiliary turbine drive associated with the air-moving assembly, the auxiliary turbine drive coupling to the shaft of the air-moving assembly to provide backup rotational energy to the shaft to facilitate continued rotation of the shaft during interruption in power to the motor, wherein a liquid coolant facilitates, at least in part, cooling of air that cools the object, and the liquid coolant drives the auxiliary turbine device during the interruption in power to the motor.