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1. RACK-LEVEL THERMOSYPHON COOLING AND VAPOR-COMPRESSION DRIVEN HEAT RECOVERY: EVAPORATOR MODEL

   Khalid, R. ; Amalfi, R.L. ; Wemhoff, A.P. ( October 2021 , Proceedings of the ASME 2021 International Technical Conference and Exhibition on Packaging and Integration of Electronic and Photonic Microsystems InterPACK2021)

   null (Ed.)

   An in-rack cooling system connected to an external vapor recompression loop can be an economical solution to harness waste heat recovery in data centers. Validated subsystem-level models of the thermosyphon cooling and recompression loops (evaporator, heat exchangers, compressor, etc.) are needed to predict overall system performance and to perform design optimization based on the operating conditions. This paper specifically focuses on the model of the evaporator, which is a finned-tube heat exchanger incorporated in a thermosyphon cooling loop. The fin-pack is divided into individual segments to analyze the refrigerant and air side heat transfer characteristics. Refrigerant flow in the tubes is modeled as 1-D flow scheme with transport equations solved on a staggered grid. The air side is modeled using differential equations to represent the air temperature and humidity ratio and to predict if moisture removal will occur, in which case the airside heat transfer coefficient is suitably reduced. The louver fins are modeled as individual hexagons and are treated in conjunction with the tube walls. A segment-by-segment approach is utilized for each tube and the heat exchanger geometry is subsequently evaluated from one end to the other, with air property changes considered for each subsequent row of tubes. Model predictions of stream outlet temperature and pressure, refrigerant outlet vapor quality and heat exchanger duty show good agreement when compared against a commercial software. 

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2. Rack-Level Thermosyphon Cooling and Vapor-Compression Driven Heat Recovery: Condenser Model

   https://doi.org/10.1115/IPACK2021-73270  

   Khalid, Rehan ; Amalfi, Raffaele Luca ; Wemhoff, Aaron P. ( October 2021 , Proceedings of the 2021 ASME InterPACK)

   This paper is focused on the modeling of a brazed plate heat exchanger (BPHE) for a novel in-rack cooling loop coupled with heat recovery capability for enhanced thermal management of datacenters. In the proposed technology, the BPHE is acting as a condenser, and the model presented in this study can be applied in either the cooling loop or vapor recompression loop. Thus, the primary fluid enters as either superheated (in the vapor recompression loop) or saturated vapor (in the cooling loop), while the secondary fluid enters as a sub-cooled liquid. The model augments an existing technique from the open literature and is applied to condensation of a low-pressure refrigerant R245fa. The model assumes a two-fluid heat exchanger with R245fa and water as the primary and secondary fluids, respectively, flowing in counterflow configuration; however, the model can also handle parallel flow configuration. The 2-D model divides the heat exchanger geometry into a discrete number of slices to analyze heat transfer and pressure drops (including static, momentum and frictional losses) of both fluids, which are used to predict the exit temperature and pressure of both fluids. The model predicts the exchanger duty based on the local energy balance. The predicted values of fluid output properties (secondary fluid temperature and pressure, and primary fluid vapor quality and pressure) along with heat exchanger duty show good agreement when compared against a commercial software.

    

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3. RACK-LEVEL THERMOSYPHON COOLING AND VAPOR-COMPRESSION DRIVEN HEAT RECOVERY: CONDENSER MODEL

   Khalid, R. ; Amalfi, R.L. ; Wemhof, A.P. ( October 2021 , Proceedings of the ASME 2021 International Technical Conference and Exhibition on Packaging and Integration of Electronic and Photonic Microsystems InterPACK2021)

   null (Ed.)

   This paper is focused on the modeling of a brazed plate heat exchanger (BPHE) for a novel in-rack cooling loop coupled with heat recovery capability for enhanced thermal management of datacenters. In the proposed technology, the BPHE is acting as a condenser, and the model presented in this study can be applied in either the cooling loop or vapor recompression loop. Thus, the primary fluid enters as either superheated (in the vapor recompression loop) or saturated vapor (in the cooling loop), while the secondary fluid enters as a sub-cooled liquid. The model augments an existing technique from the open literature and is applied to condensation of a low-pressure refrigerant R245fa. The model assumes a two-fluid heat exchanger with R245fa and water as the primary and secondary fluids, respectively, flowing in counterflow configuration; however, the model can also handle parallel flow configuration. The 2-D model divides the heat exchanger geometry into a discrete number of slices to analyze heat transfer and pressure drops (including static, momentum and frictional losses) of both fluids, which are used to predict the exit temperature and pressure of both fluids. The model predicts the exchanger duty based on the local energy balance. The predicted values of fluid output properties (secondary fluid temperature and pressure, and primary fluid vapor quality and pressure) along with heat exchanger duty show good agreement when compared against a commercial software. 

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4. The Effectiveness of Data Center Overhead Cooling in Steady and Transient Scenarios: Comparison of Downward Flow to a Cold Aisle Versus Upward Flow From a Hot Aisle

   https://doi.org/10.1115/IPACK2015-48423  

   Silva-Llanca, Luis ; del Valle, Marcelo ; Ortega, Alfonso ( July 2015 , ASME 2015 International Technical Conference and Exhibition on Packaging and Integration of Electronic and Photonic Microsystems collocated with the ASME 2015 13th International Conference on Nanochannels, Microchannels, and Minichannels)

   The most common approach to air cooling of data centers involves the pressurization of the plenum beneath the raised floor and delivery of air flow to racks via perforated floor tiles. This cooling approach is thermodynamically inefficient due in large part to the pressure losses through the tiles. Furthermore, it is difficult to control flow at the aisle and rack level since the flow source is centralized rather than distributed. Distributed cooling systems are more closely coupled to the heat generating racks. In overhead cooling systems, one can distribute flow to distinct aisles by placing the air mover and water cooled heat exchanger directly above an aisle. Two arrangements are possible: (i.) placing the air mover and heat exchanger above the cold aisle and forcing downward flow of cooled air into the cold aisle (Overhead Downward Flow (ODF)), or (ii.) placing the air mover and heat exchanger above the hot aisle and forcing heated air upwards from the hot aisle through the water cooled heat exchanger (Overhead Upward Flow (OUF)). This study focuses on the steady and transient behavior of overhead cooling systems in both ODF and OUF configurations and compares their cooling effectiveness and energy efficiency. The flow and heat transfer inside the servers and heat exchangers are modeled using physics based approaches that result in differential equation based mathematical descriptions. These models are programmed in the MATLAB™ language and embedded within a CFD computational environment (using the commercial code FLUENT™) that computes the steady or instantaneous airflow distribution. The complete computational model is able to simulate the complete flow and thermal field in the airside, the instantaneous temperatures within and pressure drops through the servers, and the instantaneous temperatures within and pressure drops through the overhead cooling system. Instantaneous overall energy consumption (1st Law) and exergy destruction (2nd Law) were used to quantify overall energy efficiency and to identify inefficiencies within the two systems. The server cooling effectiveness, based on an effectiveness-NTU model for the servers, was used to assess the cooling effectiveness of the two overhead cooling approaches 

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5. Cooling Effectiveness of a Data Center Room under Overhead Airflow via Entropy Generation Assessment in Transient Scenarios

   https://doi.org/10.3390/e21010098  

   Silva-Llanca, Luis ; del Valle, Marcelo ; Ortega, Alfonso ; Díaz, Andrés ( January 2019 , Entropy)

   Forecasting data center cooling demand remains a primary thermal management challenge in an increasingly larger global energy-consuming industry. This paper proposes a dynamic modeling approach to evaluate two different strategies for delivering cold air into a data center room. The common cooling method provides air through perforated floor tiles by means of a centralized distribution system, hindering flow management at the aisle level. We propose an idealized system such that five overhead heat exchangers are located above the aisle and handle the entire server cooling demand. In one case, the overhead heat exchangers force the airflow downwards into the aisle (Overhead Downward Flow (ODF)); in the other case, the flow is forced to move upwards (Overhead Upward Flow (OUF)). A complete fluid dynamic, heat transfer, and thermodynamic analysis is proposed to model the system’s thermal performance under both steady state and transient conditions. Inside the servers and heat exchangers, the flow and heat transfer processes are modeled using a set of differential equations solved in MATLAB™. This solution is coupled with ANSYS-Fluent™, which computes the three-dimensional velocity, temperature, and turbulence on the Airside. The two approaches proposed (ODF and OUF) are evaluated and compared by estimating their cooling effectiveness and the local Entropy Generation. The latter allows identifying the zones within the room responsible for increasing the inefficiencies (irreversibilities) of the system. Both approaches demonstrated similar performance, with a small advantage shown by OUF. The results of this investigation demonstrated a promising approach of data center on-demand cooling scenarios. 

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