Cooling system of cabinet and the method of cooling the cabinet

Abstract

A cooling system of cabinet includes a tank, in which liquid cooling gas is stored, a cabinet, a sensor to monitor parameters in the cabinet, a main pipe having opposite ends connected to the tank and the cabinet, wherein liquid cooling gas is converted into cooling gas in the main pipe, and then supplied to the cabinet, a reservoir, in which liquid is stored, and a circular pipe having opposite ends connected to the cabinet. The main pipe and circular pipe each has a section sinking in the liquid of the reservoir. An air pump is provided to extract the cooling gas in the cabinet to the circular, and then the cooling gas is sent back to the cabinet after flowing through the section sinking in the liquid of the reservoir. With heat exchange among the liquid cooling gas in the main pipe, the liquid in the reservoir and the cooling gas in the circular pipe it may reduce the energy consumption of the cooling system.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a server cooling device, and more particularly to a rack cooling system and method with low energy consumption. [Previous Technology]

[0002] Rack servers have become the mainstream method for server deployment in recent years due to their excellent space utilization. Several rack servers can be installed in a single cabinet for unified management. The cabinet design is also designed to accommodate the rack servers within it, thereby reducing the space required.

[0003] In recent years, the computing speed of servers has been increasing, and consequently, the power consumption has also increased, generating considerable heat. For rack-mount servers and cabinets with high space utilization, the problem of how to dissipate the heat generated by server operation has become increasingly apparent. Therefore, a cooling system is needed to reduce the server temperature to facilitate server operation.

[0004] Traditional server rack cooling systems are generally of two types: air-cooled and water-cooled. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. Consuming a large amount of energy is a common problem for both air-cooled and water-cooled systems. Simply put, to achieve a higher cooling effect, a more powerful pump is needed to drive more gas or fluid for cooling. Therefore, both air-cooled and water-cooled systems consume a significant amount of energy to achieve the desired cooling effect. [Summary of the Invention]

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a cabinet cooling system and cooling method that achieves the desired cooling effect with less energy consumption.

[0006] This invention provides a cabinet cooling system, comprising: a tank containing liquid cooling gas; a cabinet having a space; a sensor for detecting parameters in the space of the cabinet; a main pipe, one end connected to the tank and the other end connected to the cabinet; the liquid cooling gas in the tank flows into the main pipe, transforms into cooling gas, and then flows into the space of the cabinet; the main pipe is equipped with a main switch valve, which is controlled to open or close the main pipe; a pool containing liquid; the main pipe having a portion The system includes: a liquid submerged in the tank; a circulation pipe having an inlet and an outlet, each connected to the cabinet; an exhaust fan in the circulation pipe that draws cooling gas from the cabinet into the circulation pipe from the inlet and back to the cabinet from the outlet; and a control unit that receives parameters from the sensor and controls the main switch valve, the circulation switch valve, and the exhaust fan to open or close; a portion of the circulation pipe is submerged in the liquid in the tank; and a circulation switch valve in the circulation pipe that is controlled to open or close the circulation pipe.

[0007] In one embodiment, a pressure plate is provided on the main pipeline to sublimate the liquid cooling gas in the main pipeline into cooling gas.

[0008] In one embodiment, the pressure plate is located between the tank and the cabinet.

[0009] In one embodiment, the cabinet is further provided with an exhaust pipe located in the cabinet space; an exhaust switch valve is provided in the exhaust pipe, through which cooling gas in the cabinet space can be discharged to the outside, and the exhaust switch valve is controlled to open or close the exhaust pipe.

[0010] In one embodiment, the exhaust pipe is connected to the circulation pipe via a three-way valve, and the cooling gas in the space of the cabinet is discharged to the outside via the exhaust pipe by the air extractor.

[0011] In one embodiment, the sensor has two flow meters, respectively located in the main pipe and the exhaust pipe.

[0012] In one embodiment, a control unit is further included to control the opening or closing of the exhaust switch valve based on the parameters of the sensor.

[0013] In one embodiment, a fan is provided in the space of the cabinet.

[0014] The present invention further provides a method for cooling a server rack, comprising the following steps:

[0015] Input step: Liquid cooling gas in a tank flows into the main pipe, and the liquid cooling gas is converted into cooling gas in the main pipe and then transported into the space of a cabinet; wherein a portion of the main pipe is submerged in the liquid of a tank; and when the amount of cooling gas in the space reaches a predetermined value, the input step is stopped.

[0016] Circulation Step: When the temperature in the rack space reaches a certain operating temperature, the cooling gas in the rack space is drawn into a circulation pipe from an inlet, and then flows back into the rack space from an outlet of the circulation pipe; wherein, a portion of the circulation pipe is submerged in a liquid tank; and

[0017] Filling step: When the temperature in the cabinet space reaches a warning temperature, the cycle step is stopped, and the tank begins to supply the liquid cooling gas to the main pipe, and after being converted into cooling gas in the main pipe, it is input into the cabinet space until the temperature in the cabinet space reaches a reset temperature, at which point the filling step is stopped; wherein the warning temperature is higher than the operating temperature, and the reset temperature is lower than the warning temperature.

[0018] In one embodiment, a pre-step is included before the input step: venting the gas in the space of the cabinet to the outside until the pressure in the space reaches a preparation pressure.

[0019] In one embodiment, the gas in the main pipe and the circulation pipe is discharged to the outside together in the preceding step.

[0020] In one embodiment, the filling step is followed by an exhaust step: a predetermined amount of cooling gas in the space of the cabinet is discharged to the outside.

[0021] In one embodiment, during the filling step, the amount of cooling gas flowing into the space is recorded, and during the venting step, the amount of cooling gas discharged from the space is recorded; when the amount of cooling gas discharged from the space is equal to the amount of cooling gas flowing into the space, the venting step is stopped.

[0022] In one embodiment, the filling step and the venting step are performed simultaneously.

[0023] The following are preferred embodiments based on the purpose, effects and structural configuration disclosed in this invention, and are described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Implementation Method

[0024] Please refer to Figure 1. The cooling system of the cabinet 14 provided in a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes: a tank 10, a main pipe 12, a cabinet 14, a pool 16, a pressure plate 18, a sensor, a circulation pipe 20, an exhaust pipe 22, and a control unit 24.

[0025] The tank 10 contains liquid cooling gas (not shown), which in this embodiment is liquid nitrogen. One end of the main pipe 12 is connected to the tank 10, and the other end is connected to the cabinet 14. The pool 16 contains liquid 26, which in this embodiment is water. A portion of the main pipe 12 is submerged in the liquid 26 in the pool 16, allowing the liquid cooling gas in the main pipe 12 to exchange heat with the liquid 26 to cool it. A main switch valve 28 is provided between the tank 10 and the pool 16, which is controlled to open or close the main pipe 12. A pressure plate 18 is installed on the main pipe 12, located between the pool 16 and the cabinet 14, to convert the liquid cooling gas (liquid nitrogen) in the main pipe 12 into a cooling gas (nitrogen, not shown). The main conduit 12 connects to the cabinet 14 at a predetermined location near the bottom of the cabinet 14.

[0026] The rack 14 has a space 30, which can accommodate several servers (not shown). The sensor is used to detect parameters in the space 30 of the rack 14, such as temperature, pressure, and humidity. In this embodiment, the sensor has a thermometer 32 and a pressure gauge 34, which are installed in the space 30 of the rack 14 to detect the temperature and pressure in the space 30. The sensor also has two flow meters 36 and 38, which are respectively installed in the main pipe 12 and the exhaust pipe 22 to detect the gas flow rate flowing into the rack 14 from the main pipe 12 and the gas flow rate exiting from the exhaust pipe 22. In addition, a fan 40 is provided in the rack 14 to enhance the circulation of gas in the rack 14.

[0027] The circulation pipe 20 has an inlet end 42 and an outlet end 44, which are respectively connected to the cabinet 14. In the circulation pipe 20, at a predetermined position near the inlet end 42, an exhaust fan 46 is installed to draw the cooling gas in the space 30 of the cabinet 14 into the circulation pipe 20 through the inlet end 42, and then return it to the space 30 of the cabinet 14 through the outlet end 44. A portion of the circulation pipe 20 is submerged in liquid 26 in the tank 16, allowing the liquid 26 to exchange heat with the cooling gas in the circulation pipe 20 to cool the cooling gas. The circulation pipe 20 is further equipped with a circulation switch valve 48, which is controlled to open or close the circulation pipe 20.

[0028] The exhaust pipe 22 is located on the top side of the cabinet 14 and is used to discharge the gas inside the cabinet 14 to the outside. In this embodiment, the exhaust pipe 22 and the circulation pipe 20 are interconnected by a three-way valve 50 and connected to the cabinet 14 through the air inlet 42. The circulation pipe 20 and the exhaust pipe 22 share the vacuum pump 46. The exhaust pipe 22 is provided with an exhaust switch valve 52 to control the opening and closing of the exhaust pipe 22. Thus, when the circulation switch valve 48 is open and the exhaust switch valve 52 is closed, turning on the vacuum pump 46 will draw the gas inside the cabinet 14 into the circulation pipe 20. When the circulation switch valve 48 is closed and the exhaust switch valve 52 is open, turning on the vacuum pump 46 will discharge the gas inside the cabinet 14 to the outside through the exhaust pipe 22.

[0029] The main switch valve 28, the exhaust switch valve 52, the circulation switch valve 48, the vacuum pump 46, and the sensors (thermometer 32, pressure gauge 34, flow meter 36, 38) are all connected to the control unit 24. The control unit 24 receives parameters from the sensors and controls the main switch valve 28, the exhaust switch valve 52, the circulation switch valve 48, and the vacuum pump 46 to open or close under predetermined conditions.

[0030] Based on the above-described equipment, the method for cooling cabinet 14 provided in a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

[0031] Preliminary steps:

[0032] Referring to Figure 2, before cooling begins, after installing several servers (not shown) in the space 30 of the rack 14, the main switch valve 28 is closed and the circulation switch valve 48 and the exhaust switch valve 52 are opened. Then, the exhaust fan 46 is turned on to discharge air, moisture, dust, etc., from the space 30 of the rack 14, the main pipe 12, and the circulation pipe 20 to the outside through the exhaust pipe 22. The sensor (pressure gauge 34) continuously monitors the pressure in the space 30 of the rack 14. When the detected pressure is less than or equal to a preparation pressure, the exhaust switch valve 52 and the exhaust fan 46 are closed. In this embodiment, the preparation pressure is between 0.05 atm and 0.1 atm. At this time, the space 30 of the rack 14, the main pipe 12, and the circulation pipe 20 are in a near-vacuum state, and most of the air, moisture, dust, etc., are removed. In another embodiment, the amount of gas to be discharged can be calculated based on the specifications of the cabinet 14, the circulation pipe 20, and the main pipe 12. The amount of gas discharged is calculated using the flow meter 38 in the exhaust pipe 22, and the control unit 24 controls the timing of closing the exhaust switch valve 52 and the vacuum pump 46.

[0033] Input steps:

[0034] Referring to Figure 3, after closing the circulation switch valve 48 (keeping the vacuum pump 46 and the exhaust switch valve 52 closed), the main switch valve 28 is opened, allowing the liquid cooling gas in the tank 10 to flow into the main pipe 12. After flowing through the section submerged in the liquid 26 in the tank 16, it is transformed into cooling gas by the pressure plate 18 and finally enters the space 30 of the cabinet 14. When the amount of cooling gas in the space 30 reaches a predetermined value, the input step is stopped. In this embodiment, the sensor (pressure gauge 34) continuously monitors the pressure in the space 30 of the cabinet 14. When the detected pressure is greater than or equal to an initial pressure, it indicates that the amount of cooling gas in the space 30 has reached the predetermined value, at which point the main switch valve 28 is closed to stop the input step. In this embodiment, the initial pressure is between 0.95 atm and 1.1 atm. In another embodiment, the flow meter 36 in the main pipe 12 calculates the amount (e.g., volume) of gas entering the space 30 of the cabinet 14. When a predetermined value is reached, the main switch valve 28 is closed. At this time, the cooling gas in the space 30 of the cabinet 14 has provided effective cooling, and the servers can be started to operate.

[0035] Cycle Steps:

[0036] Please refer to Figure 4. When the servers start operating, the temperature inside the cabinet 14 will rise. When the temperature detected by the sensor (thermometer 32) is greater than or equal to an operating temperature, the circulation switch valve 48 and the exhaust fan 46 are opened (the main switch valve 28 and the exhaust switch valve 52 remain closed), drawing the cooling gas in the space 30 of the cabinet 14 into the circulation pipe 20 through the air inlet 42. When the gas passes through the section of the circulation pipe 20 that is submerged in the liquid 26 in the tank 16, it will exchange heat with the cooling gas in the circulation pipe 20 and the liquid 26 in the tank 16, thereby cooling the cooling gas. Then it flows back into the space 30 of the cabinet 14 through the air outlet 44, circulating and cooling the servers. In this embodiment, the operating temperature range is between 45°C and 50°C.

[0037] It should be noted that the air outlet 44 of the circulation pipe 20 is located at a predetermined position near the top of the cabinet 14, so that the cooling gas entering through the circulation pipe 20 can directly cool the cooling gas with a higher temperature near the top side of the space 30, so as to make the temperature in the cabinet 14 more uniform.

[0038] Filling steps:

[0039] Please refer to Figure 5. When the servers continue to operate, although the circulating cooling provided by the circulation pipe 20 is available, the temperature in the space 30 of the cabinet 14 will still rise after a period of time. This indicates that the cooling gas in the circulation pipe 20 can no longer provide effective cooling, and a filling step should be performed. The filling step includes: when the temperature detected by the sensor (thermometer 32) is greater than or equal to a warning temperature, the circulation switch valve 48 is closed and the main switch valve 28 is opened, allowing the liquid cooling gas in the tank 10 to flow back into the main pipe 12. It then flows through the section submerged in the liquid 26 in the tank 16 and is transformed into cooling gas by the pressure plate 18 before entering the space 30 of the cabinet 14. The addition of new cooling gas will lower the temperature in the space 30. When the temperature detected by the sensor (thermometer 32) is less than or equal to a reset temperature, it indicates that sufficient cooling has been provided, and the filling step can be stopped. In this embodiment, the warning temperature ranges from 60°C to 70°C, and the reset temperature ranges from 25°C to 28°C.

[0040] Exhaust procedure:

[0041] After the filling step, it is obvious that the amount of cooling gas in the cabinet 14 will increase. The purpose of the venting step is to discharge a predetermined amount of cooling gas from the cabinet 14 to the outside to maintain a certain amount of cooling gas in the cabinet 14. Referring to Figure 6, the venting step includes: opening the exhaust fan 46 and the exhaust switch valve 52 to discharge the cooling gas in the cabinet 14 to the outside through the exhaust pipe 22. In this embodiment, when the filling step is performed, the flow meter 36 of the main pipe 12 records the amount of gas flowing in. When the filling step is performed, the flow meter 38 of the exhaust pipe 22 records the amount of gas discharged. When the amount of gas discharged is equal to the amount of gas flowing in, the venting step is stopped. In another embodiment, the filling step and the venting step are performed simultaneously.

[0042] Based on the above description of the apparatus and steps, the cooling system provided by the preferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes the arrangement of the tank 16 and the circulation pipe 20 to enable the cooling system to circulate the cooling capacity that should be consumed. During the circulation step, only the energy required by the vacuum pump 46 needs to be consumed to achieve a low-energy-consumption cooling system.

[0043] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the technology and effects of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art can modify and change the above embodiments without departing from the technical principles and spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be as described in the patent application scope below. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0044] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a preliminary step according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an input step according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a cyclic step according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a filling step according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of an exhaust step according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Claims

1. A cabinet cooling system comprising: a tank containing liquid cooling gas; a cabinet having a space; a sensor for detecting parameters in the space of the cabinet; a main pipe connected at one end to the tank and at the other end to the cabinet; the liquid cooling gas in the tank flows into the main pipe, transforms into cooling gas, and then flows into the space of the cabinet; the main pipe is equipped with a main switch valve, which is controlled to open or close the main pipe; a pool containing liquid; a portion of the main pipe is submerged in the liquid in the pool. A circulation pipe has an inlet end and an outlet end, which are respectively connected to the cabinet. An air extractor is installed in the circulation pipe to draw the cooling gas in the cabinet into the circulation pipe from the inlet end and return it to the cabinet from the outlet end. A portion of the circulation pipe is submerged in the liquid in the tank. A circulation switch valve is installed in the circulation pipe to open or close the circulation pipe under control. A control unit receives parameters from the sensor and controls the main switch valve, the circulation switch valve and the air extractor to open or close.

2. The cabinet cooling system as described in claim 1, wherein a pressure plate is provided on the main pipe to sublimate the liquid cooling gas in the main pipe into cooling gas.

3. The cabinet cooling system as described in claim 2, wherein the pressure plate is located between the tank and the cabinet.

4. The cabinet cooling system as described in claim 1, wherein the cabinet is further provided with an exhaust pipe located in the cabinet space; an exhaust switch valve is provided in the exhaust pipe, through which cooling gas in the cabinet space can be discharged to the outside, and the exhaust switch valve is controlled to open or close the exhaust pipe.

5. The cabinet cooling system as described in claim 4, wherein the exhaust pipe is connected to the circulation pipe via a three-way valve, and the exhaust fan discharges the cooling gas in the cabinet space to the outside through the exhaust pipe.

6. The cabinet cooling system as described in claim 4, wherein the sensor has two flow meters, respectively located in the main duct and the exhaust duct.

7. The cabinet cooling system as described in claim 4, wherein the control unit controls the opening or closing of the exhaust switch valve based on parameters of the sensor.

8. The rack cooling system as described in claim 1, wherein a fan is provided in the space of the rack.

9. A method for cooling a server rack using a cooling system, comprising the following steps: Input step: Liquid cooling gas from a tank is fed into a main pipe, and the liquid cooling gas is converted into cooling gas in the main pipe and then delivered into the space of a server rack; wherein a portion of the main pipe is submerged in a tank of liquid; and the input step is stopped when the amount of cooling gas in the space reaches a predetermined value; Circulation step: When the temperature in the server rack space reaches an operating temperature, the cooling gas in the server rack space is drawn from an inlet into a circulation pipe, and then flows back into the server rack space from an outlet of the circulation pipe; wherein... The circulation pipe has a portion submerged in a tank of liquid; and a filling step: when the temperature in the cabinet space reaches a warning temperature, the circulation step is stopped, and the tank begins to supply the liquid cooling gas to the main pipe, where it is converted into cooling gas and then introduced into the cabinet space until the temperature in the cabinet space reaches a reset temperature, at which point the filling step is stopped; wherein the warning temperature is higher than the operating temperature, and the reset temperature is lower than the warning temperature.

10. The method as described in claim 9 further includes the following steps before the input step: Pre-processing step: venting the gas in the space of the cabinet to the outside until the pressure in the space reaches a preparatory pressure.

11. The method as described in claim 10, wherein the gas in the main pipe and the circulation pipe is discharged to the outside together in the preceding step.

12. The method as described in claim 9 further includes, after the filling step: an exhaust step: exhausting a predetermined amount of cooling gas from the space of the cabinet to the outside.

13. The method as described in claim 12, wherein during the filling step, the amount of cooling gas flowing into the space is recorded, and during the venting step, the amount of cooling gas discharged from the space is recorded; and the venting step is stopped when the amount of cooling gas discharged from the space is equal to the amount of cooling gas flowing into the space.

14. The method as described in claim 9, wherein the reset temperature is lower than the operating temperature.

15. The method as described in claim 12, wherein the filling step and the venting step are performed simultaneously.

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