Air-liquid heat exchanger, air cooling assembly and modular data center

Abstract

The invention discloses an air-liquid heat exchanger, an air cooling assembly and a modular data center. The air-liquid heat exchanger is configured to be disposed on a support surface, and the air-liquid heat exchanger includes: a frame; a heat exchanger panel that is mounted to the frame; and a fan assembly mounted to the frame. The heat exchanger panel extends substantially orthogonally to the support surface, and the heat exchanger panel is configured to circulate the cooling liquid directed through the channel from the liquid inlet to the liquid outlet. The fan assembly includes at least one fan configured to draw ambient air through the heat exchanger panel, each of the at least one fan being rotatable about an axis of rotation extending substantially parallel to the support surface and angled relative to a normal to the heat exchanger panel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present technology relates to overall data center configurations, and in particular to modular data center configurations having air-to-liquid heat exchangers. Background Art

[0002] In order to process large amounts of data in near real time, permanent data centers house and serve multiple racks that contain electronic equipment, such as computer server components, dedicated processors, memory components, high-speed network modules, etc., and supporting infrastructure equipment, such as power facilities, air handling systems, liquid cooling structures, etc.

[0003] The market demand to meet the ever-increasing data processing needs ultimately leads to the need for more data centers. However, the initial investment costs and construction time associated with the installation of a permanent data center can be prohibitive.

[0004] In response to the high costs of building permanent data centers, various solutions have been proposed involving the installation of "modular data centers" in which data center electronic computing equipment and supporting infrastructure equipment are combined in a movable trailer or shipping container. Depending on the data processing needs, multiple trailers / shipping containers can be deployed and arranged in different single-level geometric configurations distributed over a relatively large area. As a result, modular data centers offer a significant reduction in overall construction time and installation costs compared to permanent data centers to provide faster turn-key operation.

[0005] However, there may be situations where some space-limited geographic areas with high data processing needs (e.g., urban areas, research parks, etc.) may not be able to accommodate large modular data center configurations. Therefore, it may be desirable to provide multiple modular data center configurations with smaller footprints.

[0006] It should be noted that the subject matter discussed in the background section should not be considered as prior art simply because the subject matter is mentioned in the background section. Similarly, the problems mentioned in the background section should not be interpreted as having been recognized in the prior art. Summary of the invention

[0007] The present technology aims to improve at least some of the inconveniences of the prior art.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present technology, an air-liquid heat exchanger is provided, the air-liquid heat exchanger being configured to be disposed on a support surface. The air-liquid heat exchanger comprises: a frame; a heat exchanger panel mounted to the frame, the heat exchanger panel being configured to circulate a cooling liquid guided through a channel from a liquid inlet to a liquid outlet, the heat exchanger panel extending generally orthogonal to the support surface; and a fan assembly mounted to the frame. The fan assembly comprises at least one fan configured to draw ambient air through the heat exchanger panel, each of the at least one fan being rotatable about a rotation axis extending generally parallel to the support surface and at an angle relative to a normal to the heat exchanger panel.

[0009] In general, the developers of the present technology have designed a modular data center that includes an air-to-liquid heat exchanger that is relatively accessible for maintenance without requiring an operator to use a forklift or any other lifting equipment. Operators can directly access the components of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger, thereby reducing the cost and time resources required for maintenance.

[0010] In some non-limiting embodiments, the frame defines a plurality of edges, and the at least one fan is disposed along a first edge of the plurality of edges.

[0011] In some non-limiting embodiments, the fan assembly further includes an air deflector configured to direct ambient air from the heat exchanger panel to the at least one fan.

[0012] In some non-limiting embodiments, the air deflector extends from a second edge of the plurality of edges opposite the first edge to the fan assembly.

[0013] In some non-limiting embodiments, the angle is between 45° and 90°.

[0014] In some non-limiting embodiments, the air deflector has a triangular shape.

[0015] In some non-limiting embodiments, the angle is between 50° and 60°, and the ratio of the distance between the first edge and the second edge to the length of the air deflector is between 1.1 and 1.2.

[0016] In a second broad aspect, an air cooling assembly is provided, the air cooling assembly comprising a first air-liquid heat exchanger according to some embodiments of the present technology and a second air-liquid heat exchanger according to some embodiments of the present technology, the second air-liquid heat exchanger being arranged in a side-by-side configuration with the first air-liquid heat exchanger such that the heat exchanger panels of the first air-liquid heat exchanger and the heat exchanger panels of the second air-liquid heat exchanger are parallel and face the same direction. An intake area of ​​the second air-liquid heat exchanger for drawing ambient air through the at least one fan of the second air-liquid heat exchanger is different from an exhaust area of ​​the at least one fan of the first air-liquid heat exchanger.

[0017] In a third aspect of the present technology, a modular data center is provided, the modular data center comprising: a housing unit configured to house an electronic device; a pad structure platform mounted on a top surface of the housing unit; and an air-liquid heat exchanger according to some embodiments of the present technology. The air-liquid heat exchanger is mounted on the pad structure platform, and the air-liquid heat exchanger cools the cooling liquid guided through the channel by discharging the heat energy of the cooling liquid guided through the channel to the vicinity of the exterior of the housing unit. The pad structure platform allows an operator to patrol along a circulation path that extends along at least a portion of a fan assembly and at least a portion of a heat exchanger panel of the air-liquid heat exchanger.

[0018] In some non-limiting embodiments, the mat structure platform occupies a first surface area on the top surface of the containment unit, and the air-liquid heat exchanger occupies a second surface area on the mat structure platform, the second surface area having a size smaller than the first surface area.

[0019] In some non-limiting embodiments, the heat exchanger panels are parallel to the longitudinal sides of the containment unit.

[0020] In some non-limiting embodiments, the first surface area is smaller than the surface of the top surface.

[0021] In some non-limiting embodiments, the receiving unit defines an opening on a top portion of the receiving unit, and the mat structure platform further comprises a locking mechanism configured to engage with the opening to secure the mat structure platform to the receiving unit.

[0022] In some non-limiting embodiments, the pad structure platform further comprises one or more groups of inclined plate members, wherein the one or more groups of inclined plate members are disposed below the pad structure platform, the inclined plate members in the same group of inclined plate members being stacked one above the other and being configured to raise the lateral sides of the pad structure platform relative to the top surface of the accommodating unit.

[0023] In some non-limiting embodiments, the one or more sets of inclined plate members are disposed along longitudinal sides of the pad structure platform.

[0024] In some non-limiting embodiments, the electronic device is a server.

[0025] In some non-limiting embodiments, the modular data center also includes a cooling circuit for cooling the electronic devices, the cooling circuit including a cooling liquid unit in thermal contact with the electronic devices, the cooling liquid unit for transferring heat energy generated by the electronic devices to a cooling liquid guided by a channel flowing in the cooling circuit.

[0026] In some non-limiting embodiments, the accommodation unit is a first accommodation unit, the electronic device is a first electronic device, the cooling circuit is a first cooling circuit, the pad structure platform is a first pad structure platform, and the air-liquid heat exchanger is a first air-liquid heat exchanger. The modular data center also includes: a second accommodation unit, the second accommodation unit is arranged adjacent to the first accommodation unit, the second accommodation unit is configured to accommodate a second electronic device; a second cooling circuit, the second cooling circuit is used to cool the second electronic device, the second cooling circuit includes a cooling liquid unit in thermal contact with the second electronic device, the cooling liquid unit is used to transfer the heat energy generated by the second electronic device to the cooling liquid guided by the channel flowing in the second cooling circuit; a second pad structure platform, the second pad structure platform is installed on the top surface of the second accommodation unit, the second pad structure platform occupies the second accommodation unit. The third surface area on the top surface of the second pad structure platform; and the second air-liquid heat exchanger as described above, the second air-liquid heat exchanger is mounted on the second pad structure platform, and the second air-liquid heat exchanger is configured to cool the cooling liquid guided through the channel by discharging the heat energy of the cooling liquid guided through the channel to the vicinity of the outside of the second accommodation unit, the second air-liquid heat exchanger occupies a fourth surface area on the second pad structure platform, the size of the fourth surface area is smaller than the size of the third surface area, and the second pad structure platform is configured to allow an operator to patrol around at least a portion of the second air-liquid heat exchanger. The first pad structure platform and the second pad structure platform are configured to enable an operator to pass from the first pad structure platform to the second pad structure platform.

[0027] In some non-limiting embodiments, the first containing unit and the second containing unit are disposed adjacent to each other along a longitudinal side of the first containing unit and a longitudinal side of the second containing unit.

[0028] In some non-limiting embodiments, the first pad structure platform and the second pad structure platform respectively include a first fence defining a first door and a second fence defining a second door, the first door and the second door are aligned with each other to face each other during use, and the first door and the second door are selectively opened or closed to enable an operator to pass.

[0029] In the context of this application document, unless otherwise explicitly stated, a computer system may refer to but is not limited to an "electronic device", "operating system", "system", "computer-based system", "controller unit", "monitoring device", "control device" and / or any combination thereof suitable for the current relevant task.

[0030] In the context of the present application document, unless otherwise explicitly stated, the expressions "computer-readable medium" and "memory" are intended to include media of any nature and kind, non-limiting examples of which include RAM, ROM, disks (CD-ROM, DVD, floppy disks, hard disk drives, etc.), USB keys, flash memory cards, solid-state drives, and tape drives. Still in the context of the present application document, "a" computer-readable medium and "the" computer-readable medium should not be interpreted as the same computer-readable medium. On the contrary, and when appropriate, "a" computer-readable medium and "the" computer-readable medium may also be interpreted as a first computer-readable medium and a second computer-readable medium.

[0031] In the context of the present application document, unless expressly stated otherwise, the words "first", "second", "third", etc. are used as adjectives merely for the purpose of allowing a distinction between the nouns that modify each other, and not for the purpose of describing any particular relationship between these nouns.

[0032] The embodiments of the present technology all have at least one of the above-mentioned purposes and / or aspects, but not necessarily all of these purposes and / or aspects. It should be understood that some aspects of the present technology resulting from attempts to achieve the above-mentioned purposes may not meet the purposes and / or may meet other purposes not specifically described herein.

[0033] Additional and / or alternative features, aspects, and advantages of embodiments of the present technology will become apparent from the following description, drawings, and appended claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present technology will become better understood in conjunction with the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, in which:

[0035] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a modular data center according to a non-limiting embodiment of the present technology;

[0036] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A perspective view of a housing unit of a modular data center;

[0037] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A top view of an air-to-liquid heat exchanger of a modular data center;

[0038] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 A perspective view of an air-liquid heat exchanger for a modular data center;

[0039] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 A perspective view of a pad structure platform of a modular data center;

[0040] Figure 6 for Figure 5 A side view of a pad structure platform;

[0041] Figure 7 yes Figure 1 A top view of the modular data center;

[0042] Figure 8 is from Figure 5 a stereogram obtained from the bottom of the pad structure platform; and

[0043] Fig. 9 is a perspective view of an expanded modular data center in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present technology.

[0044] It should also be noted that unless otherwise explicitly noted herein, the accompanying drawings are not to scale. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] The examples and conditional terms set forth herein are primarily intended to help the reader understand the principles of the present technology, rather than to limit the scope of the present technology to such specifically set forth examples and conditions. It should be appreciated that a person skilled in the art may conceive of various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, implement the principles of the present technology.

[0046] In addition, to aid understanding, the following description may describe relatively simplified embodiments of the present technology. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, various embodiments of the present technology may have greater complexity.

[0047] In some cases, helpful examples that are considered to be modifications of the present technology may also be described. This is done only to help understanding, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present technology or to describe the limits of the present technology. These modifications are not exhaustive, and those skilled in the art may make other modifications that still fall within the scope of the present technology. In addition, in the case of not describing a modified example, it should not be understood that no modification is possible and / or that what is described is the only way to implement the element of the present technology.

[0048] In addition, all statements herein setting forth the principles, aspects, and embodiments of the present technology, as well as specific examples of the present technology, are intended to encompass structural and functional equivalents of the present technology, whether currently known or developed in the future. Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagram herein represents a conceptual diagram of an illustrative system that implements the principles of the present technology.

[0049] Figure 1 1 is a perspective view of a modular data center 100, which includes: a containment unit 1000; a pad structure platform 3000, which is mounted on the top surface 1050 of the containment unit 1000; and an air-liquid heat exchanger 2000, which is mounted on the pad structure platform 3000. The containment unit 1000 can be implemented by a trailer, a shipping container, or other similarly constructed structure. In use, the containment unit 1000 houses and services an assembly including a plurality of racks, which contains electronic devices and supporting infrastructure equipment, such as computer server components, special processors, memory components, high-speed network modules, and supporting infrastructure equipment such as power facilities, air handling systems, liquid cooling structures, etc. It will be understood that the containment unit 1000 can be combined with different components and equipment of the overall modular data center system. The containment unit 1000 may incorporate one or more openings (not shown) to enable ventilation of the data processing equipment and to accommodate routing of associated cables and / or duct arrangements to another containment unit and / or duct arrangements to external resources.

[0050] As will be described in more detail below, the accommodation unit 1000 accommodates electronic devices, such as servers, that are likely to generate a large amount of heat. Therefore, the modular data center 100 can use a cooling system to cool the electronic devices to prevent the electronic devices from being damaged. For example, the cooling system of the modular data center 100 is a hybrid cooling system that includes an immersion cooling system and a channel-guided cooling system. It is contemplated that the cooling system of the modular data center 100 can be an immersion cooling system only or a channel-guided cooling system only.

[0051] As used herein, an immersion cooling system is a cooling system in which an electronic device is in direct contact with an immersion cooling liquid (e.g., a non-conductive cooling liquid) that flows over at least a portion of the electronic device or in which at least a portion of the electronic device is immersed. The immersion cooling liquid can be cooled directly or indirectly using an air-to-liquid heat exchanger such as air-to-liquid heat exchanger 2000.

[0052] As used herein, a channelized cooling system is a cooling system in which heat generating components of an electronic device (i.e., electronic components of an electronic device) or a dielectric cooling liquid is cooled using a liquid cooling unit through which a channeled cooling liquid flows to collect thermal energy, which liquid cooling unit may also be referred to as a "cold plate" or "water block" (although the channeled cooling liquid circulating through the "water block" may be any of a variety of known heat transfer liquids instead of water). The channeled cooling liquid may be further cooled using an air-to-liquid heat exchanger such as air-to-liquid heat exchanger 2000. Although the channeled cooling liquid flowing in the closed loop in this example may be water, the channeled cooling liquid may be a dielectric fluid, a refrigerant fluid, a two-phase fluid, or any other fluid suitable for collecting and discharging thermal energy.

[0053] In any case, the electronic devices of the modular data center 100 are cooled using a cooling liquid that extracts thermal energy from the electronic devices of the modular data center 100, and the cooling liquid is further cooled by rejecting the thermal energy to the ambient air using the air-to-liquid heat exchanger 2000. For example, Figure 2 As depicted in FIG. 1 , the accommodation unit 1000 may include one or more rack systems 1100 (two of the one or more rack systems 1100 are located in the Figure 2 ), cooling module 1200 and electrical cabinet 1300.

[0054] More specifically, rack system 1100 may host a plurality of rack-mounted components to be cooled, including electronic devices (e.g., servers) to be cooled. Cooling module 1200 may include pumps, piping components, temperature sensors, liquid flow sensors, controllers, and other data processing systems for automating the cooling of electronic devices. In some embodiments, each of electrical cabinets 1300 may include a router, a power distribution unit, power equipment, a network device, a fuse, a sensor, a data collection device, or any other suitable electrical component involved in the normal operation of modular data center 100.

[0055] like Figure 1 As shown in and otherwise referred to Figure 3 , the air-liquid heat exchanger 2000 extends approximately orthogonal to the top surface 1050 of the containing unit 1000. More specifically, the air-liquid heat exchanger 2000 includes a frame 2100 and a heat exchanger panel 2200 mounted to the frame 2100. In use, the heat exchanger panel 2200 discharges the heat energy of the cooling liquid guided through the channel into the atmosphere. In this embodiment, the frame 2100 has a rectangular shape, thereby defining four edges. In alternative embodiments of the present technology, other shapes of the frame 2100 with different numbers of edges can be considered.

[0056] In particular, the heat exchanger panel 2200 is a liquid-to-air heat exchanger panel 2200 that transfers thermal energy from a channeled cooling liquid circulating in the liquid-to-air heat exchanger panel 2200 to air flowing through the liquid-to-air heat exchanger panel 2200. More specifically, the heat exchanger panel 2200 may have an air inlet side and an air outlet side, and in use, air enters the heat exchanger panel 2200 through the air inlet side and leaves the heat exchanger panel 2200 through the air outlet side, respectively.

[0057] The heat exchanger panel 2200 may include: a cooling coil (not shown) for circulating the cooling liquid guided through the channel in the cooling coil; and a plurality of fins (not shown) in thermal contact with the cooling coil. Figure 1 As depicted in , the cooling coil has an inlet and an outlet for feeding the cooling liquid guided by the channel into the cooling coil and for discharging the cooling liquid from the cooling coil, respectively. The fins may be spaced apart from one another so that air flows between the fins from the air inlet side to the air outlet side of the heat exchanger panel 2200.

[0058] It is contemplated that the air-to-liquid heat exchanger 2000 may optionally include at least one cooling pad 2150 (see Figure 2 ) or evaporation pad, the at least one cooling pad 2150 or evaporation pad is disposed on the outer portion of the heat exchanger 2000 and mounted to the frame 2100. In this embodiment, the cooling pad 2150 is mounted on the other side of the frame relative to the heat exchanger panel 2200. Figure 3 , cooling pads 2150 are disposed on the lateral sides of the heat exchanger 2000. An external cooling fluid may be dispensed on the cooling pads 2150, thereby providing a cooled surface. Ambient air is drawn across the cooling surface of the cooling pads 2150, thereby cooling the ambient air before it contacts the heat exchanger panel 2200. In use, the cooling fluid may be sprayed on the cooling pads 2150. The cooling liquid may be water, possibly with additives such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) and / or polypropylene glycol (PPG).

[0059] The distribution system can distribute the external cooling fluid in the surrounding environment of the air-liquid heat exchanger 2000, in particular, in this example, the distribution system can distribute the external cooling fluid to the cooling pad 2150 so that the ambient air flows through the wet cooling pad 2150. Therefore, as part of the external cooling fluid (e.g., water droplets) distributed on the cooling pad 2150 evaporates, the temperature of the ambient air flowing through the cooling pad 2150 decreases. Therefore, the thermal energy of the ambient air is absorbed by the evaporation of part of the second cooling fluid so that the temperature of the air flow decreases. The cooling pad 2150 can be made of plastic material, cellulose or glass fiber, but in alternative embodiments, other materials are also expected.

[0060] The heat exchanger 2000 includes a fan assembly 2300 that, in use, causes air to flow through the heat exchanger 2000. The fan assembly 2300 is mounted to the frame 2100. In the context of the present disclosure, for example, when component A is directly or indirectly mounted to component B, component A is mounted to component B. For example, the fan assembly 2300 may be mounted to a heat exchanger panel 2200, which is mounted to the frame 2100.

[0061] In particular, the fan assembly 2300 includes a plurality of fans 2310 (only one fan in Figure 323). In this example, the fan 2310 is capable of rotating about a corresponding horizontal axis 2312 to draw ambient air into the air-liquid heat exchanger panel 2200. In this embodiment, the axis of rotation 2312 extends substantially horizontally, parallel to the top surface 1050 of the containment unit 1000, and at an angle relative to the normal of the heat exchanger panel 2200. For example, the angle can be between 45° and 90°. In this embodiment, the angle is between 50° and 60°. It can be said that the heat exchanger 2000 has an angled configuration.

[0062] In this embodiment, the fan assembly 2300 also includes an air deflector 2350 that transfers ambient air from the heat exchanger panel 2200 to the fan 2310. More specifically, the air deflector 2350 extends from the edge 2102 of the frame 2100 (or the edge of the heat exchanger panel 2200) to the fan 2310 so that the air deflector 2350 transfers the heated air once the air has passed through the heat exchanger panel 2200.

[0063] As in Figure 3 As can be seen in FIG. 2 , the air deflector 2350 has a triangular shape, having a first side 2352 extending along the heat exchanger panel 2200 and a second side 2354 extending from the edge 2102 to the fan 2310. For example, but not limiting, the ratio of the first side 2352 to the second side 2354 can be between 1.1 and 1.2.

[0064] Thus, the heat exchanger 2000 functions by pumping heated channeled cooling liquid extracted from a cooling unit in thermal contact with an electronic device through the cooling coils of the heat exchanger panel 2200 while drawing ambient air between the fins of the heat exchanger panel 2200 and around the cooling coils of the heat exchanger panel 2200. The ambient air absorbs heat from the heated channeled cooling liquid circulating through the cooling coils. As the ambient air is drawn through the heat exchanger panel 2200 into the interior of the heat exchanger 2000, thermal energy is transferred from the channeled cooling liquid circulating in the heat exchanger panel 2200 to the ambient air. The now heated air is then exhausted from the interior of the heat exchanger 2000 through the fan assembly 2300. Thus, the channeled cooling liquid circulating in the heat exchanger panel 2200 is cooled and recirculated back into the cooling circuit to further collect thermal energy from the electronic device, thereby cooling the electronic device.

[0065] It will be understood that the configuration of the heat exchanger 2000 described above is provided as an example only to help understand the present technology. In other examples, the heat exchanger 2000 can be constructed in a different manner. For example, a plurality of heat exchanger panels 2200 can be provided, and the fan assembly 2300 can include a single fan 2310.

[0066] Figure 5 and Figure 6 A mat structure platform 3000 according to some non-limiting embodiments of the present technology is shown. In use, the mat structure platform 3000 is mounted on the top surface 1050 or "ceiling surface" of the containment unit 1000 and supports the heat exchanger 2000. More specifically, the mat structure platform 3000 includes: a frame 3100; a platform 3200, which is mounted to the frame 3100; and a fence assembly 3300, which is mounted to the frame 3100 and extends along the perimeter of the frame 3100.

[0067] As in Figure 5 As can be seen in FIG. 3 , the platform 3200 occupies a first portion of the area provided by the frame 3100, and a second portion of the surface is occupied by the heat exchanger 2000 in use. In this embodiment, the platform 3200 is L-shaped. Figure 7 , the operator can therefore walk (navigate) on the platform 3200 to approach the heat exchanger 2000, and more precisely, the operator can walk on the platform 3200 to approach the fan 2310 and the heat exchanger panel 2200 without using a forklift or any lifting equipment. Therefore, it is convenient for the operator to visually inspect and maintain the heat exchanger 200.

[0068] In this embodiment, the fence assembly 3300 is defined with a protective door 3350 that can be selectively closed or opened to allow an operator to walk from the platform 3200 to another platform installed on another accommodation unit arranged adjacent to the accommodation unit 1000 (see Fig. 9 ).

[0069] Reference Figure 6 and Figure 8 , the mat structure platform 3000 further includes a positioning plate 3150 extending from the frame 3100. The positioning plate 3150 may, for example, be mounted to the frame 3100. In use, the positioning plate 3150 is used to center the mat structure platform 3000 on the top surface 1050 of the receiving unit 1000. More specifically, the positioning plate 3150 may contact the outer side of the lateral wall of the receiving unit 1000 to prevent the mat structure platform 3000 from being misaligned relative to the receiving unit 1000.

[0070] In some cases, the shape of the top surface 1050 may not be straight (e.g., the containment unit 1000 may have been damaged). Therefore, it may be advantageous to ensure that the pad structure platform 3000 is properly leveled to facilitate walking by an operator. In addition, the top surface 1050 of the containment unit 1000 may not be suitable for supporting a relatively high weight. Therefore, it may be advantageous to distribute the weight of the pad structure platform 3000 and the heat exchanger 2000 mounted thereon to the load bearing beams 1070, which in this embodiment extend along the top portion of the side walls of the containment unit 1000. To this end, an inclined plate 3152 can be implemented and mounted to any of the positioning plates 3150 (for example, slid along any of the positioning plates 3150) to locally raise the frame 3100 relative to the top surface 1050, or to compensate for any geometric defects on the top surface 1050 that may cause the pad structure platform 3000 to tilt, and ultimately distribute the weight of the pad structure platform 3000 away from the central portion of the top surface 1050.

[0071] Therefore, if Figure 8 As depicted in the depicted embodiment, the tilting plate 3152 can be mounted on the positioning plate 3150 to locally adjust the distance between the frame 3100 and the top surface 1050 of the accommodating unit 1000. The tilting plate 3152 is configured to have a vertical thickness of about 1 mm to about 10 mm. The number of tilting plates 3152 implemented depends on the desired local height of vertical displacement. The tilting plate 3152 can be installed by inserting, sliding or wedging into the positioning plate 3150.

[0072] The pad structure platform 3000 also includes one or more fastening elements 3160 (one of the one or more fastening elements 3160 is located in the Figure 8 ), the one or more fastening elements 3160 are designed to securely attach the frame 3100 to the containment unit 1000. For example, the fastening elements 3160 can be disposed near each corner of the frame 3100. The fastening elements 3160 can include any suitable type of secure and removably attached device, such as, for example, a rotatable twist lock mechanism, a threaded bolt / nut, etc. When the frame 3100 is mounted on the containment unit 1000, the fastening elements 3160 are aligned with complementary apertures (not shown) and / or positioning plates (not shown) of the top surface 1050, and are rotated or tightened to lock in place with the complementary apertures. In use, the positioning plates 3150 also allow for precise setting of the complementary apertures designed to cooperate with the fastening elements 3160.

[0073] Fig. 9An expanded modular data center 50 is shown, which includes a plurality of accommodation units 1000 in a side-by-side configuration, each accommodation unit 1000 being equipped with a corresponding air-liquid heat exchanger 2000 for cooling electronic devices disposed in the accommodation unit 1000. Therefore, the air-liquid heat exchangers 2000 of the expanded modular data center 50 are also arranged side-by-side so that the heat exchanger panels 2200 are parallel and face the same direction. In this embodiment, the angled configuration of the heat exchangers 2000 is such that the intake area of ​​one of the air-liquid heat exchangers 2000 for drawing ambient air by a fan of the one air-liquid heat exchanger is different from the exhaust area of ​​at least one fan of a consecutive air-liquid heat exchanger.

[0074] It will be understood that although the embodiments presented herein have been described with reference to specific features and structures, various modifications and combinations may be made without departing from the present disclosure. Therefore, the specification and drawings should be regarded only as illustrations of the embodiment or embodiments discussed and the principles thereof as defined by the appended claims, and are intended to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents falling within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An air-liquid heat exchanger (2000), the air-liquid heat exchanger (2000) being configured to be disposed on a support surface, the air-liquid heat exchanger (2000) comprising: Frame(2100); a heat exchanger panel (2200) mounted to the frame (2100), the heat exchanger panel (2200) being configured to circulate cooling liquid guided through the channels from a liquid inlet to a liquid outlet, the heat exchanger panel (2200) extending in a manner substantially normal to the support surface; as well as A fan assembly (2300) is mounted to the frame (2100), the fan assembly (2300) comprising at least one fan (2310), the at least one fan (2310) being configured to draw ambient air through the heat exchanger panel (2200), each of the at least one fan (2310) being rotatable about a rotation axis extending in a manner substantially parallel to the support surface and at an angle relative to a normal to the heat exchanger panel (2200).

2. The air-liquid heat exchanger (2000) according to claim 1, wherein: The frame (2100) defines a plurality of edges, The at least one fan (2310) is disposed along a first edge of the plurality of edges.

3. The air-liquid heat exchanger (2000) according to claim 2, wherein: The fan assembly (2300) also includes an air deflector (2350) configured to direct ambient air from the heat exchanger panel (2200) to the at least one fan (2310).

4. The air-liquid heat exchanger (2000) according to claim 3, wherein: The air deflector (2350) extends from a second edge of the plurality of edges opposite the first edge to the fan assembly (2300).

5. The air-liquid heat exchanger (2000) according to claim 1, wherein: The angle is between 45° and 90°.

6. The air-liquid heat exchanger (2000) according to claim 4, wherein: The air deflector (2350) has a triangular shape.

7. The air-liquid heat exchanger (2000) according to claim 6, wherein: The angle is between 50° and 60°, A ratio of a distance between the first edge and the second edge to a length of the air deflector (2350) is between 1.1 and 1.

2.

8. An air cooling assembly, comprising: a first air-liquid heat exchanger, wherein the first air-liquid heat exchanger is The air-liquid heat exchanger (2000) according to claim 1; and A second air-liquid heat exchanger, wherein the second air-liquid heat exchanger is The air-liquid heat exchanger (2000) according to claim 1, the second air-liquid heat exchanger is arranged in a configuration side by side with the first air-liquid heat exchanger, so that the heat exchanger panel of the first air-liquid heat exchanger and the heat exchanger panel of the second air-liquid heat exchanger are parallel and face the same direction, in, An intake area of ​​the second air-liquid heat exchanger for drawing ambient air through the at least one fan (2310) of the second air-liquid heat exchanger is different from an exhaust area of ​​the at least one fan (2310) of the first air-liquid heat exchanger.

9. A modular data center (100), the modular data center (100) comprising: a housing unit configured to house the electronic device; a pad structure platform mounted on a top surface of the accommodation unit; as well as According to the air-liquid heat exchanger (2000) according to claim 1, the air-liquid heat exchanger (2000) is mounted on the pad structure platform, and the air-liquid heat exchanger (2000) is configured to cool the cooling liquid guided through the channel by discharging the heat energy of the cooling liquid guided through the channel to the vicinity of the outside of the containing unit, and the pad structure platform is configured to allow an operator to patrol along a circulation path, which extends along at least a portion of the fan assembly (2300) and at least a portion of the heat exchanger panel (2200) of the air-liquid heat exchanger (2000).

10. The modular data center (100) according to claim 9, wherein: The pad structure platform occupies a first surface area on the top surface of the receiving unit, and The air-to-liquid heat exchanger (2000) occupies a second surface area on the mat structure platform, the second surface area having a size smaller than the first surface area.

11. The modular data center (100) according to claim 10, wherein: The first surface area is smaller than a surface of the top surface.

12. The modular data center (100) of claim 9, wherein: The pad structure platform also includes one or more groups of inclined plate members, which are arranged below the pad structure platform. The inclined plate members in the same group of inclined plate members are stacked one above the other and are configured to raise the lateral sides of the pad structure platform relative to the top surface of the accommodating unit.

13. The modular data center (100) of claim 12, wherein: The one or more sets of inclined plate members are disposed along longitudinal sides of the pad structure platform.

14. The modular data center (100) of claim 9, wherein: The accommodation unit is a first accommodation unit, the electronic device is a first electronic device, the cooling circuit is a first cooling circuit, the pad structure platform is a first pad structure platform, and the air-liquid heat exchanger (2000) is a first air-liquid heat exchanger, and the modular data center further comprises: a second accommodating unit, the second accommodating unit being disposed adjacent to the first accommodating unit, and the second accommodating unit being configured to accommodate a second electronic device; a second cooling circuit, the second cooling circuit being used to cool the second electronic device, the second cooling circuit comprising a cooling liquid unit in thermal contact with the second electronic device, the cooling liquid unit being used to transfer heat energy generated by the second electronic device to a cooling liquid guided by the channel and flowing in the second cooling circuit; a second mat structure platform mounted on a top surface of the second receiving unit, the second mat structure platform occupying a third surface area on the top surface of the second receiving unit; and a second air-liquid heat exchanger, the second air-liquid heat exchanger being the air-liquid heat exchanger (2000) according to claim 1, the second air-liquid heat exchanger being mounted on the second pad structure platform, and the second air-liquid heat exchanger being configured to cool the cooling liquid guided through the channel by discharging heat energy of the cooling liquid guided through the channel to the vicinity of the exterior of the second accommodation unit, the second air-liquid heat exchanger occupying a fourth surface area on the second pad structure platform, the fourth surface area being smaller in size than the third surface area, the second pad structure platform being configured to allow an operator to patrol around at least a portion of the second air-liquid heat exchanger, The first mat structure platform and the second mat structure platform are configured to enable an operator to pass from the first mat structure platform to the second mat structure platform.

15. The modular data center (100) of claim 14, wherein: The first pad structure platform and the second pad structure platform respectively include a first fence defining a first door and a second fence defining a second door, the first door and the second door are aligned with each other and face each other during use, and the first door and the second door are selectively opened or closed to enable operators to pass through.

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