Seabed data center cooling device

Abstract

The invention designs a cooling device for a submarine data center. Comprising a liquid inlet box, a server cabinet, a spraying device, a sky radiation heat exchanger and a seawater heat exchanger, the spraying device is used for spraying and refrigerating a heating device in the server cabinet, the sky radiation heat exchanger is arranged on the sea surface and used for transmitting heat generated by the server cabinet to the sky through radiation, the two ends of the seawater heat exchanger are communicated with a water inlet channel and a water drainage channel, and the water inlet channel and the water drainage channel are both connected with seawater. According to the server cabinet, the heat of the server cabinet is transferred to the seawater in the channel, and the center uses the seawater for cooling, so that a lot of energy consumption can be avoided, the occupation of land resources is reduced, and the server cabinet is far away from a human activity area, and a stable environment is provided for the work of the server.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of water cooling, and in particular to a cooling device for a submarine data center. Background Art

[0002] At present, emerging industries such as artificial intelligence and the Internet are booming, and data centers are playing an increasingly important role as the support for these industries. The servers in traditional data centers emit a lot of heat energy during the calculation and storage process, which is cooled by refrigeration systems such as air conditioners to maintain the normal operation of the data center. However, this process will generate huge energy loss and increase carbon emissions, which is not conducive to sustainable development.

[0003] The submarine data center (UDC) consists of a shore station, a submarine optoelectronic composite cable, a submarine substation and a submarine data cabin. The main structure of the submarine data center is a tank structure, and the electrical equipment and cooling devices are arranged inside the tank. The top of the tank is a seawater cooling device. The submarine data center uses seawater for cooling, which can avoid a lot of energy consumption. In addition, the submarine data center also makes full use of the submarine space, which not only greatly saves the occupation of land resources, but also is far away from human activity areas, providing a stable environment for server work. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the defects of poor heat dissipation performance, excessive energy consumption and poor stability of data centers in the prior art, thereby providing a cooling device for a submarine data center.

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0006] A cooling device for a submarine data center comprises a liquid inlet tank, a server cabinet, a spray device, a sky radiation heat exchanger, and a seawater heat exchanger; the server cabinets are installed in multiple groups and are provided with a spray device inside; a low-temperature heat transfer medium is provided in the liquid inlet tank, and the low-temperature heat transfer medium sprays and cools the heating components in the server cabinets through the spray device; the sky radiation heat exchanger is arranged on the sea surface, and is used to transfer the heat generated by the server cabinets to the sky by radiation; the seawater heat exchanger has a water inlet channel and a drainage channel at both ends, and the water inlet channel and the drainage channel are both connected to seawater, and are used to transfer the heat of the server cabinet to the seawater in the channel.

[0007] Furthermore, the low-temperature heat transfer medium is stored in a liquid storage tank, and a water pump is located at an outlet of the liquid storage tank. The water pump adjusts the flow rate in a timely manner according to the heat load generated by the heating device in the server cabinet and the heat exchange effect of the seawater heat exchanger.

[0008] Furthermore, it also includes a flow distribution unit, which is used to divide the flow of the low-temperature heat transfer medium. The heat exchange effect of the sky radiation heat exchanger is different during the day and at night. The flow distribution unit is used to adjust the mass ratio of the flow to the sky radiation heat exchanger and the seawater heat exchanger according to the heat exchange effect.

[0009] Furthermore, it also includes a filtering device, which is communicated with the water inlet channel and is used to filter seawater to remove dirt in the seawater.

[0010] Furthermore, a liquid inlet pipe and a liquid return pipe are provided inside the server cabinet. The liquid inlet pipe supplies low-temperature heat transfer medium to the heating device in the server cabinet, and the liquid return pipe recovers the heated heat transfer medium.

[0011] Furthermore, a seawater pump is provided at the outlet of the filter device on the water inlet channel, and the seawater pump is used to adjust the flow rate of seawater entering the channel.

[0012] Furthermore, it also includes a temperature sensor, which is installed around the server cabinet and is used to monitor the server temperature to avoid the server temperature being too high, and at the same time adjust the flow rate of the low-temperature heat transfer medium according to the real-time temperature of the server.

[0013] Furthermore, the seawater heat exchanger adopts a spiral tube heat exchanger to increase the heat exchange area, prolong the flow time of seawater in the tube, and improve the heat exchange efficiency.

[0014] Furthermore, the seawater heat exchanger adopts countercurrent heat exchange to improve its heat exchange efficiency.

[0015] Furthermore, the shell of the server cabinet is made of heat-insulating material, which is beneficial to the operation and maintenance of the server cabinet and prevents components outside the server cabinet from being damaged by heat.

[0016] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0017] 1. The submarine data center cooling device provided by the present invention has a server in the server cabinet. The server generates heat when working, and the low-temperature heat transfer medium is sprayed onto the heat generating device of the server, and the heat of the server is transferred to the heat transfer medium. The high-temperature working fluid after absorbing heat converges and flows to the flow distribution unit. The flow distribution unit adjusts the mass ratio of the high-temperature working fluid flowing to the two heat exchangers according to the real-time heat exchange effect of the heat exchanger. A part of the high-temperature heat transfer working fluid flows to the sky radiation heat exchanger, and transfers the heat to the sky through radiation heat transfer; the other part of the high-temperature heat transfer working fluid flows to the seawater heat exchanger, and the seawater enters the heat exchanger from the water inlet channel, flows in the heat exchange tube to exchange heat with the high-temperature heat transfer working fluid, and then is discharged from the drainage channel. The submarine data center cooling device transfers the heat generated by the server after working to the sky and the seawater by radiation heat transfer and convection heat transfer, which improves the heat dissipation performance while avoiding the use of fresh water for heat dissipation and reducing fresh water loss.

[0018] 2. The submarine data center cooling device provided by the present invention includes two types of heat exchangers: a sky radiation heat exchanger and a seawater heat exchanger. Sky radiation cooling consumes almost no electricity or other energy, and has a good energy-saving effect. However, since the cooling effect of sky radiation cooling is quite different during the day and at night, relying solely on sky radiation heat exchangers cannot meet the demand. Therefore, a seawater heat exchanger is added, and a flow distribution unit is provided before the heat exchanger to adjust the flow of the working fluid entering the two heat exchangers. Reduce energy consumption while ensuring stable operation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the principle of the submarine data center cooling device of the present invention.

[0020] Explanation of the reference numerals: 1-liquid storage tank; 2-water pump, 3-liquid inlet tank; 4-spraying device; 5-server cabinet, 6-flow distribution unit; 7-secondary liquid storage tank; 8-sky radiation heat exchanger; 9-filtering device; 10-seawater pump; 11-seawater heat exchanger; 12-water inlet channel; 13-drainage channel, 14-shell. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The technical solution of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0022] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship, are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0023] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0024] In addition, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of the present invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0025] Reference Figure 1 As shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, the submarine data center cooling device includes: a liquid inlet tank 3, a server cabinet 5, a spray device 4, a sky radiation heat exchanger 8 and a seawater heat exchanger 11, the server cabinet 5 is provided with a spray device 4 inside; a low-temperature heat transfer medium is provided in the liquid inlet tank 3; the sky radiation heat exchanger 8 is arranged on the sea surface; the seawater heat exchanger 11 is connected at both ends with a water inlet channel 12 and a drainage channel 13, and the water inlet channel 12 and the drainage channel 13 are both connected to seawater.

[0026] Specifically, the servers in the server cabinet 5 will generate a lot of heat when working, and the low-temperature heat transfer medium is sprayed and cooled on the heat-generating components in the server through the spray device 4, and the heat is transferred to the heat transfer medium. After the high-temperature working fluids are merged, they flow to the flow distribution unit 6, and the flow distribution unit 6 adjusts the mass ratio of the high-temperature working fluids flowing to the two heat exchangers. A part of the high-temperature heat transfer working fluid flows to the sky radiation heat exchanger 8, and transfers the heat to the sky through radiation heat transfer; another part of the high-temperature heat transfer working fluid flows to the seawater heat exchanger 11, and the seawater enters the heat exchanger from the water inlet channel 12, flows in the heat exchange tubes to exchange heat with the high-temperature heat transfer working fluid, and then is discharged from the drainage channel 13. The submarine data center cooling device transfers the heat generated by the server after operation to the sky and the seawater through radiation heat transfer and convection heat transfer, which greatly reduces energy consumption.

[0027] In some embodiments of the present invention, the subsea data center immersed liquid cooling device further includes a filtering device 9, which is connected to the water inlet channel 12 and is used to filter seawater.

[0028] Specifically, since the submarine data center cooling device uses seawater for flow heat exchange, the seawater is mixed with dirt such as sand and shellfish, and is easy to breed microorganisms. Dirt or microorganisms are deposited and attached to the water inlet channel 12 or the heat exchanger pipe, which is easy to cause blockage and affect the heat dissipation performance. The filter device 9 can ensure the smooth flow of the channel to avoid affecting the heat exchange performance.

[0029] According to some embodiments of the present invention, after the heat transfer medium absorbs the heat generated by the server cabinet 5, it converges and flows to the flow distribution unit 6, and then the high-temperature medium flows to the sky radiation heat exchanger 8 and the seawater heat exchanger 11 respectively, and after heat exchange and cooling, it converges and flows to the liquid storage tank 1, completing the entire circulation process.

[0030] Specifically, the principle of sky radiation cooling is that objects on the earth's surface emit infrared radiation to the universe through the "atmospheric window" band (mainly 8-13μm) to achieve self-cooling. Since the cosmic background is close to an ideal black body spectrum with a temperature of 2.7K, and the average temperature of the earth's surface is about 290K, the infrared radiation from the earth to the universe can be used to cool objects on the earth's surface. According to this principle, the sky radiation heat exchanger 8 can be used to cool the high-temperature heat transfer medium.

[0031] It is understandable that the sky radiation heat exchanger 8 consumes almost no energy, but its heat exchange effect will change with the weather, day and night, and seasons, and has significant instability. Therefore, before the high-temperature working fluid enters the sky radiation heat exchanger 8 and the seawater heat exchanger 11, a flow distribution unit 6 is provided to distribute the mass flow. It is understandable that when the system detects that the heat exchange effect of the sky radiation heat exchanger 8 is good, the flow distribution unit 6 will make as much high-temperature working fluid as possible flow to the sky radiation heat exchanger 8 to save energy; on the contrary, when the heat exchange effect of the sky radiation heat exchanger 8 is poor, the flow distribution unit 6 will reduce the high-temperature working fluid flowing to the sky radiation heat exchanger 8 to maintain the stable operation of the cooling system.

[0032] It is understandable that the peak usage period of IT servers is during the day, and the heat load generated by the server cabinet 5 during the day is greater than that at night, while the heat exchange effect of the seawater heat exchanger 11 during the day is lower than that at night. When the seawater heat exchanger 11 works at night, it can store the heat transfer medium with a lower temperature in the liquid storage tank 1, further reducing the energy consumption of the system.

[0033] It can be understood that the sky radiation heat exchanger 8 is installed on the sea surface, which is conducive to radiation heat exchange with the sky.

[0034] It is understandable that, except for the sky radiation heat exchanger 8, the remaining devices are installed in the shell 14, which is convenient for the repair and maintenance of the cooling system. At the same time, each device can avoid being immersed in seawater for a long time and suffer corrosion, thereby ensuring the stability of the system.

[0035] In some embodiments of the present invention, the seawater heat exchanger 11 is a spiral tube heat exchanger. Specifically, the seawater heat exchanger 11 is a spiral tube heat exchanger, which increases the heat exchange area, and the flow time of seawater in the tube is long, which can improve the heat exchange efficiency.

[0036] It can be understood that the seawater heat exchanger 11 adopts countercurrent heat exchange, which has higher heat transfer efficiency, small heat transfer area, space saving and high energy utilization rate.

[0037] In some embodiments of the present invention, a temperature sensor is installed near the server cabinet 5. Specifically, a temperature sensor is installed in each group of server cabinets 5 to monitor the temperature in the server cabinet 5 in real time to ensure the normal operation of the server. It is understandable that the temperature sensor can feed back the temperature change of the server to the entire system, thereby adjusting the heat transfer medium flow in the system channel and the amount of seawater flowing into the seawater heat exchanger 11. When the server temperature is higher than the set temperature, the system will increase the heat transfer medium flow in the channel, and the seawater pump 10 will increase the amount of seawater flowing into the water inlet channel 12; when the server temperature is lower than the set temperature, the system will reduce the heat transfer medium flow in the channel, and the seawater pump 10 will reduce the amount of seawater flowing into the water inlet channel 12, thereby reducing energy consumption while ensuring the safe operation of the server.

[0038] In some embodiments of the present invention, the filter device 9 is arranged in series on the water inlet channel 12 .

[0039] In some embodiments of the present invention, a seawater pump 10 is provided on the water inlet channel 12 .

[0040] It is understandable that the seawater pump 10 can adjust the flow of seawater entering the channel. In summer, when the seawater temperature is high, the heat exchange temperature difference decreases, and the seawater flow entering the channel needs to be increased to meet the heat exchange requirements and avoid excessive server temperature; while in winter, when the seawater temperature is low, the seawater flow can be reduced accordingly to reduce energy consumption.

[0041] In some embodiments of the present invention, the surface of the sky radiation heat exchanger 8 is coated with silicon-based inorganic substances. Specifically, silicon-based inorganic substances are a type of radiation cooling material with excellent performance, which can transmit most visible light and part of infrared light, thereby achieving daytime radiation cooling.

[0042] In some embodiments of the present invention, the outer shell of the housing 14 is made of a heat insulating material.

[0043] In some embodiments of the present invention, the system adopts spray cooling, and a spray device 4 is installed on the top of the server cabinet 5 to spray low-temperature heat transfer medium to the heating device. Specifically, a liquid inlet pipe and a liquid return pipe are arranged inside the server cabinet 5. The liquid inlet pipe supplies low-temperature heat transfer medium to the IT equipment, and the liquid return pipe recovers the heated heat transfer medium.

[0044] It is understandable that the server cabinet 5 is sealed to prevent leakage of the coolant. At the same time, the shell of the server cabinet 5 is made of insulating material to prevent components other than the server cabinet 5 from being damaged by heat.

[0045] In some embodiments of the present invention, the heat transfer medium is a fluorinated liquid. Specifically, the fluorinated liquid has stable properties, flame retardancy, a high boiling point and a suitable dielectric constant, and has a better cooling effect than traditional organic media such as mineral oil and silicone oil.

[0046] Obviously, the above embodiments are merely examples for the purpose of clear explanation, and are not intended to limit the implementation methods. For those skilled in the art, other different forms of changes or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is not necessary and impossible to list all the implementation methods here. The obvious changes or modifications derived therefrom are still within the scope of protection of the invention.

Claims

1. A cooling device for a submarine data center, characterized in that: The invention comprises a liquid inlet tank (3), a server cabinet (5), a spray device (4), a sky radiation heat exchanger (8), and a seawater heat exchanger (11); the server cabinet (5) is installed in multiple groups and is provided with a spray device (4) inside; a low-temperature heat transfer medium is provided inside the liquid inlet tank (3), and the low-temperature heat transfer medium sprays and cools the heating components in the server cabinet (5) through the spray device (4); the sky radiation heat exchanger (8) is arranged on the sea surface and is used to transfer the heat generated by the server cabinet (5) to the sky through radiation; the seawater heat exchanger (11) is connected to a water inlet channel (12) and a drainage channel (13) at both ends; the water inlet channel (12) and the drainage channel (13) are both connected to seawater and are used to transfer the heat of the server cabinet (5) to the seawater in the channel.

2. A submarine data center cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a liquid storage tank (1); the low-temperature heat transfer medium is stored in the liquid storage tank (1); a water pump (2) is located at the outlet of the liquid storage tank (1); and the water pump (2) adjusts the flow rate in a timely manner according to the heat load generated by the heating device in the server cabinet (5) and the heat exchange effect of the seawater heat exchanger (11).

3. The submarine data center cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a flow distribution unit (6), which is used to divide the flow of the low-temperature heat transfer medium. The heat exchange effect of the sky radiation heat exchanger (8) is different during the day and at night. The flow distribution unit (6) is used to adjust the mass ratio of the flow to the sky radiation heat exchanger (8) and the seawater heat exchanger (11) according to the heat exchange effect.

4. The submarine data center cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also comprises a filtering device (9), which is in communication with the water inlet channel (12) and is used for filtering seawater to remove dirt in the seawater.

5. The submarine data center cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A liquid inlet pipe and a liquid return pipe are provided inside the server cabinet (5); the liquid inlet pipe supplies low-temperature heat transfer medium to the heating device in the server cabinet (5); and the liquid return pipe recovers the heated heat transfer medium.

6. The submarine data center cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A seawater pump (10) is provided at the outlet of the filter device on the water inlet channel (12), and the seawater pump (10) is used to adjust the flow rate of seawater entering the channel.

7. The submarine data center cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a temperature sensor, which is installed around the server cabinet (5) and is used to monitor the server temperature to prevent the server temperature from being too high, and to adjust the flow rate of the low-temperature heat transfer medium according to the real-time temperature of the server.

8. The submarine data center cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The seawater heat exchanger (11) adopts a spiral tube heat exchanger, which increases the heat exchange area, prolongs the flow time of seawater in the tube, and improves the heat exchange efficiency.

9. A submarine data center cooling device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The seawater heat exchanger (11) adopts countercurrent heat exchange to improve its heat exchange efficiency.

10. The submarine data center cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shell of the server cabinet (5) is made of heat-insulating material, which is beneficial to the operation and maintenance of the server cabinet and prevents components outside the server cabinet from being damaged by heat.

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