Natural cold seawater and heat pump collaborative computing center cascade cooling system

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of computing power cooling, and particularly relates to a natural cold seawater and heat pump coordinated computing center cascade cooling system, which comprises a seawater taking unit and a cold energy station unit, the seawater taking unit is matched with a seawater taking pipeline, and the cold energy station unit is internally provided with a mutually matched refrigerant refrigeration circuit and a seawater heat exchange circuit; the refrigerant refrigeration circuit is provided with a primary heat exchange assembly and a secondary heat pump assembly, a refrigerant circulating pipeline extends to the end of the computing center after penetrating through the primary heat exchange assembly and the secondary heat pump assembly; the seawater heat exchange circuit is communicated with the outlet pipeline of the seawater taking unit, low-temperature seawater is introduced into the heat exchange flow channel of the primary heat exchange assembly, and heat exchange is completed with the cooling medium in the refrigerant circulating pipeline; the seawater with the temperature raised after heat exchange is introduced into the condenser of the secondary heat pump assembly along the one-way pipeline, and auxiliary cold quantity is provided for the cooling medium. The scheme greatly reduces the system refrigeration power consumption and reduces the fresh water loss through the two-stage cascade cooling architecture.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of computing power cooling technology, and in particular to a cascade cooling system for computing centers that combines natural cold seawater with a heat pump. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of the digital economy, computing power has become a key core productive force. The scale of computing power in the industry continues to expand, and various computing power plans are being implemented step by step. Computing power has officially entered the gigawatt-level development stage, and green and low-carbon cooling has become the core focus of computing power park construction. Related projects have been implemented in China, but the demand for low-latency computing power in industries, finance, and real-time transactions is highly concentrated in the eastern coastal areas. Long-distance cross-regional data transmission will generate significant computing power latency, making it difficult to match the high real-time business scenarios in the coastal areas. Therefore, there is an urgent need to establish large-scale local computing power centers in the eastern coastal areas.

[0003] Traditional computing centers rely heavily on cooling towers for air cooling and single air conditioning units for refrigeration. This results in high energy consumption, making it difficult to meet green computing power management standards in terms of system PUE and WUE. They also consume large amounts of freshwater, generate continuous noise from cooling towers, and occupy significant land. The Yellow Sea cold water mass and the waters around the Sansha Islands contain naturally cold seawater at 4-12°C year-round, rich in renewable cold energy. However, current technologies fail to combine low-temperature seawater with seawater heat pumps to create a tiered, stable cooling solution, hindering large-scale, continuous cooling of computing centers and lacking intelligent multi-unit collaborative control methods.

[0004] Existing data center cooling solutions struggle to meet the triple requirements of low-latency computing power, low-carbon and energy-saving operation, and stable cooling around the clock. Furthermore, seawater is often directly discharged after heat exchange without any corresponding resource utilization pathways, resulting in low utilization rates of marine cold energy resources. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a green computing power cooling system that relies on natural cold seawater and is coupled with heat pumps for coordinated operation. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This invention employs a two-stage cooling architecture that directly extracts natural cold energy from a primary heat exchanger for main cooling, and then heats seawater before sending it to a secondary heat pump condenser for auxiliary cooling. This solves the technical problem of high energy consumption in traditional computing centers using a single air conditioner, significantly reducing system cooling power consumption. Furthermore, this system completely eliminates the need for a traditional cooling water circulation system consisting of cooling towers and other supporting facilities, resulting in zero freshwater consumption throughout the entire cooling process. This reduces water consumption in computing parks and improves the water resource utilization efficiency of WUE (Wide-Edge Utilization).

[0006] The technical solution proposed in this invention is: a cascade cooling system for a computing center that combines natural cold seawater and a heat pump. The system includes a seawater intake unit and a cooling station unit. The seawater intake unit is equipped with a seawater intake pipeline for extracting low-temperature seawater and transporting it to the interior of the cooling station unit. The cooling station unit is equipped with a refrigerant refrigeration circuit and a seawater heat exchange circuit that cooperate with each other. The refrigerant refrigeration circuit is equipped with a primary heat exchange component and a secondary heat pump component. The refrigerant circulation pipeline extends from the primary heat exchange component and the secondary heat pump component to the end of the computing center to deliver cooling medium to the computing equipment. The seawater heat exchange loop is connected to the outlet pipe of the seawater intake unit. Low-temperature seawater is introduced into the heat exchange channel of the primary heat exchange component and exchanges heat with the cooling medium in the refrigerant circulation pipeline to extract natural cold energy to form the basic cold source of the computer room. After being heated by heat exchange, the low-temperature seawater is introduced into the condenser of the secondary heat pump component through a one-way pipeline to provide auxiliary cooling for the cooling medium.

[0007] Preferably, the refrigerant cooling circuit includes a single-stage cooling branch, which is composed of a primary heat exchange component. The cooling medium that has been heated after cooling the computing center flows into the primary heat exchange component, where it exchanges heat with low-temperature seawater in the preheating heat exchanger before flowing into the computing center.

[0008] Preferably, the refrigerant refrigeration circuit also includes a cascaded joint branch, which consists of a primary heat exchange component and a secondary heat pump component. The cooling medium that is heated after cooling the computing center flows into the primary heat exchange component, exchanges heat with low-temperature seawater in the preheating heat exchanger in the primary heat exchange component, and then flows into the evaporator in the secondary heat pump component for auxiliary heat exchange. The cooling medium after the auxiliary heat exchange flows into the computing center.

[0009] Preferably, the seawater heat exchange circuit is connected to the ecological aquaculture system. The low-temperature seawater is heat exchanged in the primary heat exchange component and then transported to the ecological aquaculture system. After being used by the ecological aquaculture system, it flows into the drainage network.

[0010] Preferably, the single-stage heat exchange branch and the cascade combined branch are isolated by a refrigerant isolation regulating valve, which is installed at the inlet pipe end of the secondary heat pump component.

[0011] Preferably, the seawater heat exchange circuit is connected to the heating branch, and the heated seawater output from the primary heat exchange component flows into the heating branch. The heated seawater heats the domestic hot water in the heating branch and then flows into the drainage network.

[0012] Preferably, seawater isolation regulating valves are installed at the inlet pipe end of the secondary heat pump component and the inlet pipe end of the heating branch in the seawater heat exchange circuit.

[0013] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, which is executed by a processor to implement the aforementioned cascade cooling system for a computing center that combines natural cold seawater and a heat pump.

[0014] The beneficial effects of this invention are: 1. The refrigerant refrigeration circuit features a two-stage cooling structure: a single-stage cooling exchange branch and a cascade combined branch. Physical isolation switching between the two branches is achieved via a refrigerant isolation regulating valve. Under low computing load conditions, only the single-stage cooling exchange branch is operational, relying entirely on natural cold seawater for heat exchange. The secondary heat pump components cut off the medium passage and cease operation, significantly reducing heat pump energy consumption. When the computing room is under peak load and natural cold energy cannot fully absorb the heat generated by the equipment, the system switches to the cascade combined branch. The cooling medium is pre-cooled by the primary heat exchange components before entering the secondary heat pump evaporator for deep cooling, achieving a cascade heat exchange mode that prioritizes the use of natural cold energy and uses heat pumps for supplementary cooling. The two heat exchange branches are independent pipelines that do not interfere with each other, resulting in low resistance to medium flow and lower power consumption of the supporting circulation and conveying equipment. At the same time, the two-stage heat exchange hardware is arranged in layers, eliminating the need for complex electrical control and adjustment equipment. The switching of operating conditions is completed solely by valve on / off. This not only adapts to the large fluctuations in the cooling and heating loads of the computing center during the day and night and in peak and off-peak seasons, but also continuously reduces the overall cooling power consumption of the park, effectively optimizing the PUE index of the computing park and meeting the green and low-carbon construction standards.

[0015] 2. The system employs an independent seawater intake unit to continuously supply low-temperature seawater as the basic cooling source. Unlike traditional air-cooled or freshwater cooling towers, this method eliminates the need for freshwater resources, making it suitable for the current situation of freshwater scarcity in coastal areas. After absorbing heat from the machine room in the primary heat exchange components, the low-temperature seawater becomes warm seawater, which is then transported to the ecological aquaculture system through dedicated branch pipelines, providing a stable water temperature and improving the aquatic growth environment. Simultaneously, an independent seawater isolation regulating valve controls the on / off status of the aquaculture branch lines; during idle periods, the branch lines can be closed to avoid ineffective pipeline losses. This structure prevents the direct discharge of heated seawater from the heat exchange system, thus avoiding localized nearshore thermal pollution and utilizing the waste heat from previously abandoned seawater resources, reducing the risk of marine ecological damage.

[0016] 3. This system features a dedicated heating branch in the seawater heat exchange loop. The heated seawater, carrying waste heat after the first-stage heat exchange, can be diverted into the heating exchange equipment, where it is heated to produce domestic hot water for the computing park's dormitories and supporting office buildings. The entire hot water preparation process requires no additional gas or electric heating equipment, relying entirely on the waste heat generated during the seawater cooling process for heat supply, significantly reducing the energy input for domestic hot water production in the park. The heating branch is equipped with an independent seawater isolation regulating valve, which can be flexibly opened and closed according to the park's hot water demand. When there is no hot water demand, the branch is closed without occupying seawater transport flow; when there is hot water demand, it is simultaneously diverted to the ecological aquaculture / seawater desalination / seawater hydrogen production branch and the heat pump cooling branch, without conflict. A single seawater intake system simultaneously serves as both a computing power cooling system and a domestic hot water supply system, fully utilizing the combined heating and cooling value of cold ocean seawater, improving the energy efficiency and resource recycling efficiency of the entire cooling system, and reducing the overall operating energy costs of the park. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 A flowchart of a cascade cooling system for a computing center that combines natural cold seawater with a heat pump; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the system operation principle of a cascade cooling system for a computing center that combines natural cold seawater with a heat pump. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The following description is intended to disclose the present invention and enable those skilled in the art to implement it. The preferred embodiments described below are merely examples, and other obvious variations will occur to those skilled in the art. The basic principles of the invention defined in the following description can be applied to other embodiments, modifications, improvements, equivalents, and other technical solutions that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0019] It is understood that the term "a" should be understood as "at least one" or "one or more," that is, in one embodiment, the number of an element can be one, while in another embodiment, the number of the element can be multiple, and the term "a" should not be understood as a limitation on the number.

[0020] Example 1: like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the entire system mainly consists of two core hardware modules: a seawater intake unit and a cooling station unit. The seawater intake unit mainly includes seawater intake pipelines and supporting seawater delivery pumps. The seawater intake pipelines are laid to a water intake layer approximately 50 meters below sea level. This layer of water maintains a stable low temperature of 4℃-12℃ year-round, without temperature fluctuations due to diurnal or seasonal changes. If near-shore surface seawater is used, the water temperature rises in summer, and the natural cooling energy reserves are insufficient. Relying solely on the primary heat exchange components cannot meet the cooling needs of the computing center. In contrast, the bottom ocean water maintains a constant low temperature throughout the year, providing a continuous and stable basic cooling capacity for the system. This significantly reduces the start-up and operation time of the secondary heat pump and decreases the energy consumption of the heat pump's mechanical heat exchange.

[0021] The seawater intake pipeline is directly connected to the main inlet header of the seawater heat exchange circuit inside the cooling station unit. A seawater delivery pump is connected in series in the middle of the seawater intake pipeline, using the mechanical thrust of the pump impeller to continuously deliver low-temperature seawater to the entire seawater heat exchange circuit inside the cooling station. The entire seawater intake pipeline is completely sealed, with the seawater medium circulating only within the closed pipeline, preventing contact with air and thus avoiding temperature loss and ensuring that the low-temperature seawater retains its cooling capacity before entering the heat exchanger.

[0022] The internal structure of the cold energy station unit is divided into two independent closed-loop pipeline systems: a refrigerant refrigeration loop and a seawater heat exchange loop. The media in the pipe sections of the two loops are completely isolated and do not mix with each other, thus eliminating the risk of seawater leakage contaminating the cooling medium or refrigerant leakage causing seawater pollution from a physical structure perspective.

[0023] The refrigerant cooling loop carries the circulating cooling medium in the computing center. The medium circulates only between the liquid-cooled server racks and heat exchangers, avoiding contact with seawater during heat exchange to prevent corrosion of the precision heat exchange piping inside the GPU racks due to seawater salinity. The entire seawater heat exchange loop uses special seawater-resistant stainless steel tubing, suitable for long-term circulation in high-salt seawater. With the refrigerant cooling loop and seawater heat exchange loop arranged separately, maintenance and repair can be carried out independently. Maintenance of the refrigerant loop does not require draining the entire seawater piping, and maintenance of the seawater piping does not require draining the cooling medium from the server room, significantly reducing equipment downtime and meeting the requirements for uninterrupted operation of the computing center.

[0024] The cold energy station unit is also equipped with ecological aquaculture diversion pipelines and domestic hot water supply diversion branches. Except for the ecological aquaculture diversion pipelines, the diversion nodes in the other pipelines are equipped with isolation regulating valves, which can divert the heated seawater after the first-stage heat exchange is completed to multiple paths, making full use of the residual heat carried by the seawater after heat exchange, avoiding the direct discharge of heated seawater and causing localized thermal pollution in the nearshore waters, and simultaneously realizing the utilization of marine thermal energy resources.

[0025] The primary heat exchanger unit incorporates a pre-heat exchanger containing two sets of completely isolated and staggered counter-current flow channels. The first set of channels is for seawater flow, directly connected to the main inlet pipe of the seawater heat exchange loop, handling seawater at a low temperature of 4-12℃. The second set of channels is for refrigerant flow, connecting to two refrigerant pipelines: a single-stage cooling branch and a cascade combined branch, handling the cooling medium for the computing center. The low-temperature seawater and high-temperature cooling medium flow in opposite directions from both ends of the heat exchanger, maintaining the maximum temperature difference heat exchange range throughout. Compared to co-current heat exchange, this increases heat exchange efficiency by over 30% for the same heat exchange area, maximizing the extraction of natural cold energy from seawater and reducing the time required for the secondary heat pump to be operational.

[0026] The GPUs in the computing center continuously generate a large amount of heat. The cooling medium, after absorbing heat as it flows through the server rack, heats up. This heated cooling medium then flows into the refrigerant channel of the front-end heat exchanger. Heat is conducted to the low-temperature seawater, which absorbs the heat and heats up. The cooling medium releases heat and cools down, then is returned to the computing center to complete the cooling cycle. The entire heat exchange process involves no mixing of media; sensible heat is exchanged only through the heat exchanger, without phase change, resulting in extremely low heat loss. The front-end heat exchanger is located at the very beginning of the entire loop. All refrigerant branches and seawater pipes must pass through this heat exchanger first, thus prioritizing the use of free natural seawater cooling energy as the primary cooling source for the server room. Only when the natural cooling energy is insufficient to cover the server room's heat load is the secondary heat pump component activated to supplement cooling. This structural layout implements an energy-saving logic that prioritizes the use of natural cooling energy.

[0027] The secondary heat pump assembly comprises two independent heat exchange cores. The evaporator is connected to the combined branch of the refrigerant refrigeration circuit, while the condenser is connected to the main seawater heating circuit. The internal flow media and heat exchange functions of the two cores are completely separate. The evaporator only contacts the cooling medium in the computer room. When single-stage heat exchange cannot sufficiently reduce the temperature of the cooling medium, the cooling medium flows through the internal channels of the evaporator. The working fluid inside the heat pump absorbs the residual heat of the cooling medium and undergoes an evaporative phase change, further reducing the temperature of the cooling medium and completing the secondary cooling. Seawater heated to 15-20°C after the primary heat exchange is continuously introduced into the condenser. The heat pump working fluid releases condensation heat after compression, which is transferred to the heated seawater. The heated seawater carries away the condensation heat generated by the heat pump, maintaining stable evaporation conditions. Introducing heated seawater into the heat pump condenser eliminates the need for additional cooling towers that consume fresh water or occupy space. It directly utilizes the seawater after heat exchange as the heat source for the heat pump, eliminating the need for supporting civil engineering and water replenishment systems, saving scarce coastal land resources. Furthermore, the absence of freshwater consumption aligns with the water resource management requirements of coastal green computing parks. After the first-stage heat exchange, the seawater temperature is stably maintained in the range of 15-20℃, which perfectly matches the high-efficiency operating temperature range of the seawater source heat pump. This avoids the problem of insufficient evaporation pressure and reduced unit energy efficiency caused by excessively low seawater temperature. By relying on the pre-exchange heat exchanger to pre-regulate the seawater temperature, the long-term high-efficiency operation of the heat pump is guaranteed.

[0028] The seawater piping connecting the primary heat exchanger to the heat pump condenser only allows seawater to flow from the primary heat exchanger to the heat pump condenser; reverse flow is completely blocked by the piping valve core. When the system closes the secondary heat pump seawater isolation regulating valve or switches operating branches, the warm seawater from the ecological aquaculture branch and the heating branch will not flow back into the primary heat exchanger, preventing it from raising the initial temperature of the seawater inlet and causing a decrease in natural cold energy extraction efficiency. The seawater isolation regulating valve blocks the reverse medium, ensuring the operational efficiency of the primary heat exchanger.

[0029] The refrigerant refrigeration circuit is divided into two parallel independent circulation branches: a single-stage heat exchange branch and a cascade combined branch. The two branches share the terminal main pipe of the computing center. Refrigerant isolation regulating valves are set between the branches to realize the switching of the path. The medium in both branches is the cooling medium.

[0030] The single-stage cooling branch pipeline is only connected to the refrigerant outlet of the computing center, the preheater of the first-stage heat exchange component, and the refrigerant inlet of the computing center. The refrigerant isolation regulating valve is in a completely closed state, cutting off the connecting pipeline between the branch and the second-stage heat pump component, so that the cooling medium does not enter the interior of the second-stage heat pump component.

[0031] Inside the computing center, the GPU racks continuously dissipate heat. The cooling medium flows through the rack's heat exchange channels to absorb heat from the equipment, causing the medium's temperature to rise. The heated cooling medium then flows out through the main refrigerant outlet pipe of the computer room and is transported to the inlet of the single-stage cooling branch inside the cold energy station unit. The heated cooling medium flows into the dedicated refrigerant channel of the pre-heat exchanger built into the first-stage heat exchange component. The medium comes into countercurrent contact with the low-temperature seawater on the other side of the channel for heat exchange. The heat is transferred to the seawater after the exchange, and the cooling medium's own temperature drops significantly, completing the cooling process. After being fully cooled by the heat exchanger, the cooling medium flows out from the heat exchanger's refrigerant outlet and flows directly back to the main refrigerant inlet pipe of the computing center along the single-stage cooling branch pipe. It is then redistributed to each liquid-cooled rack to absorb heat from the computing equipment again, completing a single-stage closed loop.

[0032] The entire branch circuit's heat exchange occurs within the pre-heat exchanger of the primary heat exchange component, with all server room cooling needs met by natural seawater cooling energy. This branch circuit structure is suitable for operating conditions with sufficient chilled water cooling capacity and low server room computing load. Activating only one branch circuit is sufficient to meet the equipment's constant temperature requirements. The entire secondary heat pump pipeline has no medium flow, and the heat pump is in a static standby state with no power consumption, maximizing the reduction of the overall system's operating power consumption.

[0033] The cascaded combined branch is arranged in series with a first-stage heat exchange component pre-heat exchanger and a second-stage heat pump evaporator. Both ends of the branch are connected to the main refrigerant inlet and outlet pipes of the computing center. A refrigerant isolation regulating valve is installed on the branch pipeline. When the valve is fully open, the entire pipeline is open, and the cooling medium can flow through the two-stage heat exchange components in sequence. When the valve is closed, the branch passage is cut off, and the medium cannot enter the second-stage heat pump evaporator.

[0034] With the computing center operating at full load, GPU heat dissipation has increased significantly. After the cooling medium fully absorbs heat, its temperature rises significantly. The high-temperature cooling medium flows from the refrigerant outlet of the server room into the cascaded combined branch pipeline. The heated cooling medium first enters the refrigerant channel of the preheater heat exchanger of the primary heat exchange component, where it undergoes initial heat exchange with the low-temperature seawater. The medium releases most of its heat, completing the initial cooling, but at this point, the medium temperature still does not reach the server room's constant temperature control standard. After primary pre-cooling, the cooling medium continues to flow along the pipeline, passes through the open refrigerant isolation regulating valve, and flows into the evaporator heat exchange core inside the secondary heat pump component. In the evaporator, it undergoes secondary heat exchange with the working fluid inside the heat pump. The residual heat of the cooling medium is completely absorbed by the heat pump working fluid, and the medium temperature drops to the server room's standard water supply temperature. After secondary deep cooling, the cooling medium flows out from the evaporator outlet and returns to the refrigerant inlet of the computing center along the cascaded combined branch pipeline, and is then transported to each GPU rack for circulating heat absorption, forming a cascaded cooling cycle that combines primary natural heat exchange with heat pump-assisted heat exchange.

[0035] The entire branch circuit has two heat exchange points connected in series. The first is the pre-heat exchanger of the primary heat exchange component (natural cold energy pre-heat exchange), and the second is the internal evaporator of the secondary heat pump (heat pump-assisted deep heat exchange). Most of the heat load in the computer room is initially eliminated by free seawater cold energy. The remaining small amount of waste heat that is difficult to eliminate by natural cold energy is handled by the heat pump unit, achieving cascaded utilization of cold energy and avoiding the high power consumption problem caused by relying solely on the heat pump unit to bear the entire cooling load.

[0036] The two heat exchange components are arranged in series, giving priority to the use of natural cold energy, with the heat pump serving only as a supplementary heat exchange device, which significantly reduces the continuous operating power of the heat pump; the two branches are arranged in parallel, which can switch according to the real-time load of the computer room. Under high computing power peak conditions, the branch is switched to the cascade joint branch, and under low load conditions, the branch is switched to the single-stage cooling branch, realizing load adaptive stratified heat exchange.

[0037] The seawater heat exchange circuit's inlet end is uniformly connected to the seawater intake pump's output header. After the seawater medium is continuously fed into the circuit from the seawater intake unit, it first flows through the seawater channel of the primary heat exchange component to absorb heat and raise its temperature. The heated seawater outlet is equipped with a three-way branch pipe, branching into three independent seawater branches. The first branch leads to the secondary heat pump condenser, the second to the ecological aquaculture system, and the third to the domestic hot water supply branch. Each of the three branches is equipped with an independent seawater isolation regulating valve, which can be opened and closed individually or simultaneously.

[0038] Low-temperature seawater (4-12℃) is pressurized by a seawater transfer pump and flows uniformly into the seawater side channel of the primary heat exchange component. It exchanges heat counter-currently with the high-temperature cooling medium in the refrigerant channel. The seawater absorbs the heat released by the cooling medium, raising its temperature to the 15-20℃ range. The heated seawater flows out from the heat exchanger's seawater outlet into the T-junction main branch pipe, completing the main basic heat exchange process. All branch pipe media originate from this T-junction pipe; there are no separate water intake branches, ensuring that all low-temperature seawater prioritizes participation in the basic heat exchange of the machine room, preventing any waste of cooling energy. One-way flow guide pipes are installed on the branch pipe leading from the primary heat exchange component to the secondary heat pump condenser, allowing seawater to flow only unidirectionally into the heat pump condenser from the T-junction, preventing backflow into the heat exchanger and disruption of the basic cold source temperature conditions.

[0039] The first branch flows through a tee-type branch pipe to a unidirectional guide pipe, then through a seawater isolation regulating valve into the seawater channel of the secondary heat pump condenser, and finally merges into the main drainage pipe. The second branch flows through a tee-type branch pipe and an independent seawater isolation regulating valve into the water circulation pipeline of the ecological aquaculture system, and finally merges into the main drainage pipe.

[0040] The 15-20℃ warm seawater after the first-stage heat exchange is directly transported to the aquaculture area. The residual heat carried by the seawater stabilizes the temperature of the aquaculture water, avoiding the impact of low seawater temperatures on aquatic growth during winter. After completing the aquaculture water circulation, the seawater flows into the system's drainage network for unified discharge. Direct discharge of warm seawater after heat exchange in the cooling system can cause localized seawater temperature rises, damaging the nearshore marine ecosystem. This structure incorporates aquaculture diversion branches to utilize residual heat resources and reduce the environmental hazards of direct heat discharge. The pipelines are equipped with independent isolation regulating valves, allowing the branches to be completely closed during the non-aquaculture season.

[0041] The third branch flows into the heating branch via a T-junction and a seawater isolation regulating valve, ultimately converging into the main drainage pipe. Warmed seawater flows into the heating branch, transferring its heat to the park's domestic hot water supply. Once heated to a suitable temperature, the hot water is supplied to the park's dormitories and supporting buildings. The cooled seawater, having released its heat, flows into the drainage pipe. This single seawater intake system simultaneously meets both computing power cooling and domestic hot water needs, improving the overall utilization rate of the entire system.

[0042] Furthermore, the second branch can not only transport the heated seawater to the ecological aquaculture system, but also switch to the docking system to transport the heated seawater to the seawater desalination system or the seawater hydrogen production system as process feed water. Neither seawater desalination nor seawater hydrogen production processes require low-temperature native cold seawater; instead, they are suitable for using heated seawater for pretreatment, membrane filtration, and electrolysis. Heating the seawater reduces its viscosity, decreases the rate of salt crystallization on the reverse osmosis membrane surface, extends the lifespan of the seawater desalination membrane elements, and reduces pretreatment heating energy consumption. In the seawater hydrogen production electrolysis process, heating the seawater increases the ionic activity of the electrolyte, reduces ohmic losses in the electrolyzer, and decreases the power consumption of the hydrogen production equipment. Relying on the three-way diversion pipeline and independent seawater isolation regulating valve, the waste heat seawater output target can be flexibly switched according to the supporting industrial planning of the park. The three scenarios of aquaculture, desalination and hydrogen production can be operated independently or multiple channels can be diverted and supplied simultaneously, which fully broadens the channels for the utilization of heated seawater resources, further improves the overall comprehensive utilization rate of cold seawater resources, and maximizes the elimination of nearshore thermal pollution problems caused by direct discharge of warm seawater into the sea.

[0043] The overall structure of the heating branch is the same as that of the secondary heat pump assembly, consisting of an evaporator and a condenser. Warm seawater at 15-20℃ after the primary heat exchange is input into the evaporator, while domestic hot water at 40℃ is transported from the external heating network to the condenser. This condenser exchanges heat with the 15-20℃ warm seawater in the evaporator, resulting in 60℃ domestic hot water that is then supplied to the external heating network. The 15-20℃ warm seawater cools down after the heat exchange and flows into the drainage network.

[0044] The seawater flow direction is shown below when only a single-stage cooling branch is activated: Low-temperature seawater → seawater intake pipe → seawater transfer pump → primary heat exchanger (exchanging heat with the high-temperature cooling medium in the machine room, raising the seawater temperature to 15-20℃) → T-junction branch pipe → ecological aquaculture system circulation pipeline → main drainage pipe. This seawater channel will be opened under any of the following conditions.

[0045] The seawater flow direction when the seawater isolation regulating valve of the heating branch is opened is shown below: Low-temperature seawater → seawater intake pipeline → seawater transfer pump → primary heat exchange component → three-way diversion pipe → heating branch isolation regulating valve → heating heat exchange equipment for heating domestic water → main drainage pipe.

[0046] The seawater flow direction after the cascade combined branch is activated is shown below: Low-temperature seawater → seawater intake pipeline → seawater transfer pump → primary heat exchange component → three-way branch pipe → heat pump condenser isolation regulating valve → heat pump condenser internal flow channel → main drain pipe.

[0047] Open the cascade combined branch circuit and simultaneously open the heating branch circuit valves. The seawater flow direction is as follows: The heated seawater is transported in two ways: one way enters the heat pump condenser to remove the waste heat from the unit, and the other way enters the heating heat exchanger to produce domestic hot water. The computing power is running at full capacity while ensuring the supply of hot water to the park, and the demand for both hot and cold water is taken into account at the same time.

[0048] Traditional data centers rely solely on heat pumps or cooling towers for cooling, lacking a natural cold energy pre-heat exchange structure. This results in extremely high mechanical cooling consumption throughout the year, making it difficult to meet PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) standards. This system utilizes the constant low temperature of ocean seawater to build a pre-stage natural heat exchange hardware architecture. Natural heat exchange efficiency can reach over 95%, significantly reducing the annual operating time of heat pumps. The overall system power consumption is significantly reduced, and the comprehensive PUE can be stably controlled below 1.25, meeting the low-carbon management indicators for green computing parks. Simultaneously, the entire system eliminates the need for cooling tower recirculation and spray evaporation facilities. The entire cooling chain uses only closed-loop seawater pipelines for heat exchange, consuming no freshwater resources. There are no issues of freshwater loss due to evaporation, drift, or sewage discharge, fundamentally reducing the scale of freshwater use in computing parks and effectively optimizing the park's WUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) water resource utilization evaluation indicators.

[0049] The refrigerant and seawater are two completely independent closed loops, with only a single-point heat exchanger at the front heat exchanger. There is no risk of medium mixing and leakage. The precision GPU equipment in the computer room will not be corroded by seawater. The operation and maintenance are carried out separately, and the downtime for maintenance is greatly shortened.

[0050] The system eliminates the need for traditional cooling tower piping and water replenishment equipment. The entire system consumes no fresh water and avoids the loss of fresh water caused by cooling tower evaporation, spillage, and continuous water replenishment. This significantly reduces the amount of fresh water used in computing parks and is highly adaptable to coastal freshwater resource-scarce scenarios. Water utilization efficiency (WUE) is significantly optimized, and the performance indicators are far superior to those of conventional air-cooled and water-cooled server rooms.

[0051] The system is equipped with a three-way, multi-path seawater diversion pipeline, and simultaneously supports independent branch lines for aquaculture and heating. A single seawater intake system serves multiple functions, including computing power cooling, aquaculture, and domestic hot water, thereby improving the comprehensive utilization rate of marine cold seawater resources and eliminating environmental hazards from nearshore heat emissions.

[0052] The two refrigerant branches are arranged in parallel, which can flexibly switch the heat exchange level according to the computing power load of the computer room. The heat pump is shut down under low load to reduce useless power consumption, and the heat pump is put into operation under peak load to ensure constant temperature of the equipment. The hardware structure is naturally adapted to the operating characteristics of the computing center with large fluctuations in load during the day and night and during peak and off-peak seasons.

[0053] The processes described above with reference to the flowcharts in the embodiments disclosed in this invention can be implemented as computer software programs. The embodiments disclosed in this invention include a computer program product comprising a computer program carried on a computer-readable medium, the computer program containing program code for performing the methods shown in the flowcharts. In such embodiments, the computer program can be downloaded and installed from a network via a communication component, and / or installed from a removable medium. When the computer program is executed by a central processing unit (CPU), it performs the functions defined in the methods of this application. It should be noted that the computer-readable medium described above in this application can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium, or any combination of the two. A computer-readable storage medium can be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to: electrical connections having one or more wire segments, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof. In this application, a computer-readable storage medium can be any tangible medium containing or storing a program that can be used by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. In this application, a computer-readable signal medium may include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, carrying computer-readable program code. Such propagated data signals can take various forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer-readable signal medium can also be any computer-readable medium other than a computer-readable storage medium, which can send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The program code contained on a computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to: wireless segments, wire segments, optical fibers, RF, etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0054] The flowcharts and block diagrams in the accompanying drawings illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in a flowchart or block diagram may represent a module, segment, or portion of code containing one or more executable instructions for implementing a specified logical function. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions indicated in the blocks may occur in a different order than those indicated in the drawings. For example, two consecutively indicated blocks may actually be executed substantially in parallel, and they may sometimes be executed in reverse order, depending on the functions involved. It should also be noted that each block in the block diagrams and / or flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowcharts, can be implemented using a dedicated hardware-based system that performs the specified function or operation, or using a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

[0055] Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of the present invention described above and shown in the accompanying drawings are merely examples and do not limit the present invention. The purpose of the present invention has been fully and effectively achieved. The functions and structural principles of the present invention have been shown and explained in the embodiments. Without departing from the stated principles, the implementation of the present invention may have any variations or modifications.

Claims

1. A cascade cooling system for a computing center that combines natural cold seawater with a heat pump, characterized in that, The system includes a seawater intake unit and a cooling station unit. The seawater intake unit is equipped with a seawater intake pipeline for drawing low-temperature seawater and transporting it to the interior of the cooling station unit. The cooling station unit is equipped with a refrigerant refrigeration circuit and a seawater heat exchange circuit that work together. The refrigerant refrigeration circuit is equipped with a primary heat exchange component and a secondary heat pump component. The refrigerant circulation pipeline extends from the primary heat exchange component and the secondary heat pump component to the end of the computing center to deliver cooling medium to the computing equipment. The seawater heat exchange loop is connected to the outlet pipe of the seawater intake unit. Low-temperature seawater is introduced into the heat exchange channel of the primary heat exchange component and exchanges heat with the cooling medium in the refrigerant circulation pipeline to extract natural cold energy to form the basic cold source of the computer room. After being heated by heat exchange, the seawater is fed into the condenser of the secondary heat pump component through a one-way pipe to provide auxiliary cooling for the cooling medium.

2. The cascade cooling system for a computing center that combines natural cold seawater and a heat pump according to claim 1, characterized in that, The refrigerant cooling circuit includes a single-stage cooling branch, which is composed of a primary heat exchange component. The cooling medium that has been heated after cooling the computing center flows into the primary heat exchange component, where it exchanges heat with low-temperature seawater in the preheating heat exchanger before flowing into the computing center.

3. The cascade cooling system for a computing center that combines natural cold seawater and a heat pump according to claim 2, characterized in that, The refrigerant cooling circuit also includes a cascaded joint branch, which consists of a primary heat exchange component and a secondary heat pump component. The cooling medium that is heated after cooling the computing center flows into the primary heat exchange component, where it exchanges heat with low-temperature seawater in the preheating heat exchanger and then flows into the evaporator in the secondary heat pump component for auxiliary heat exchange. The cooling medium after the auxiliary heat exchange flows into the computing center.

4. The cascade cooling system for a computing center that combines natural cold seawater and a heat pump according to claim 3, characterized in that, The seawater heat exchange loop is connected to the ecological aquaculture system. The low-temperature seawater is heat exchanged in the primary heat exchange component and then transported to the ecological aquaculture system. After being used by the ecological aquaculture system, it flows into the drainage network.

5. A cascade cooling system for a computing center that combines natural cold seawater and a heat pump according to claim 4, characterized in that, The single-stage heat exchange branch and the cascade combined branch are isolated by a refrigerant isolation regulating valve, which is located at the inlet pipe end of the secondary heat pump component.

6. A cascade cooling system for a computing center combining natural cold seawater and a heat pump, as described in claim 5, is characterized in that... The seawater heat exchange circuit is connected to the heating branch. The heated seawater output from the primary heat exchange component flows into the heating branch. The heated seawater heats the domestic hot water in the heating branch and then flows into the drainage network.

7. A cascade cooling system for a computing center combining natural cold seawater and a heat pump, as described in claim 6, is characterized in that... Seawater isolation regulating valves are installed at the inlet pipe end of the secondary heat pump component and the inlet pipe end of the heating branch in the seawater heat exchange circuit.

8. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program that is executed by a processor to implement a cascade cooling system for a computing center that combines natural cold seawater and a heat pump, as described in any one of claims 1-7.

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