System for heat removal from server racks

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention described herein generally relate to a system for heat removal from a server rack in a data center, the system comprising a rear panel, at least one heat exchanger disposed within the rear panel, at least one exhaust fan, and at least one second layer covering the rear panel, the second layer comprising a plurality of perforations allowing distribution of air through the rear panel from the server rack used to house servers.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates generally to a system for heat removal from server racks in a data center. [Background technology]

[0002] Business models, organizations, companies, and even individuals tend to generate, create, and collect large amounts of information data in various formats from various sources. Such data, despite its huge size, grows exponentially over time and is flooding businesses on a daily basis because traditional data management tools cannot store or process the data efficiently. Therefore, server systems have been developed to not only process large amounts of information data in line with the pace of technological advancement and globalization, but also to accelerate the efficiency of the entire business and solve the challenges faced by business organizations.

[0003] Server systems, by their nature, operate continuously for long periods of time, or even without stopping or pausing in certain organizations, so they generate a lot of heat and are sensitive to heat, humidity, and dust. Maintaining stable temperature, humidity, and airflow within strict accuracy requirements is very important for server systems. However, traditional server systems usually do not have a good heat dissipation system to cool the entire server system, nor an airflow management system to manage the distribution and circulation of airflow in the data center, which affects the operation of the server system and data center. Examples of traditional server systems are shown in Figure 1-A and Figure 1-B, and the back panels of these server systems are provided with traditional heat removal systems, which are either heat exchangers or several exhaust fans fixedly mounted on the back panel.

[0004] The problem with conventional server systems, especially heat removal systems with exhaust fans as shown in FIG. 1-B, is that the backs of the server racks are covered or shielded with dense panels that impede the airflow environment, so large capacity and powerful exhaust fans are required to promote airflow and remove heat from the backs of the server racks to lower the temperature of the server racks, and such exhaust fans consume high power, which inevitably increases the electricity bill. Moreover, such exhaust fans are prone to breaking and require regular maintenance, which further increases costs. Moreover, this type of heat removal system is very inefficient because the airflow from the upstream or downstream of the exhaust fan is obstructed.

[0005] Another problem with traditional server systems, especially those with heat exchangers such as those shown in Figure 1-A, is the lack of an airflow management system. This type of system relies on heat exchangers to remove heat, but the lack of effective airflow management impedes air movement. Hot air is generated and distributed throughout the server rack space, but the heat exchangers can only remove heat from the spaces closest to them, and cannot structurally, completely, or efficiently remove heat and hot air from each portion of the server rack space, resulting in a terrible airflow environment. Heat can recirculate within the server rack, causing servers to overheat and be destroyed.

[0006] Another problem with traditional server systems is that when the back panel of the server rack is open for maintenance or inspection, heat is not dissipated as much as when the back panel is closed. This is because when the back panel is open, the heat removal system is farther away from the server rack, and the hot air generated by the servers leaks directly into the environment instead of flowing through the heat removal system. This can cause an increase in temperature in the server room data center when the back panel is open, as the hot air leaving the server rack bypasses the heat removal system.

[0007] Therefore, there is a strong need to have the following disclosure to alleviate the above mentioned shortcomings. Summary of the Invention

[0008] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT It is therefore a first object of the present invention to provide a system for heat removal from a server rack, which system can effectively remove heat from the server rack.

[0009] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a system for heat removal from a server rack, where the system can provide or supplement efficient airflow.

[0010] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a system for heat removal from a server rack which consumes low power while the system maintains high airflow.

[0011] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a system for heat removal from a server rack which, when the server rack is opened for maintenance, can direct heat from the server rack through the heat removal system before it flows into the environment.

[0012] Further objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of the invention or upon application of the invention in practice.

[0013] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided: 1. A system for heat removal from a server rack, comprising: a rear panel having an inner wall, a plurality of side walls, an outer wall, and at least one exhaust fan; the rear panel further comprising at least one second layer covering the rear panel; The second layer includes a plurality of perforations that allow air dispersion from the server rack through the rear panel. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] Other aspects of the present invention and their advantages will be recognized after considering the detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0015] [Figure 1-A] FIG. 1-A shows a conventional heat removal system for a server rack. [Figure 1-B] FIG. 1-B shows a conventional heat removal system for a server rack. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary front view of a system for heat removal from a server rack according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary open-front view of a system for heat removal from a server rack according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4-A] FIG. 4-A illustrates an exemplary rear view of a system for heat removal from a server rack according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4-B] FIG. 4-B shows an exemplary enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 4-A. [Figure 4-C] FIG. 4-C shows an example view of FIG. 4-A with a layer removed. [Figure 5-A] FIG. 5-A shows the airflow velocity distribution in a server rack without a heat removal system. [Figure 5-B] FIG. 5-B shows the air flow velocity distribution of a server rack equipped with a heat removal system as applied in FIG. 1-B. [Figure 5-C] FIG. 5-C shows the air flow velocity distribution of a server rack to which the present invention is applied. [Figure 6-A] FIG. 6-A illustrates a system for heat removal from a server rack according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6-B] FIG. 6-B illustrates a system for heat removal from a server rack according to another embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Description of the Drawings

[0016] In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and / or components are not described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention.

[0017] The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of embodiments thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are not drawn to scale.

[0018] As used in this disclosure and the claims appended hereto, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates or suggests otherwise.

[0019] Throughout this disclosure and claims, the word "comprise" and variations of this word, such as "comprising" and "comprises," mean "including, but not limited to," and are not intended to exclude, for example, other components, integers, or steps. "Exemplary" means "an example of" and is not intended to convey an indication of a preferred or ideal embodiment, and "such as" is used in a descriptive rather than limiting sense.

[0020] The present invention discloses a system (201) for removing heat from a server rack (102), the server rack being used to house electronic equipment such as servers. Referring to Figures 2, 3 and 4-A, the system (1) comprises a rear panel (203), the rear panel (203) comprises at least one exhaust fan (205), an inner wall (207) with a plurality of perforations (207a) for allowing air to pass through, a plurality of side walls (209) and an outer wall (211) with at least one recess (211a) for mounting the exhaust fan (205), the exhaust fan (205) being mounted on a frame (213) extending from the side wall (209) at the recess (211a). The exhaust fan (205) is a removable exhaust fan (205) that can be removed or removed from the frame (213). This would solve a major problem faced by the prior art as shown in FIG. 1-B, that is, when one of the exhaust fans (105) fails, the user is forced to replace the entire back panel (103) or even the entire heat removal system (101). By having a removable exhaust fan (205), the user only needs to replace the failed exhaust fan (205) instead of replacing the entire heat removal system (101) or the entire back panel (103). It is contemplated that the back panel (203) may, in some cases, not include the recess (211a) or the frame (213), and the exhaust fan (205) may be directly attached to the back panel (203).

[0021] It is known in the art that airflow flows from the front of the server rack (102) to the back of the server rack (102), and one or more fans may be associated with the servers in the server rack (102) to create or increase the airflow. Thus, the purpose of the exhaust fan (205) of the present invention is to assist the server fans to maintain and supplement the airflow from the back of the server rack (102) to the environment. Since the purpose of the exhaust fan (205) is to assist, maintain or supplement the airflow, the exhaust fan has a smaller capacity and is more durable, and therefore consumes less power, than the conventional powerful exhaust fan (205) as applied in FIG. 1-B. By having the exhaust fan (205) of the present invention, the power consumption is reduced while maintaining the airflow rate, as described below.

[0022] The rear panel (203) further comprises at least one heat exchanger (215) disposed therein, in particular the heat exchanger (215) is surrounded by the inner and side walls (207, 209) and receives a cooling fluid, such as chilled water, refrigerant, or air, which is then provided to each server rack (102). In this scenario, the inner wall (207) is a frame that houses the heat exchanger (215), although it is envisioned that the multiple perforations (207a) in the inner wall (207) may be replaced by recesses or openings, as the case may be. Figure 4-B shows an enlarged view of Figure 4-A to show the perforations (207a). Figure 4-C shows a view of the inner wall with the perforations removed to show the heat exchanger (215).

[0023] The rear panel (203) further comprises at least one second layer (217) with at least one hinge (219) covering the rear panel (203), the second layer (217) comprising a number of perforations (217a) allowing air dispersion through the rear panel (203) from the server rack (102) to the environment. The rear panel (203) and the second layer (217) are arranged such that air from the rear portion of the server rack (102) flows through the inner wall (207) of the rear panel (203), to the heat exchanger (215), to the exhaust fan (205), and finally to the second layer (217) before flowing to the environment. Figure 3 shows the second layer (217) opened from the rear panel (203). The perforations (217a) in the second layer (217) may be of any suitable shape, size and quantity so long as they allow airflow out of the server rack (102). Preferably, the perforations (205) are sufficiently distributed on the second layer (217) such that the perforated second layer (217) does not obscure the areas around and between the fans or the "off-blade areas" outside the circular fan blades (as defined by the letter X in FIG. 3) by covering the rear panel (203) to allow the exhaust fan (205), recess (211a) and heat exchanger (215) to be visible, as shown in FIG. 2. The second layer (217) is designed to maximize airflow and maintain momentum of airflow throughout the server rack (102), thereby allowing airflow around and between the fans or in the "off-blade areas" outside the circular fan blades (as defined by the letter X in FIG. 3) to flow unimpeded through the perforated second layer (217) to the environment. Thus, the perforated second layer (217) acts as an exhaust or vent that allows free passage of airflow in these "off-blade areas" (X). The second layer (217) of the rear panel (203) is also used for surveillance and security purposes, allowing personnel to view the status of the exhaust fans (205) to ensure personnel safety and also to protect the exhaust fans (205) from damage.It is also envisioned that the rear panel may optionally not have a second layer (217) and the perforations (217a) of said second layer (217) may be integrated or combined into said rear panel (203) to cover the perimeter and inter-fan areas, or "off-blade areas" outside the circular fan blades (as defined by the letter X in the figures), while achieving the same airflow effects as having a perforated second layer (217).

[0024] This would solve a major problem faced by the conventional heat removal system (101) as applied in FIG. 1-A, namely, the lack of an airflow management system results in a hindered airflow environment. This would also solve a major problem faced by the conventional heat removal system (101) as applied in FIG. 1-B, namely, the hindered airflow environment due to the sealed or covered back panel (103). The sealed panel (103) shields the area around and between the fans, or the "off-blade area" outside the circular fan blades, slowing down the airflow so that the entire airflow must pass only through the fan (105). The panel (103) shielding the "off-blade area" (X) may be useful in eliminating the possibility of airflow recirculation, but as mentioned above, such a system (101) requires a powerful and large capacity fan since the entire airflow must pass through the fan blade area. Nevertheless, research has shown that the airflow is still hindered.

[0025] A study was conducted to determine and compare the amount of airflow in a server rack (102) equipped with a heat removal system (101) as applied in FIG. 1-B and a server rack (102) equipped with a heat removal system (201) of the present invention. The study is illustrated in FIG. 5-A to FIG. 5-C, where FIG. 5-A shows a server system without a heat removal module, FIG. 5-B shows a server system equipped with a conventional heat removal system (101) as applied in FIG. 1-B, and FIG. 5-C shows a server system equipped with a heat removal system (201) of the present invention. Assuming a fan power factor (p) of 1.00, the server system equipped with the conventional heat removal system (101) as applied in FIG. 1-B has a maximum airflow of 3000 m 3 / h, which is a uniform speed of 3452 m / h for a server system without a heat removal module. 3 It is observed that the reduction is 13.1% compared to 3170m / h. 3 / h, which is a uniform speed of 3452 m 3 / h, which is only a 8.2% reduction. It can be further estimated that the present invention provides about 5% more airflow than the conventional heat removal system (101). Moreover, no airflow recirculation is observed with the present invention. Moreover, power consumption was also monitored throughout the study, which shows that the power consumption of the present invention is reduced by about 50% compared to the conventional heat removal system (101) with exhaust fan (105) as applied in FIG. 1-B.

[0026] 6-A and 6-B show another embodiment of the present invention in top and isometric views, respectively, where the rear panel (203) may further comprise a plurality of air guide means (227) for guiding or directing airflow from the server rack (102) towards the exhaust fan (205). The plurality of air guide means (227) may be fixed, suspended or attached to the interior wall (207) of the rear panel (203) at regular or irregular intervals, angled, generally vertical, generally horizontal, or diagonal, etc., or any combination thereof. The plurality of air guide means (227) may include, but are not limited to, vents, louvers, curtains, blinds, dividers, fins, wings, or slats, or any combination thereof, or any air guide means (227) determined to be compatible with the system (201). It is contemplated that the air guide means (227) are adjustable and can be manually or automatically pivoted to provide a guide angle relative to the inner wall (207) of the rear panel (203). Each air guide means (227) of the air guide means (227) may have a different guide angle relative to the rear panel (203). The guide angle is variably proportional to the angle of the rear panel (203) relative to the server rack (102) and allows airflow from the server rack (102) to flow towards the exhaust fan (205). When the rear panel (203) is open, one of the air guide means (227) may protrude at one guide angle and the other air guide means (227) may protrude at another guide angle or the same guide angle. This has the advantage that when one of the exhaust fans (205) fails, the guiding angles of the multiple air guiding means (227) can be adjusted manually or automatically to guide or direct the airflow towards the exhaust fan (205) that is in good condition.

[0027] It will be appreciated that the air guiding means (227) are coupled to or controlled by motors or gears (not shown), which are in turn regulated by a controller (not shown). A motor or gear may be dedicated to each air guiding means (227). Alternatively, multiple air guiding means (227) may be controlled by a single motor or gear.

[0028] It should be understood that the system (201) can be connected to any server rack (102) via at least one hinge mechanism (223) to allow the system (201) to be opened and closed relative to the server rack (102).

[0029] Although the present invention has been described herein with preferred embodiments that are believed to illustrate the results obtained through the present invention and advantages over the prior art, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments. Therefore, the forms of the present invention shown and described herein should be considered as examples only, and other embodiments may be selected without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims appended hereto. The scope of the present invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications, and equivalents. Of course, there are many alternative ways of constructing and implementing the present invention to provide differently designed biological results for specific equipment and environments.

Claims

1. A system (201) for heat removal from a server rack (102), comprising: a rear panel (203) having an inner wall (207), a plurality of side walls (209), an outer wall (211), at least one exhaust fan (205), and at least one heat exchanger (215); The rear panel (203) further comprises at least one second layer (217) covering the outer wall (211) side of the rear panel (203); The inner wall (207) and the side wall (209) surround the heat exchanger (215); The exhaust fan (205) is attached to the outer wall (211), the second layer (217) includes a plurality of perforations (217a) to allow air dispersion from the server rack (102) through the rear panel (203); A system (201) for removing heat from a server rack (102), wherein the heat exchanger (215), the exhaust fan (205), and the perforations (217a) are arranged so as to overlap when viewed from the plate surface of the exterior wall (211).

2. 2. A system (201) for heat removal from a server rack (102) used to house servers, as described in claim 1, wherein the outer wall (211) of the rear panel (203) has at least one recess (211a) for mounting the exhaust fan (205), and the exhaust fan (205) is mounted to a frame (213) extending from the side wall (209) at the recess (211a).

3. A system (201) for removing heat from a server rack (102) used to store servers, wherein the plurality of perforations (217a) of the second layer (217) are also arranged in an off-blade area that does not overlap with the exhaust fan (205) when viewed from the plate surface of the exterior wall (211), as described in claim 1 or claim 2.

4. 4. The system (201) for heat removal from a server rack (102) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a plurality of air guide means (227) attached at regular or irregular intervals and angled to the inner wall (207) of the rear panel (203).

5. 5. The system (201) for heat removal from a server rack (102) of claim 4, wherein the air guiding means (227) is manually or automatically rotatable to provide a guiding angle relative to the inner wall (207) of the rear panel (203) to guide airflow from the server rack (102) toward the exhaust fan (205).

6. 6. The system (201) for heat removal from a server rack (102) according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein each air guide means (227) of the plurality of air guide means (227) has a different guide angle with respect to the rear panel (203).

7. The system (201) for heat removal from a server rack (102) according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the plurality of air guide means (227) include, but are not limited to, vents, louvers, curtains, blinds, fins, wings, or slats, or any combination thereof, or any air guide means (227).

8. The system (201) for heat removal from a server rack (102) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the perforations (217a) in the second layer (217) are of any suitable shape, size and quantity.

9. The system (201) for heat removal from a server rack (102) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the system (201) is connected to the server rack (102) via at least one hinge mechanism (223).

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