Network Cabinet Cooling Duct Assembly for Shared Passive Airflow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing passive cooling systems for network cabinets are difficult to install in existing spaces, inefficient in managing varying heat loads across multiple cabinets, and lack the capacity to effectively share cooling resources between cabinets.
Innovation Solution
A modular passive cooling system that includes a chimney and cabinet extension with a shared exhaust plenum, allowing for improved airflow management and heat distribution across multiple network cabinets, utilizing a cooling duct assembly with main and side ducts to reroute airflow and prevent hot air recirculation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If passive cooling systems are designed to accommodate maximum heat load in each cabinet, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but resources are wasted due to underutilization when heat load is lower
Solution Approach 1:
The exhaust plenum is designed to serve multiple network cabinets simultaneously, allowing a single cooling system to handle heat loads from several cabinets. This multi-functional design enables the system to adapt to varying heat loads by serving different combinations of cabinets, thereby maintaining cooling effectiveness while avoiding resource waste during lower heat load periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system incorporates adjustable ducts and doors that can be reconfigured based on actual heat load requirements. This dynamic adjustability allows the system to optimize airflow patterns and cooling capacity according to real-time conditions, ensuring effective cooling when needed while reducing resource consumption when heat loads are lower.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If chimneys are added to control hot air removal, then hot air recirculation is reduced, but space requirements increase due to need for optimally sized chimney and exhaust plenum
Solution Approach 1:
The exhaust plenum is integrated with the cabinet structure itself, combining the cooling function with the existing cabinet space. This merging approach allows the system to control hot air removal effectively while utilizing available cabinet space, thereby reducing the need for additional external space for chimneys and exhaust plenums.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling components including ducts and airflow management elements are nested within the existing cabinet structure. This nesting approach allows the system to fit within the constrained space of existing network cabinets while still providing effective hot air control and exhaust functionality.
3Ease of manufacture
If passive cooling systems are designed for single cabinet, then installation is simplified, but adaptability to multi-cabinet environments is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is divided into modular components including separate ducts, adjustable doors, and segmented plenum sections. This segmentation allows the system to be installed in a standardized manner while enabling flexible configuration to serve one or multiple cabinets, thereby maintaining installation simplicity while improving multi-cabinet adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is designed with universal components that can function in single-cabinet or multi-cabinet configurations. The adjustable ducts and doors allow the same basic system to adapt to different deployment scenarios, providing both installation simplicity and multi-cabinet versatility.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances cooling efficiency by allowing easy installation in existing cabinets, effectively manages varying heat loads, and enables sharing of cooling resources between cabinets, reducing waste and improving overall cooling performance.
Implementation Method 1
Passive cooling systems, such as perforated doors and chimneys, rely on ambient airflow to remove heat from the network cabinet
Implementation Method 2
Chimneys have been added to control the removal of hot air from the cabinet
Data Source
AI summary
Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a cooling duct assembly for electronic equipment installed in a cabinet. The cooling duct assembly comprises at least one main duct in fluid communication with a front portion of the cabinet. The at least one main duct receives cold air from the front portion of the cabinet and routes the cold air toward a back portion of the cabinet. Additionally, the cooling duct assembly comprises at least one side duct in fluid communication with the at least one main duct. The at least one side duct receives the cold air from the at least one main duct and routes the cold air to at least one side air intake opening on the electronic equipment.