Chassis Cooling Sidecar for Data Center Airflow Redirection
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Solution Overview
Problem
In conventional data centers, the cooled air blown through perforated floor tiles is not utilized efficiently to cool computer chassis aligned in rows, leading to suboptimal cooling of computers.
Innovation Solution
A computer chassis cooling sidecar with an air intake chamber and a chassis delivery chamber, featuring a directional vane to direct airflow from the side of the chassis to the front or back, enhancing airflow distribution and utilization for effective cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If chassis are aligned in rows with conventional cooling, then air conditioning system can cool the data center, but the cooled air on the sides of chassis is not utilized efficiently
Solution Approach 1:
A sidecar device is introduced as an intermediary component attached to the side of each chassis. This sidecar includes a sidecar intake chamber that receives cooled air from the floor tiles and a sidecar delivery chamber that delivers the air to the front or back of the chassis. The directional vane within the sidecar acts as a mediator to redirect the airflow, ensuring that previously wasted side airflow is now effectively utilized for cooling the chassis.
2Ease of operation
If cooled air is blown through perforated floor tiles, then air conditioning can function, but airflow distribution to chassis sides is inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into distinct functional chambers within the sidecar device. The sidecar intake chamber separately receives cooled air from the floor tiles, while the sidecar delivery chamber separately delivers air to the chassis. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each airflow path and ensures reliable cooling performance through controlled airflow distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The directional vane within the sidecar provides dynamic airflow control. By adjusting the orientation of the directional vane, the system can adaptively redirect cooled air to different locations (front or back of chassis) based on cooling requirements, thereby improving both airflow distribution ease and cooling reliability.
3Reliability
If fans blow cooled air from front to back of chassis, then computers can be cooled, but side airflow from floor tiles remains unused
Solution Approach 1:
The sidecar device merges two previously separate cooling airflow paths into a unified system. The main chassis fans continue to blow cooled air from front to back, while the sidecar simultaneously delivers cooled air from the floor tiles to the chassis front or back. This merging of airflow sources enhances overall cooling reliability while eliminating energy waste from unused side airflow.
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
The sidecar improves airflow distribution, ensuring efficient cooling of computer chassis by directing cooled air from the side to the front or back, thereby optimizing the use of cooled air and enhancing cooling efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a directional vane shaped to direct airflow from the side of the chassis to a chassis delivery chamber
Data Source
AI summary
A computer chassis cooling sidecar for cooling one or more computers in a chassis of computers in a data center, the sidecar including an air intake chamber and a chassis delivery chamber, the air intake chamber having a first opening at a bottom end for receiving air from beneath the data center through perforated tiles in the floor of the data center located on the side of the computer chassis, the air intake chamber having at the top end a directional vane shaped to direct airflow from the side of the chassis to a chassis delivery chamber; wherein the chassis delivery chamber resides in front or back of the chassis and has an opening to receive air from the air intake chamber and an opening to deliver the received air to the front or back of the computer chassis.