Data Center Airflow Layout With Ceiling Fans and Side Cooling Units
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional cooling solutions for data centers face challenges such as occupying valuable floor space, constraining rack and aisle positions, and introducing coolant leakage risks, while existing perimeter cooling systems suffer from airflow distribution issues.
Innovation Solution
A cooling system with separate interior spaces containing fans and cooling units, positioned above and to the side of the equipment area, uses thermal barriers to recirculate air, allowing independent control of fans and cooling units to manage airflow and temperature distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If in-row or rear door heat exchangers are installed adjacent to rack servers, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but floor space is consumed and rack/aisle positions are constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system transitions from a horizontal floor-based layout to a vertical three-dimensional configuration. Fans are positioned in the ceiling (second interior space above the first interior space) and cooling units are positioned on lateral walls (third interior space), utilizing vertical and lateral dimensions to deliver cooling airflow directly to equipment without consuming floor space or constraining rack positions.
2Temperature
If in-row or rear door heat exchangers are installed adjacent to rack servers, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but coolant leakage risk is introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and eliminates the coolant-based heat exchanger component entirely, replacing it with an air-based cooling system using fans and cooling units positioned in separate interior spaces. This removes the source of potential coolant leakage while maintaining cooling effectiveness through direct airflow delivery to electronic equipment.
3Quantity of substance
If perimeter cooling units with integrated coils and fans are installed around the room, then cooling coverage is improved, but airflow distribution to distant equipment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into multiple independent cooling units positioned along lateral walls in the third interior space, each serving specific zones. This segmentation allows for localized airflow control and distribution, ensuring uniform cooling delivery to all equipment throughout the data center rather than relying on a single perimeter unit.
4Ease of manufacture
If cooling components are integrated into floor space, then installation simplicity is improved, but equipment positioning flexibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By positioning cooling units in the third interior space on lateral walls and fans in the second interior space in the ceiling, the system removes cooling components from the floor plane entirely. This vertical relocation preserves 100% of floor space for equipment placement and allows complete flexibility in rack and aisle configuration while maintaining installation simplicity through standardized wall-mounted and ceiling-mounted units.
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 airflow efficiency, reduces coolant leakage risks, and increases flexibility in equipment positioning by decoupling air handling components from floor space, resulting in more homogeneous temperature distribution and higher equipment density.
Implementation Method 1
at least one fan is operable to draw hot air from the first interior space into the second interior space across the first thermal barrier
Implementation Method 2
the second interior space and the third interior space are fluidly coupled such that the hot air flows from the second interior space into the third interior space
Implementation Method 3
the at least one cooling unit/coil is operable to condition the hot air in the third interior space to cold air and deliver the cold air into the first interior space across the second thermal barrier
Implementation Method 4
A first thermal separator/barrier is positioned between the first interior space and the second interior space. A second physical separator/thermal barrier is positioned between the third interior space and the first interior space
Data Source
AI summary
A data center cooling system includes a first interior space for containing electronic equipment, a second interior space for containing at least one fan, and a third interior space for containing at least one cooling unit. The first interior space is thermally separated from the second and third interior spaces such that hot air is drawn from the first interior space, conditioned, and then the cold air is delivered into the first interior space again. The at least one fan is positioned overhead of the electronic equipment, for instance in the ceiling, to improve the air distribution and increase the maximum airflow. The at least one cooling unit is positioned to at least one side of the first interior space. In use, the at least one fan and the at least one cooling unit operate together to condition and recirculate air through interior spaces.