Data Center Cooling Assembly Free Compressor Circuit Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data center cooling systems are inefficient due to their reliance on energy-consuming recooling devices like chillers, which operate inefficiently at varying ambient temperatures, especially when temperatures are high, as they are designed to handle extreme conditions that occur only rarely.
Innovation Solution
A cooling arrangement that combines a free cooling circuit and a compressor circuit, where the third and fourth air-refrigerant heat exchangers are vertically stacked, allowing the free cooling circuit to provide a significant portion of the cooling power, thereby reducing the need for energy-consuming recooling devices and optimizing energy use by using a condenser as an air-refrigerant heat exchanger.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a chiller is designed to provide sufficient recooling at maximum outside temperatures, then the cooling reliability is improved, but the energy efficiency deteriorates because the chiller works most of the time in an inefficient cooling capacity range
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into two independent refrigerant circuits: a free cooling circuit and a compressor circuit. This allows the system to operate in different modes depending on ambient conditions, using the free cooling circuit when possible to avoid the energy inefficiency of chillers operating below their optimal capacity range.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically switches between free cooling mode and compressor cooling mode based on ambient temperature conditions. The free cooling circuit is activated when ambient conditions permit, and the compressor circuit supplements when additional cooling is needed, optimizing energy efficiency across varying operating conditions.
2Power
If the cooling capacity is increased to handle extreme temperatures, then the cooling performance is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the need for active recooling devices
Solution Approach 1:
The free cooling circuit and compressor circuit are merged into a single integrated cooling system with shared components (heat exchangers, refrigerant lines). This combination provides the cooling capacity needed for extreme temperatures while avoiding the complexity of separate active recooling devices by using the free cooling circuit as the primary cooling path.
3Volume of moving object
If the third and fourth heat exchangers are vertically stacked, then the space utilization is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchangers are arranged in the vertical dimension rather than horizontally side-by-side. This vertical stacking achieves compact space utilization while maintaining relatively simple manufacturing, as each heat exchanger can be independently fabricated and then assembled vertically with standard connection methods.
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
This configuration enables energy-efficient operation across varying temperatures, reduces the need for active recooling components, and allows for a compact recooling unit design with lower energy consumption and reduced operational costs.
Implementation Method 1
a first heat exchanger package (3) and at least one first fan (4) are provided in the cooling device housing (2)... a second heat exchanger package (8) is provided outside the building or data center... the third and fourth heat exchangers of the second heat exchanger package (8) are accommodated vertically stacked one above the other in a recooling housing (15)
Implementation Method 2
The first fan (4) is set up to suck in air from inside the building or the data center via a first of two opposite housing sides of the cooling device housing (2), to convey it through the cooling device housing (2) and the first heat exchanger package (3) and out of the housing via a second housing side opposite the first housing side blow out
Implementation Method 3
a first and a second refrigerant circuit are fluidically separated from one another between the first heat exchanger pack and the second heat exchanger pack, the first refrigerant circuit being a free cooling circuit and the second refrigerant circuit being a compressor circuit
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a cooling arrangement (1) for air conditioning an IT environment, and in particular for data center air conditioning, comprising a cooling unit housing (2) located in an IT environment, and in particular in a data center, and in which a first heat exchanger package (3) and at least one first fan (4) are accommodated, wherein the first fan (4) is configured to draw in air from the building or the data center via a first of two opposing housing sides (6, 7), convey it through the housing (2) and the first heat exchanger package (3), and expel it from the housing (2) via a second housing side (7) opposite the first housing side (6), and wherein a second heat exchanger package (8) is arranged outside the building or data center and is supplied with air by at least one second fan (5), characterized in that a first and a second refrigerant circuit (9,10) are fluidically separated from each other between the first heat exchanger package (3) and the second heat exchanger package (8), wherein the first refrigerant circuit (9) is a free cooling circuit and the second refrigerant circuit (10) is a compressor circuit.