Movable Evaporative Media for Precise Air Temperature Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing evaporative cooling systems for data centers face challenges in providing precise temperature control with minimal pressure drop and fan power consumption, as they often result in stratified air output and increased fan power requirements due to physical space constraints and high media face velocities.
Innovation Solution
The system incorporates movable evaporative media sections that can be positioned between fixed sections to allow bypass air to flow around them, mixing with cooled air to achieve desired temperature and humidity levels, while maintaining low pressure drop and efficient cooling efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If evaporative media sections are arranged in fixed banks with separate water distribution systems, then temperature control is achieved through selective wetting, but the system responds slowly to reduce cooling and provides only discrete changes rather than continual variable control
Solution Approach 1:
The evaporative media sections are made movable rather than fixed, allowing dynamic adjustment of the number of active sections. This enables continual variable control of cooling capacity and rapid response to changing temperature requirements, resolving both the discrete control limitation and slow response time issues
2Volume of moving object
If physical space constraints are imposed on the cooling system, then the system compactness is improved, but fan power consumption increases due to high media face velocities
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is divided into multiple movable evaporative media sections that can be independently positioned. This segmentation allows optimization of air flow distribution across the media, reducing face velocities and associated pressure drops while maintaining compact overall system dimensions
3Productivity
If evaporative cooling systems are designed for data center applications, then cooling efficiency is improved, but stratified air output occurs and fan power requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The movable media sections enable dynamic adjustment of the cooling profile to match the specific thermal requirements of different data center zones. This prevents overheating in certain areas while avoiding excessive cooling in others, eliminating stratification and reducing overall fan power requirements while maintaining high cooling efficiency
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 allows for precise control of air temperature and humidity with reduced fan power consumption and minimizes stratification, enhancing cooling efficiency and reducing operational costs in data center applications.
Implementation Method 1
As the warm, dry air (input air 112) passes through the evaporative media 102, it evaporates a portion of the water. The energy used for evaporation is drawn from the input air 112 itself, resulting in cool, humidified air (output air 114)
Implementation Method 2
The system incorporates movable evaporative media sections that can be positioned between fixed sections to allow bypass air to flow around them, mixing with cooled air to achieve desired temperature and humidity levels
Data Source
AI summary
An air handling system includes a movable evaporative media section. The movable evaporative media section is movable between a closed position and an open position. When the movable evaporative media section is in an open position, the movable evaporative media section exposes an opening to the air flow and is positioned to allow at least a portion of the air flow in the volume to flow around the movable evaporative media section and through the opening.