Movable-Support Rack Housing for Raised-Floor Cooling Air Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional data centers face challenges in efficiently managing cooling air due to the complexity and inflexibility of raised floors, which limits the adjustable air volume and leads to suboptimal cooling capacity and energy usage.
Innovation Solution
A rack housing system with movable supports and actuators that dynamically adjust the air volume in response to cooling needs, allowing for real-time adaptation of air flow and pressure within the rack housing, thereby increasing the total cooling air volume without altering the raised floor height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional raised floor is used in a data center, then the floor provides support for equipment and infrastructure, but the floor structure is complex and difficult to change, limiting air volume adjustability
Solution Approach 1:
The rack housing is divided into separate functional components: a fixed frame structure and movable supports that can be independently adjusted. This segmentation allows the air volume to be modified by moving the supports without requiring changes to the entire raised floor system, thereby improving adaptability while maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The rack housing incorporates movable supports that can dynamically adjust their position within the frame to change the air volume. This dynamic capability allows the system to adapt to varying cooling requirements without modifying the static raised floor structure, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and complexity.
2Volume of stationary object
If the raised floor height is increased to provide more cooling air volume, then cooling capacity increases, but structural changes are required which are complex and difficult to implement
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of changing the overall raised floor height, the invention modifies the local air volume within the rack housing by adjusting the position of movable supports. This localized adjustment increases cooling air volume without requiring complex structural changes to the entire floor system.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable supports enable dynamic adjustment of the air volume within the existing rack footprint. This dynamic reconfiguration allows the system to increase cooling capacity on-demand without permanent structural modifications, avoiding the complexity of altering the raised floor height.
3Adaptability or versatility
If fixed rack supports are used, then the structure is simple and stable, but the air volume cannot be adjusted to match cooling demands
Solution Approach 1:
The rack housing employs movable supports that can be adjusted to change air volume in response to cooling demands. This dynamic feature provides adaptability while maintaining operational simplicity through straightforward support repositioning mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables operators to self-adjust the air volume by repositioning the movable supports according to actual cooling needs. This self-service capability allows flexible adaptation without requiring complex control systems or specialized operational procedures.
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 solution enhances cooling efficiency and flexibility, optimizing the use of cooling resources and reducing energy waste by dynamically adjusting air volumes within the rack housings to match the cooling demands of the data center.
Implementation Method 1
The rack housing and its components are configured to reduce the overall weight of the rack housing, thereby increasing buoyancy. The reduced weight and increased buoyancy facilitate natural convection of cooling air from the raised floor through the electronic devices
Data Source
AI summary
A rack housing includes, for example, a frame, a door attachable to a front of said frame, a plurality of movable supports for supporting a plurality of electronic devices in the frame, and an actuator for moving said plurality of movable supports to define an adjustable air volume in the rack housing for receiving cooling air from a raised floor of a data center. Computer-implemented methods, computer program products, and systems are also disclose.