Plate Heat Exchanger Cooling for Closed Data Center Air Recirculation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling systems for data centers, such as those using thermal recovery wheels, suffer from inefficiencies due to air leakage and exchange, which reduces cooling effectiveness and complicates fire safety installations, and are prone to wear and maintenance issues.
Innovation Solution
A plate heat exchanger is used with separate ducts for recirculating air within the data center and air from the environment, providing physical separation to minimize leakage and incorporating passive circulation systems and control mechanisms to optimize airflow and energy efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If a thermal recovery wheel is used for heat exchange, then active cooling devices are eliminated and energy consumption is reduced, but air leakage and exchange occur through gaps and wheel structure reducing cooling effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal recovery wheel is segmented into multiple radial sections or segments. This allows the wheel to have both open areas for heat exchange and closed segments that prevent air leakage, resolving the contradiction between enabling heat transfer and preventing unwanted air exchange.
Solution Approach 2:
A housing or casing structure is introduced that encloses the thermal recovery wheel. This nested structure contains the air flows within defined pathways, preventing leakage through gaps while maintaining the heat exchange function of the wheel.
2Reliability
If a rotating thermal recovery wheel is used, then heat transfer from environment to space occurs, but wear and maintenance issues arise from continuous rotation
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous rotation, the wheel performs periodic reciprocating movements or oscillations. This periodic action maintains heat transfer effectiveness while dramatically reducing mechanical wear on bearings and moving parts, thereby lowering maintenance requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The wheel's motion is changed from continuous rotation to dynamic reciprocating movement. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to maintain thermal exchange effectiveness while reducing mechanical stress and wear, improving ease of repair and maintenance intervals.
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 solution enhances cooling efficiency, reduces maintenance costs, and simplifies fire safety installations by minimizing air exchange, while being more resistant to wear and environmental factors like wind.
Implementation Method 1
a heat exchanger with a first set of ducts and a second set of ducts... wherein the heat exchanger is a plate heat exchanger
Implementation Method 2
Heat is transferred from the air flow inside the space via the thermal recovery wheel to a second air flow outside the space
Implementation Method 3
incorporating passive circulation systems and control mechanisms to optimize airflow
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for cooling of a substantially closed space, in particular a data center, where continuous or intermittent heat is produced by at least one heat source, with recirculation air, includes a heat exchanger with a first set of ducts and a second set of ducts, each set of ducts having an in- and outlet. The in- and outlet of the first set of ducts are connected to the space to form a first recirculation path, and the in- and outlet of the second set of ducts are connected to an environment of the space to form a second recirculation path. The heat exchanger is a plate heat exchanger.