Experimental and computational study of perforated floor tile in data centers

Abstract

Current CFD simulation studies of large data centers cannot model the detailed geometries of the perforated tiles due to grid size limitation. These studies often assume that the tile flow can be modeled as constant velocity based on a fully open tile. In this case, mass flux is enforced at the expense of under-predicting momentum flux; the error in momentum flux can be as high as a factor of four for a 25% open perforated tile. Since jet entrainment is a strong function of its initial momentum flux, this error can be significant with respect to predicting the mixing of the surrounding room air into the tile flow. Combined experimental and computational studies were carried out to quantify the importance of the detailed tile geometry, and it was found that proper prediction of the mixing process must account for the tile opening patterns. Suggestions of how to model the floor perforated tiles in data center CFD simulations are then presented.