Numerical and experimental investigations on the thermal performance of a data center

Abstract

Designing an efficient cooling system for a data center can significantly affect its thermal performance. The present paper deals with two kinds of factors that influence the thermal performance of a data center. First the geometry configurations include plenum height (0.4, 0.5, 0.6, and 0.7 m), perforation percentage (10, 20, 30, and 40%) and computer room air conditioning arrangement. Second, the operating parameters include the temperature and volume of air. A total number of 32 configurations have been designed by adjusting the plenum height perforation percentage to investigate the effect of the cooling system arrangement on the overall thermal performance of the data center. The results present a critical range for plenum height (up to 0.6 m) and perforation percentage (higher than 20%) in which the system's thermal performance can be significantly enhanced by adjusting the geometry configurations. Beyond this range, the performance does not change much. Supply air temperature is more related to the thermal performance of the racks near the farther end of the cold aisle. Increasing the supply air volume can effectively improve the air uniformity along the direction of the cold aisle. Plenum with gradient cross-sections created using inclined partitions significantly reduced the inlet and outlet air temperature by 1.7–2.9 °C. By investigating the effects of geometry configurations and operating parameters on the thermal performance of data centers, the optimal geometry parameters and feasible operating strategy of “high temperature, high air volume” are proposed in this article as the reference and guidance for newly built data centers or retrofitted practices.