Apparatus and method for facilitating cooling of an electronics rack employing a heat exchange assembly mounted to an outlet door cover of the electronics rack

A cooled electronics system comprising:

• an electronics rack, the electronics rack having:
• an air inlet side and an air outlet side, the air inlet and air outlet sides respectively enabling ingress and egress of external air;
• at least one electronics drawer;
• at least one air moving device, the at least one air moving device being capable of causing external air to flow from the air inlet side of the electronics rack, across the at least one electronics drawer to the air outlet side of the electronics rack;
• an outlet door cover hingedly mounted along one edge to the electronics rack at the air outlet side of the electronics rack, the outlet door cover having an opening therein;
• a heat exchange assembly mounted to the outlet door cover of the electronics rack to reside within the opening in the outlet door cover, the heat exchange assembly comprising:
• a support frame mounting the heat exchange assembly to the outlet door cover;
• an air-to-liquid heat exchanger supported by the support frame, the air-to-liquid heat exchanger having an inlet plenum and an outlet plenum disposed adjacent to the edge of the outlet door cover hingedly mounted to the electronics rack, wherein the inlet plenum and the outlet plenum are each in fluid communication with a respective connect coupling of the heat exchange assembly, the respective connect couplings residing adjacent to the edge of the outlet door cover hingedly mounted to the electronics rack, and wherein the air-to-liquid heat exchanger further comprises multiple horizontally-oriented heat exchange tube sections, each heat exchange tube section comprising a serpentine coolant channel having an inlet and an outlet, each coolant channel inlet being coupled to the inlet plenum and each coolant channel outlet being coupled to the outlet plenum, and wherein the air-to-liquid heat exchanger further comprises a plurality of fins extending from the heat exchange tube sections;
• and
• a first perforated planar surface covering a first main side of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger and a second perforated planar surface covering a second main side of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger, each perforated planar surface containing air flow openings to allow inlet-to-outlet air flow through the electronics rack to pass through the heat exchange assembly when the outlet door cover is closed to the electronics rack.

A method for facilitating cooling of an electronics rack, the method comprising:

• providing a heat exchange assembly configured to mount to an outlet door cover for an electronics rack, wherein air moves through the electronics rack from an air inlet side to an air outlet side thereof and the outlet door cover is hingedly mounted along one edge to the electronics rack at the air outlet side of the electronics rack, and wherein the heat exchange assembly comprises:
• a support frame for facilitating mounting of the heat exchange assembly to the outlet door cover;
• an air-to-liquid heat exchanger supported by the support frame, the air-to-liquid heat exchanger having an inlet plenum and an outlet plenum disposed adjacent to the edge of the outlet door cover hingedly mounted to the electronics rack when the heat exchange assembly is mounted to the outlet door cover, wherein the inlet plenum and the outlet plenum are each in fluid communication with a respective connect coupling of the heat exchange assembly, the respective connect couplings residing adjacent to the edge of the outlet door cover hingedly mounted to the electronics rack when the heat exchange assembly is mounted to the outlet door cover, and wherein the air-to-liquid heat exchanger further comprises multiple horizontally-oriented heat exchange tube sections, each heat exchange tube section comprising a serpentine coolant channel having an inlet and an outlet, each coolant channel inlet being coupled to the inlet plenum and each coolant channel outlet being coupled to the outlet plenum, and wherein the air-to-liquid heat exchanger further comprises a plurality of fins extending from the heat exchange tube sections;
• a first perforated planar surface covering a first main side of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger and a second perforated planar surface covering a second main side of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger, each perforated planar surface containing air flow openings to allow inlet-to-outlet air flow through the electronics rack to pass through the heat exchange assembly;
• and
• mounting the heat exchange assembly to the outlet door cover by affixing the support frame to the outlet door cover, wherein the heat exchange assembly resides within the opening in the outlet door cover.