US 2020/0093036 A1 · Data Centre Cooling System

Abstract

A method of cooling a data centre, and a data centre, is disclosed. Optionally, the data centre comprises: a cooling air source (201); at least one rack room (202) having a floor and rack storage areas (203a-203d) on the floor, each rack storage area accommodating racks in which items of electronic equipment having at least one fan (204) are housed; one or more cold aisles (205) in the rack room, each cold aisle being adjacent to a rack storage area; one or more hot aisles (206) in the rack room, each hot aisle being adjacent to a rack storage area; and an air supply corridor (207) for transporting cooling air, above the floor, from the cooling air source to the one or more cold aisles. The method optionally comprises transporting cooling air from the cooling air source (201) to the one or more cold aisles (205) substantially under the control of the fans (204) of the items of electronic equipment.

Claims29

Dependent claims

1-13. (canceled)

A method of cooling servers in a data centre, wherein the data centre has a cooling air source, a cold area and a hot area, the cooling air source having a heat exchanger for exchanging heat between an internal air flow path segregated from an external air flow path, the external air flow path being in fluid communication with ambient air outside the data centre, the servers having integral server fans, and the data centre having a closed air circuit configured for circulation of air from the cold area into the hot area via the servers, and from the hot area back into the cold area via the internal air flow path of the cooling air source, wherein the method is performed by operating the integral server fans to collectively cause circulation of air around the closed air circuit without assistance of another air mover.

A data centre, wherein the data centre has a cooling air source, a cold area and a hot area, the cooling air source having a heat exchanger for exchanging heat between an internal air flow path segregated from an external air flow path, the external air flow path being in fluid communication with ambient air outside the data centre, the servers having integral server fans, and the data centre having a closed air circuit configured for circulation of air from the cold area into the hot area via the servers, and from the hot area back into the cold area via the internal air flow path of the cooling air source, wherein the data centre and the integral server fans are configured so that the integral server fans are sufficient to collectively cause circulation of air around the closed air circuit without assistance of another air mover.

A method of cooling servers in a data centre, wherein the data centre comprises:

servers arranged in the data centre in rows separating alternating cold aisles and hot aisles,
a first personnel corridor in fluid communication with the cold aisles, and
an indirect air handling unit configured to receive warm air from the servers via the hot aisles and to provide cool air to the servers via the first personnel corridor and the cold aisles,
wherein the first personnel corridor is separate to the cold aisles and located on the same level of the data centre as the cold aisles, and wherein the servers comprise server fans;
wherein the method is performed by:
operating the indirect air handling unit to cool the warm air by exchanging heat with air outside the data centre thereby producing the cool air, and
operating the server fans to draw in cool air from the cold aisles, transport the cool air through the servers thereby producing the warm air, and to exhaust the warm air into the hot aisles, wherein said operation of the server fans is sufficient to directly cause circulation of the cooling air along the first personnel corridor and along the cold aisles from the indirect air handling unit to the servers, cause circulation of the warm air along the hot aisles from the servers to the indirect air handling unit, and cause circulation of air through the indirect air handling unit.

4 more elements

A data centre, wherein the data centre comprises:

servers arranged in the data centre in rows separating alternating cold aisles and hot aisles,
a first personnel corridor in fluid communication with the cold aisles, and
an indirect air handling unit configured to receive warm air from the servers via the hot aisles and to provide cool air to the servers via the first personnel corridor and the cold aisles,
wherein the first personnel corridor is separate to the cold aisles and located on the same level of the data centre as the cold aisles, and wherein the servers comprise server fans;
wherein the indirect air handling unit is operable to cool the warm air by exchanging heat with air outside the data centre in order to produce said cool air,
wherein the server fans are operable to draw in cool air from the cold aisles, transport the cool air through the servers thereby producing the warm air, and to exhaust the warm air into the hot aisles,
and wherein the data centre is configured so that said operation of the server fans is sufficient to directly cause circulation of the cooling air along the first personnel corridor and along the cold aisles from the indirect air handling unit to the servers, cause circulation of the warm air along the hot aisles from the servers to the indirect air handling unit, and cause circulation of air through the indirect air handling unit.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

16/597,566Filed 9 Oct 2019

Priority

GB 1509585.43 Jun 2015

Published

19 Mar 2020

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

H05K 7/20745
Forced ventilation of a gaseous coolant: within rooms for removing heat from cabinets, e.g. by air conditioning device
H05K 7/1497
Servers; Data center rooms, e.g. 19-inch computer racks: rooms for data centers; Shipping containers therefor
H05K 7/20727
Forced ventilation of a gaseous coolant: within server blades for removing heat from heat source
H05K 7/20736
Forced ventilation of a gaseous coolant: within cabinets for removing heat from server blades

Data Centre Cooling System

Life of this patent

Data Centre Cooling System

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims29