CN-122002761-A - Cooling distribution unit with constant supply return temperature

Abstract

The invention relates to a cooling distribution unit with constant supply return temperature. A cooling distribution unit associated with at least one rack system of a data center includes a first cooling system having a primary cooling circuit through which a heat transfer fluid is configured to circulate, a heat exchanger, a cooling system load disposed downstream of the heat exchanger relative to a flow of the heat transfer fluid, and at least one valve. The second cooling system having a secondary cooling circuit includes a pump through which a coolant is configured to circulate. The second cooling system is thermally coupled to the first cooling system at a heat exchanger. The heat transfer fluid provided to the cooling system load has a first constant temperature when the load at the heat exchanger changes.

Inventors

• M. Grabang
• P. A. Favre

Assignees

• 开利公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20251103

Priority Date

20241101

Claims (19)

1. 1. A cooling distribution unit associated with at least one rack system of a data center, the cooling system comprising: A first cooling system having a primary cooling circuit through which a heat transfer fluid is configured to circulate, the first cooling system comprising a heat exchanger and a cooling system load arranged downstream of the heat exchanger relative to a flow of the heat transfer fluid and at least one valve; a second cooling system having a secondary cooling circuit through which a coolant is configured to circulate, the second cooling circuit including a pump, wherein the second cooling system is thermally coupled to the first cooling system at the heat exchanger, and Wherein the heat transfer fluid provided to the cooling system load has a first constant temperature when the load at the heat exchanger changes.
2. 2. The cooling distribution unit of claim 1, wherein the heat transfer fluid provided to the inlet of the heat exchanger has a second constant temperature that is different from the first constant temperature when the load at the cooling distribution unit varies.
3. 3. The cooling distribution unit of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the pump fluidly connected to the second cooling circuit is a variable speed pump.
4. 4. A cooling distribution unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the load at the heat exchanger is controlled via operation of the pump.
5. 5. The cooling distribution unit of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the at least one valve comprises a first valve operable to control flow of the heat transfer fluid to the heat exchanger and a second valve operable to control flow of the heat transfer fluid bypassing the heat exchanger.
6. 6. The cooling distribution unit of claim 5, further comprising a bypass conduit arranged in parallel with the heat exchanger relative to the flow of the heat transfer fluid, wherein the second valve is operable to control the flow of the heat transfer fluid through the bypass conduit.
7. 7. The cooling distribution unit of claim 6, wherein the heat transfer fluid output from the heat exchanger is mixed with heat transfer fluid from the bypass conduit at a mixing point.
8. 8. The cooling distribution unit of claim 7, wherein the heat transfer fluid output from the heat exchanger has a first temperature and the heat transfer fluid within the bypass conduit has a second temperature, and the mixture of the heat transfer fluid output from the heat exchanger and the heat transfer fluid from the bypass conduit is provided to the cooling system load having the constant temperature.
9. 9. The cooling distribution unit of any of claims 5 to 8, wherein the first valve is located upstream of an inlet of the heat exchanger with respect to a flow of the heat transfer fluid and the second valve is located upstream of the first valve with respect to the flow of the heat transfer fluid.
10. 10. The cooling distribution unit of any of claims 5 to 9, wherein the first valve is operable independently of the second valve.
11. 11. The cooling distribution unit of any of claims 5to 8, wherein the first valve and the second valve are integrally formed as a single three-way valve located upstream of an inlet of the heat exchanger with respect to a flow of the heat transfer fluid.
12. 12. The cooling distribution unit of any of claims 5-11, further comprising a controller operably coupled to the at least one valve and the pump, the controller configured to operate the first valve to control a flow of the heat transfer fluid provided to the heat exchanger in response to a load at the cooling distribution unit.
13. 13. The cooling system of claim 12, wherein the controller is configured to operate the second valve to control a temperature of the heat transfer fluid provided to the cooling system load.
14. 14. A method of operating a cooling distribution system, the method comprising: Circulating a heat transfer fluid through a primary cooling loop; Circulating a coolant through a secondary cooling circuit, wherein the primary cooling circuit and the secondary cooling circuit are thermally coupled via a heat exchanger; Detecting a temperature of the heat transfer fluid via a sensor positioned between an outlet of the heat exchanger and a cooling system load disposed downstream of the heat exchanger relative to a flow of the heat transfer fluid, and Controlling a flow of heat transfer fluid through the primary cooling circuit in response to the temperature detected by the sensor to maintain a constant temperature of the heat transfer fluid provided to the cooling system load.
15. 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: Comparing the temperature of the heat transfer fluid detected via the sensor with a return temperature set point to determine a difference between the temperature of the heat transfer fluid and the return temperature set point, and A flow of the heat transfer fluid through the primary cooling loop is adjusted in response to the difference between the temperature of the heat transfer fluid and the return temperature set point.
16. 16. The method of claim 14 or claim 15, wherein controlling the flow of the heat transfer fluid through the primary cooling circuit in response to the temperature detected by the sensor comprises controlling the flow of the heat transfer fluid through a bypass conduit arranged in parallel with the heat exchanger.
17. 17. The method of any of claims 14 to 16, further comprising controlling the flow of the heat transfer fluid provided to the heat exchanger in response to a temperature of the coolant at a location downstream of the heat exchanger.
18. 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: Sensing a temperature of the coolant at the location downstream of the heat exchanger via another sensor; comparing the temperature of the coolant at the location downstream of the heat exchanger with a temperature set point to determine a difference between the temperature of the coolant at the location downstream of the heat exchanger and the temperature set point, and The flow of the heat transfer fluid provided to the heat exchanger is adjusted in response to the difference between the temperature of the coolant at the location downstream of the heat exchanger and the temperature set point.
19. 19. The method of any of claims 14 to 17, wherein the temperature of the heat transfer fluid at the inlet of the heat exchanger is constant.

Description

Cooling distribution unit with constant supply return temperature Technical Field Exemplary embodiments relate to the field of thermal management, and more particularly, to thermal management of servers within a data center. Background "Data center" refers to the physical location of one or more servers. Data centers and servers housed within the data centers typically consume significant amounts of electrical power. Existing servers are designed to be at least partially cooled by an air stream. Such servers typically include one or more printed circuit boards having a plurality of operable heat generating devices mounted thereto. The printed circuit board is typically housed in a housing having vents configured to direct outside air from the data center into the housing, through the housing, and out of the housing. The air absorbs heat dissipated by the components and mixes with ambient air after being exhausted from the housing. The heated air of the data center is then cooled and recirculated using an air conditioner, thereby repeating the cooling process. Higher performance server components typically dissipate more power. However, the amount of heat that a conventional air-cooled cooling system may remove from a server is limited in part by the degree of available air flow and the air characteristics relative to the heat transfer capacity of the air. In order to increase the power density of the cooling system, liquid cooling is required. Liquid cooling allows for a significant increase in the heat dissipated from the server. Disclosure of Invention According to an embodiment, a cooling distribution unit associated with at least one rack system of a data center includes a first cooling system having a primary cooling circuit through which a heat transfer fluid is configured to circulate, a heat exchanger, a cooling system load disposed downstream of the heat exchanger relative to a flow of the heat transfer fluid, and at least one valve. The second cooling system having a secondary cooling circuit includes a pump through which a coolant is configured to circulate. The second cooling system is thermally coupled to the first cooling system at a heat exchanger. The heat transfer fluid provided to the cooling system load has a first constant temperature when the load at the heat exchanger changes. In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, in a further embodiment, the heat transfer fluid provided to the inlet of the heat exchanger has a second constant temperature when the load at the cooling distribution unit varies. The second constant temperature is different from the first constant temperature. In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, in further embodiments the pump fluidly connected to the second cooling circuit is a variable speed pump. In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, in further embodiments, the load at the heat exchanger is controlled via operation of the pump. In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, in further embodiments, the at least one valve comprises a first valve operable to control flow of heat transfer fluid to the heat exchanger and a second valve operable to control flow of heat transfer fluid bypassing the heat exchanger. In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, in further embodiments the bypass conduit is arranged in parallel with the heat exchanger with respect to the flow of the heat transfer fluid. The second valve is operable to control the flow of heat transfer fluid through the bypass conduit. In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, in further embodiments, the heat transfer fluid output from the heat exchanger is mixed with the heat transfer fluid from the bypass conduit at a mixing point. In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, in a further embodiment the heat transfer fluid output from the heat exchanger has a first temperature and the heat transfer fluid within the bypass conduit has a second temperature, and the mixture of the heat transfer fluid output from the heat exchanger and the heat transfer fluid from the bypass conduit is provided to a cooling system load having a constant temperature. In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, in further embodiments, the first valve is upstream of the inlet of the heat exchanger with respect to the flow of the heat transfer fluid and the second valve is upstream of the first valve with respect to the flow of the heat transfer fluid. In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, in further embodiments the first valve can operate independently of the second valve. In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, in fur