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EP-3666046-B1 - AIRFLOW CONTROL IN DATA CENTERS UTILIZING HOT AISLE CONTAINMENT

EP3666046B1EP 3666046 B1EP3666046 B1EP 3666046B1EP-3666046-B1

Inventors

  • DAWSON, BRUCE W.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20180718

Claims (10)

  1. A portion of a data center (100) utilizing hot aisle containment, comprising: at least one row of enclosures (1a, 1b) for housing IT equipment (2a,2b), backs of the enclosures facing a contained hot aisle (3) which is arranged to receive hot air exhaust from the IT equipment; the contained hot aisle extending vertically upward and connecting to a hot air return plenum (5) located in a suspended ceiling of the data center; a cooling unit (4) connected to the hot air return plenum and the cooling unit including a fan (15); and an active hot aisle containment (HAC) controller , characterized in that the active hot aisle containment (HAC) is configured to: maintain a near-neutral pressure in the contained hot aisle based on pressure sensor data received from a first differential pressure sensor (7) located in the contained hot aisle; and maintain a set negative pressure in the hot air return plenum by modulating the fan in the cooling unit based on pressure sensor data received from a second differential pressure sensor (8) located in the hot air return plenum.
  2. The portion of a data center (100) of claim 1, comprising: an active damper ceiling panel (9) located in the contained hot aisle (3) above the first differential pressure sensor (7).
  3. The portion of a data center (100) of claim 2, wherein the active HAC controller is to: maintain the near-neutral pressure in the contained hot aisle (3) by modulating the active damper ceiling panel (9) based on pressure sensor data received from the first differential pressure sensor (7).
  4. The portion of a data center (100) of claim 3, wherein the active HAC controller is configured to: increase an amount the active damper ceiling panel (9) is opened in response to detecting an increase in pressure in the contained hot aisle (3) using the first differential pressure sensor (7); and decrease the amount the active damper ceiling panel (9) is opened in response to detecting a decrease in pressure in the contained hot aisle (3) using the first differential pressure sensor (7).
  5. The portion of a data center (100) of claim 1, wherein the active HAC controller is to: increase a fan speed of the fan (15) in the cooling unit (4) in response to detecting an increase in pressure in the hot air return plenum (5) using the second differential pressure sensor (8); and decrease the fan speed of the fan in the cooling unit in response to detecting a decrease in pressure in the hot air return plenum using the second differential pressure sensor.
  6. A method for controlling airflow in a data center (100), the data center being setup for hot aisle containment, the method comprising: detecting a change in cooling air requirement of an IT equipment (2a, 2b) in an enclosure (1a, 1b) in the data center; increasing fan speed of a cooling fan (6a, 6b) in the enclosure in response to detecting the change in cooling air requirement; detecting a change in pressure in a contained hot aisle (3) of the data center resulting from increasing the fan speed of the cooling fan in the enclosure, using a first differential pressure sensor (7) located in the contained hot aisle; in response to detecting the change in pressure in the contained hot aisle, modulating a damper (9) located in the contained hot aisle to maintain a near-neutral pressure in the hot aisle; detecting a change in pressure in a hot air return plenum (5) of the data center resulting from modulating the damper located in the contained hot aisle to maintain the near-neutral pressure in the hot aisle, using a second differential pressure sensor (8) located in the hot air return plenum; and in response to detecting the change in pressure in the hot air return plenum, modulating a fan (15) of a cooling unit in the data center to maintain a set negative pressure in the hot air return plenum.
  7. The method of claim 6, wherein: detecting a change in pressure in the contained hot aisle (3) includes detecting an increase in pressure in the contained hot aisle; modulating the damper (9) located in the contained hot aisle includes increasing an amount the damper is opened; detecting a change in pressure in a hot air return plenum includes detecting an increase in pressure in the hot air return plenum; and modulating the fan of the cooling unit in the data center includes increasing a fan speed of the fan of the cooling unit.
  8. The method of claim 6, wherein: detecting a change in pressure in the contained hot aisle includes detecting a decrease in pressure in the contained hot aisle; modulating the damper located in the contained hot aisle includes decreasing an amount the damper is opened; detecting a change in pressure in a hot air return plenum includes detecting a decrease in pressure in the hot air return plenum; and modulating the fan of the cooling unit in the data center includes decreasing a fan speed of the fan of the cooling unit.
  9. The method of claim 6, wherein detecting a change in pressure in the hot air return plenum (5) comprises: detecting a change in pressure in the hot air return plenum using the second differential pressure sensor (8) and a third differential pressure sensor located in the hot air return plenum.
  10. The method of claim 9, comprising: in response to detecting the change in pressure in the hot air return plenum (5) using the second differential pressure sensor (8), modulating a fan (15) of a first cooling unit in the data center (4); and in response to detecting the change in pressure in the hot air return plenum using the third differential pressure sensor, modulating a fan of a second cooling unit in the data center.

Description

BACKGROUND Data centers set up for hot aisle containment enclose hot exhaust air produced by information technology (IT) equipment into contained "hot aisles". For data centers with row-level cooling systems, this hot exhaust air can be drawn directly into cooling units installed in the cabinet rows, and the airflow may be optimized through modulation of fan speeds within the row-level cooling units. For other cooling scenarios in hot aisle containment systems, the hot exhaust air may be ducted back to the cooling unit(s) via a hot air return plenum. The cooling units of a data center may draw in hot exhaust air from the hot air return plenum, cool the hot exhaust air, and provide the cooled air to the data center. US 2013/176678 A1 discloses a server rack for housing certain devices configured to receive a first air flow at a server rack front. US 2016/192543 A1 discloses an air-conditioning apparatus, for an air-conditioning target space in which a rack including a device as a heat-producing object is provided. US 2010/216388 A1 discloses systems and methods for heat containment and cold air isolation for managing airflow and temperature in data centers. The data center contains at least two rows of cabinets containing heat-generating equipment and arranged to form a cold aisle and a hot aisle. The data center system includes panels or doors at both ends of the cold aisle and an optional cover over the cold aisle to inhibit cooled air supplied by an air conditioning system from exiting the cold aisle and inhibit air warmed by the heat-generating components from entering the cold aisle. A chimney coupled to the top, rear, or top and rear of the cabinets is configured to exhaust the warmed air into a region above the rows of cabinets. The chimneys may be ducted to a plenum or suspended ceiling or to the intake of the air conditioning system. Baffles and/ or fans may be included in the chimneys, ducts, and/or plenums to control the air pressure. The invention may also include one or more data center air conditioning units, and each air conditioning unit may be configured to service one or more rows of cabinets. Alternatively, or in addition, cool air may be supplied by the building's air conditioning system. US 2017/045254 A1 describes, a plenum pressure controlled cabinet including a sideways cooled component mounted so as to define gaps between the cabinet and the component. Baffles block some of the gaps. A negative pressure maintained within the cabinet causes makeup air to be drawn into the cabinet through a gap not blocked by baffles between one side of the cabinet and a cool air intake of the component. Thus, cool air is provided to the cool air intake of the component. A plenum pressure controlled enclosure includes an equipment rack maintained at a neutral pressure, a plenum maintained at a slightly negative pressure or a neutral pressure, and a cooling unit. The plenum takes in air from the rack and expels it into the cooling unit. By controlling differential pressures in the rack and the plenum, air is efficiently drawn from the equipment rack and cooled utilizing the cooling unit. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The following detailed description references the drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example implementation of a data center set up for hot aisle containment;FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example implementation of a data center set up for hot aisle containment;FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example cooling system for controlling airflow in a data center set up for hot aisle containment;FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example method for airflow control in a data center utilizing hot aisle containment;FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example method for airflow control in a data center utilizing hot aisle containment; andFIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example method for airflow control in a data center utilizing hot aisle containment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The cooling units in a data center may create a pressure differential as they take in hot exhaust air and expel cooled air. The pressure differential may manifest itself as a negative relative pressure between the cooled open environment of the data center and the hot air return plenum. The pressure in the contained hot aisles may be a function of the amount of cooled air pulled into the IT equipment by cooling fans within the IT equipment and the amount of hot exhaust air pulled from the contained hot aisles into the data center cooling units. For example, if the cooling units pull less hot exhaust air from the contained hot aisles than the amount of cooled air pulled by the cooling fans across the IT equipment, the hot aisle pressure will become positive relative to the cooled data center space. The cooling fans of the IT equipment will see this as a resistance, which will result in a decrease in airflow through the IT equipment. The decrease in airflow will result in higher IT equipment operating temperatures, and the cooling fa