KR-102963305-B1 - DATA CENTER WASTE HEAT RECOVERY SYSTEM

KR102963305B1KR 102963305 B1KR102963305 B1KR 102963305B1KR-102963305-B1

Abstract

A data center waste heat regeneration system includes a cooling device that cools equipment within a data center using cooling water, a cooling water storage tank that stores cooling water, a first control valve installed in a cooling water supply pipe to control the supply flow rate of cooling water, a low-temperature generator that generates electricity using waste heat from cooling water discharged from the cooling device and supplies the generated electricity to a renewable energy consumer, and a first heat exchanger that cools the cooling water discharged from the low-temperature generator and sends it to the cooling water storage tank.

Inventors

이인훈

Assignees

한국수력원자력 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20240528

Claims (11)

A cooling device provided in a data center and cooling equipment within the data center using cooling water; Coolant storage tank for storing coolant; A first control valve installed in a cooling water supply pipe connecting the cooling device and the cooling water storage tank, which controls the supply flow rate of the cooling water; A low-temperature generator installed in a cooling water discharge pipe connected to the above-mentioned cooling device, which generates electricity using waste heat from the cooling water discharged from the above-mentioned cooling device and supplies the generated electricity to a renewable energy consumer; and It includes a first heat exchanger connected to the cooling water storage tank through a cooling water recovery pipe, which cools the cooling water discharged from the low-temperature generator and sends it to the cooling water storage tank. The above-mentioned low-temperature generator includes a pump, an evaporator, a turbine connected to the generator, and a condenser, uses an organic compound as a working fluid, and the cooling water discharged from the cooling device passes through the evaporator and then moves to the first heat exchanger, and the condenser and the first heat exchanger are connected by an auxiliary cooling water circulation pipe, so that the auxiliary cooling water circulates between the condenser and the first heat exchanger, in a data center waste heat regeneration system.
In paragraph 1, It further includes a first valve controller electrically connected to the first control valve, and an ammeter installed on a power line connecting a power supply and the data center to measure the current usage of the data center. A data center waste heat regeneration system in which the first valve controller predicts the amount of heat generated by the data center from the current usage of the data center received from the ammeter, calculates an appropriate cooling water flow rate from the predicted amount of heat generated, and controls the operation of the first control valve.
In paragraph 2, It further includes a first thermometer for measuring the indoor temperature of the above data center, The above-mentioned first valve controller is a data center waste heat regeneration system that feedback controls the flow rate of cooling water supplied to the cooling device in proportion to the temperature of the data center measured by the first thermometer.
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In paragraph 1, The above renewable energy consumer receives electricity from the above generator to produce a product, and A data center waste heat regeneration system in which the first heat exchanger causes the cooling water and auxiliary cooling water to flow in the opposite direction to the cooling source fluid of the renewable energy consumption source, thereby transferring the heat of the cooling water and the heat of the auxiliary cooling water to the cooling source fluid of the renewable energy consumption source.
In paragraph 1, It further includes a heater installed in the cooling water discharge pipe between the cooling device and the low-temperature generator, a current controller for controlling the operation of the heater, and a third thermometer installed in the cooling water discharge pipe upstream of the heater for measuring the temperature of the cooling water. The heater operates when the temperature of the cooling water measured by the third thermometer is lower than the set value to raise the temperature of the cooling water, and The above current controller is a data center waste heat regeneration system that feedback controls the amount of current supplied to the heater in inverse proportion to the temperature of the cooling water measured by the third thermometer.
In paragraph 1, It further includes a second control valve installed in the cooling water recovery pipe to control the flow rate of the cooling water, a second valve controller electrically connected to the second control valve, a second thermometer for measuring the temperature of the cooling water storage tank, and a fourth thermometer and a flow meter installed in the cooling water recovery pipe upstream of the second control valve to measure the temperature and flow rate of the cooling water, respectively. A data center waste heat regeneration system in which the second valve controller controls the second control valve to regulate the flow rate of the cooling water according to the temperature and flow rate of the cooling water measured by the fourth thermometer and the flow meter.
In Paragraph 7, The second control valve is a three-way valve having a first outlet connected to the cooling water return pipe and a second outlet connected to the second heat exchanger, and The second valve controller determines the opening ratio of the first outlet and the second outlet of the second control valve according to a set value by combining the temperature of the cooling water storage tank measured by the second thermometer and the temperature of the cooling water measured by the fourth thermometer. A data center waste heat regeneration system in which the second heat exchanger cools the cooling water to a target temperature and discharges the cooling water through the cooling water recovery pipe.
In paragraph 8, The above second heat exchanger includes a radiative cooling surface provided on at least one of the surface of an internal component and a cover surface, and the radiative cooling surface is combined with a vacuum device to form a radiative cooling device, a data center waste heat regeneration system.
In paragraph 6, It further includes a third control valve installed in the cooling water discharge pipe between the cooling device and the heater, and a cooling water bypass pipe connecting the third control valve and the cooling water discharge pipe upstream of the first heat exchanger. A data center waste heat regeneration system comprising a third control valve having a first outlet connected to the cooling water discharge pipe and a second outlet connected to the cooling water bypass pipe.
In Paragraph 10, When the temperature of the coolant measured by the third thermometer is above the set value, the third control valve opens the first outlet and closes the second outlet, and A data center waste heat regeneration system in which, when the temperature of the cooling water measured by the third thermometer is lower than the set value and the heater is not operating, the third control valve closes the first outlet and opens the second outlet to supply cooling water to the first heat exchanger through the cooling water bypass pipe.

Description

Data Center Waste Heat Recovery System The present invention relates to a data center, and more specifically, to a data center waste heat regeneration system capable of recycling waste heat generated in a data center. A data center is a facility that provides server computers and network lines, stores and manages digital data, preserves information technology (IT) infrastructure, and processes data for the use of artificial intelligence (AI), such as machine learning and deep learning. Stable power supply, internet connectivity, and security are critical for data centers. In particular, data centers for artificial intelligence (AI) consist of large-scale facilities with a server capacity of over 500,000 units. Since these data centers generate a large amount of heat, they are operated by installing temperature and humidity control devices to maintain a constant temperature and humidity, such as large-capacity cooling units to cool the heat emitted by server computers. Data centers dispose of thermal energy generated during operation by releasing it externally. For example, groundwater is used as a coolant, and the used coolant is then discarded. This disposal of waste heat causes problems such as groundwater depletion and rising reservoir temperatures. Furthermore, as the demand for computing power, including artificial intelligence (AI), increases, the power consumption of data centers is gradually rising, and the amount of waste heat generated is increasing in proportion to this power consumption. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a data center waste heat regeneration system according to one embodiment, showing a low-temperature power generation mode. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a data center waste heat regeneration system according to one embodiment, showing a low-temperature power generation mode for heater operation. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a data center waste heat regeneration system according to one embodiment, showing a low-temperature power generation interruption mode. Figure 4 is a detailed configuration diagram of a low-temperature generator among the data waste heat regeneration systems illustrated in Figure 1. Figure 5 is a configuration diagram showing the case where a second heat exchanger is used in the data center waste heat regeneration system illustrated in Figure 1. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present invention. The present invention may be embodied in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. FIGS. 1 to 3 are configuration diagrams of a data center waste heat regeneration system according to one embodiment. FIG. 1 shows a low-temperature power generation mode, FIG. 2 shows a heater operation low-temperature power generation mode, and FIG. 3 shows a low-temperature power generation interruption mode. First, referring to FIG. 1, the data center waste heat regeneration system according to the present embodiment may include a data center (100), a cooling water storage tank (200) that supplies cooling water to the data center (100) and a first control valve (210), a low-temperature generator (300) that produces electricity using the waste heat of the cooling water discharged from the data center (100), and a first heat exchanger (410) that cools the cooling water discharged from the low-temperature generator (300) to a target temperature and then sends it to the cooling water storage tank (200). The data center (100) operates by receiving power from a power supply unit (500) and releases a large amount of thermal energy during operation. The data center (100) is equipped with a cooling device (110) to cool various equipment installed in the data center (100). The cooling device (110) is a water-cooling device and can cool various equipment by receiving cooling water from a cooling water storage tank (200). The data center waste heat regeneration system may include a first thermometer (610), a second thermometer (620), and an ammeter (510). The first thermometer (610) is installed in the data center (100) to measure the indoor temperature of the data center (100). The second thermometer (620) is installed in the cooling water storage tank (200) to measure the temperature of the cooling water stored in the cooling water storage tank (200). The ammeter (510) is installed on the power line connecting the power supply unit (500) and the data center (100) to measure the current usage of the data center (100). The cooling water storage tank (200) can be installed underground. Since the underground maintains a lower temperature than the ground during the summer, it is advantageous for lowering the temperature of the cooling water, and since it maintains a higher temperature than the ground during the winter, it can prevent the cooling water from freezing. The first control valve (210) is ins