INTEGRATED HEAT EXCHANGERS IN A RACK FOR VERTICAL BOARD STYLE COMPUTER SYSTEMS
A system for cooling heat-generating objects, such as computer boards situated in a rack, includes an enclosure in which the heat generating objects are situated. The enclosure has an air inlet and an air outlet, and a fan induces airflow into the air inlet, through the enclosure and out the air outlet. A heat exchanger is situated in the enclosure such that the heat exchanger is in a spaced apart relationship with the heat-generating object. Air moving through or past the heat-generating object is warmed, and the heat exchanger removes the heat before the air exits the enclosure.
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The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/522,857 filed Nov. 14, 2004, the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUNDThe present disclosure relates to systems for cooling electronic and other heat-generating equipment, and more particularly to systems for cooling the air flowing in proximity to electronic equipment configured in vertical banks in a rack or cabinet.
The growth of the computer industry over the past few decades has been phenomenal. Many new computer designs combine multiple computer/processor boards to make “high end” computers and “servers”. Due to the demand for floor space, computer boards are often configured to be “stacked” vertically in a rack or cabinet. Many existing cooling systems for electronic equipment contained in such a vertical rack do not provide adequate cooling. In many of these cooling systems, air is drawn into the bottom of the rack or cabinet containing computer boards and moved vertically through the cabinet, progressively cooling the respective computer boards. In this design, the boards mounted “higher” in the rack receive warmer air than those mounted toward the bottom because the air has already passed over and absorbed heat from one or more boards. Consequently, the “higher” boards are not adequately cooled by the flow of warmer air.
At the same time, newer, more powerful microprocessors are constantly being introduced, but this higher performance is generally accompanied by significantly increased heat generation. Thus, these newer processor configurations are driving up heat loads to the point that “unaided” air cooling cannot provide enough capacity to keep these “stacked” computers from overheating. As a result, “stacked” servers may have to operate at reduced processing speeds to limit the heat load, which in turn compromises performance.
In addition, existing cooling systems have a rather limited cooling capability. For instance, many existing cooling systems have heat densities of approximately 80 watts per square foot (W/ft2), though some cooling systems still under development are said to possess heat densities of up to 150 W/ft2. Even cooling systems having these heat densities, however, may not effectively cool today's state-of-the-art electronic equipment.
As is readily apparent, if equipment is not sufficiently cooled, the internal temperature of the electronic components in the equipment dramatically increases over relatively short periods of time, which may result in significantly reduced system performance and, in some cases, component or total system failure. Even where system performance is not compromised, inefficient cooling may unnecessarily increase the cost of cooling the equipment. Thus, there remains a need for a cooling system that adequately and efficiently cools computer boards configured in vertical banks in a rack.
SUMMARYA system for cooling heat generating objects, such as computer boards situated in a rack, includes an enclosure in which the heat generating objects are situated. The enclosure has an air inlet and an air outlet, and a fan induces air flow into the air inlet, through the enclosure and out the air outlet. The fan may be situated adjacent the air inlet or outlet, or multiple fans may be used at the inlet and outlet. A heat exchanger is situated in the enclosure such that the heat exchanger is in a spaced apart relationship with the heat-generating object. Air moving through or past the heat-generating object is warmed, and the heat exchanger removes the heat before the air exits the enclosure.
In certain exemplary embodiments, the heat exchanger is situated adjacent the air inlet. In further embodiments, the heat exchanger is situated adjacent the air outlet, or heat exchangers are situated at both the inlet and outlet of the enclosure. Often, a plurality of heat-generating objects are situated vertically in the enclosure, and a plurality of heat exchangers are situated in the enclosure such that a heat exchanger is situated between adjacent heat generating objects in a spaced-apart relationship.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONIllustrative embodiments of the invention are described below. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
Turning now to
Another system 10A is shown in
The second fan 24, as illustrated in
In certain exemplary embodiments, the heat exchangers are micro-channel refrigerant heat exchangers placed in the air stream after each vertically oriented bank of computer boards or other heat-generating device. With the use of micro-channel heat exchangers, the heat exchangers cool the hot air from each set of computer boards by transferring heat to a refrigerant (which is then pumped away) before that air contacts the next set of computer boards.
In some exemplary embodiments, the cooling refrigerant used is a non-conductive, two-phase refrigerant which acts as an alternative cooling medium instead of water so that a coolant leak does not pose a risk of an electrical short or similar hazard. This type of refrigerant allows for better heat transfer capacity in the same space because of the use of micro channel coils and because the refrigerant absorbs a significant amount of heat as it evaporates. The use of a two-phase refrigerant allows the heat exchangers to operate essentially isothermally, which provides a uniform air temperature to the computer boards. The use of such a system also allows for a smaller “footprint” than if water or other single-phase fluids are used.
The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the invention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the claims below.
Claims
1-18. (canceled)
19. A enclosure for cooling heat generating objects, comprising:
- at least a cabinet portion and a door portion, the enclosure having an air inlet and an air outlet;
- at least one rack located in the cabinet portion for operatively connecting at least one heat generating object;
- a fan associated with the enclosure for inducing air into the housing through the air inlet, establishing air flow within the housing and expelling air out of the housing through the air outlet;
- an air-to-fluid heat exchanger located in the cabinet portion and in the air flow path between the air inlet and the heat generating object; and
- whereby the air expelled from the housing is substantially the same temperature as the air entering the enclosure.
20. The enclosure of claim 19, wherein the fan is situated adjacent the air outlet and outside of the housing.
21. The enclosure of claim 19, wherein the fan is situated adjacent the air inlet and outside of the housing.
22. The enclosure of claim 19, wherein the location of the fan is selected from the group consisting of: adjacent the air inlet and outside the housing; adjacent the air inlet and inside the housing; adjacent the air outlet and outside the housing; and adjacent the air outlet and inside the housing.
23. The enclosure of claim 19, further comprising a second air-to-fluid heat exchanger located between the heat generating object and the air outlet.
24. The enclosure of claim 19, wherein the air-to-fluid heat exchanger is a micro-channel heat exchanger.
25. The enclosure of claim 24, wherein the heat exchanger is adapted to transfer heat from the air to a refrigerant.
26. The enclosure of claim 25, wherein the refrigerant is a two-phase refrigerant.
27. The enclosure of claim 19, further comprising a plurality of racks, each rack adapted to operatively connect a plurality of vertically-oriented heat generating objects to the rack.
28. The enclosure of claim 27, further comprising at least one heat exchanger located between each rack.
29. The enclosure of claim 28, wherein the at least one heat exchanger located between each rack is an air-to-fluid heat exchanger.
30. The enclosure of claim 29, wherein the at least one heat exchanger located between each rack is a micro-channel heat exchanger.
31. The enclosure of claim 30, wherein the at least one heat exchanger located between each rack is adapted to transfer heat from the air to a refrigerant.
32. The enclosure of claim 31, wherein the refrigerant is a two-phase refrigerant.
33. A method for cooling heat generating objects located within an enclosure, comprising:
- providing an enclosure comprising at least a cabinet portion and a door portion, the enclosure having an air inlet and an air outlet;
- locating at least one rack within the cabinet portion for operatively connecting at least one heat generating object to the rack;
- associating a fan with the enclosure to induce air into the housing through the air inlet;
- placing an air-to-fluid heat exchanger in the cabinet portion and in an air flow path between the air inlet and the rack to transfer heat from the air;
- establishing air flow through the heat exchanger and across the rack to transfer heat to the air; and
- expelling air out of the housing through the air outlet at substantially the same temperature as the air entering the inlet.
34. The method of claim 33, wherein associating the fan comprises locating the fan adjacent the air outlet and outside of the housing.
35. The method of claim 33, wherein associating the fan comprises locating the fan adjacent the air inlet and outside of the housing.
36. The method of claim 33, wherein associating the fan is selected from the group consisting of: adjacent the air inlet and outside the housing; adjacent the air inlet and inside the housing; adjacent the air outlet and outside the housing; and adjacent the air outlet and inside the housing.
37. The method of claim 33, further comprising placing a second air-to-fluid heat exchanger between the rack and the air outlet.
38. The method of claim 33, wherein the air-to-fluid heat exchanger is a micro-channel heat exchanger.
39. The method of claim 38, wherein the heat exchanger is adapted to transfer heat from the air to a refrigerant.
40. The method of claim 39, wherein the refrigerant is a two-phase refrigerant.
41. The method of claim 33, further comprising locating a plurality of racks within the cabinet portion, each rack adapted to operatively connect a plurality of vertically oriented-heat generating objects to the rack.
42. The method of claim 41, further comprising placing at least one heat exchanger between each rack.
43. The method of claim 42, wherein the at least one heat exchanger between each rack is an air-to-fluid heat exchanger.
44. The method of claim 43, wherein the at least one heat exchanger between each rack is a micro-channel heat exchanger.
45. The method of claim 44, wherein the at least one heat exchanger located between each rack is adapted to transfer heat from air to a refrigerant.
46. The method of claim 45, wherein the refrigerant is a two-phase refrigerant.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 20, 2008
Publication Date: Oct 16, 2008
Applicant: LIEBERT CORPORATION (Columbus, OH)
Inventors: Steven Madara (Dublin, OH), Stephen Sillato (Westerville, OH), Thomas Harvey (Columbus, OH), Daniel Baer (Delaware, OH)
Application Number: 12/052,599
International Classification: F24H 3/06 (20060101);