Control and optimization of indirect evaporative cooling units for data center cooling
Embodiments of the present invention provide control solutions for data center thermal management and control using an IDEC system. The data center is arranged in a cold air room wall supply and hot air room wall return configuration. The sensors, such as temperature sensors and/or pressure sensors, are utilized to measure and record thermal data. The data is then processed and used to control the IDEC system to adjust operating conditions to satisfy dynamic thermal requirements of the data center. The control functions include: 1) controlling the IDEC system to adjust cooling modes and operating conditions as needed to maintain proper data center thermal environment; and 2) identifying different optimal operating conditions and parameters for the IT room and IDEC system.
1. A data center system, comprising:
an information technology (IT) room to contain a plurality of electronic racks, each electronic rack having a plurality of IT components therein;
a cold air room adjacent to a first side of the IT room to receive cold air of an internal airflow from an indirect evaporative cooling (IDEC) unit and to distribute the cold air to the electronic racks to exchange heat generated from the IT components, wherein the cold air room includes a first set of at least one or more temperature sensors to sense a temperature of the cold air room;
a hot air room disposed adjacent to a second side of the IT room to receive hot air carrying the heat exchanged from the electronic racks and to return the hot air to the IDEC unit; and
a control system coupled to at least a portion of the at least one or more temperature sensors of the first set, wherein the control system is configured to
in response to sensor data from the temperature sensors of the first set, analyze the sensor data based on a first set of thermal management rules wherein analyzing the sensor data comprises iteratively adjusting at least one or more operating parameters and determining whether the first set of thermal management rules are satisfied, and
transmit at least one or more control signals to the IDEC unit to modify the at least one or more operating parameters of the IDEC unit based on the analysis to provide an optimal thermal environment for operating the IT components of the electronic racks.
2. The data center system of claim 1 , wherein the hot air room comprises a second set of temperature sensors to sense a temperature of the hot air room, wherein the control system is configured to analyze sensor data received from the temperature sensors of the second set, and wherein the at least one or more control signals are generated further base on the analysis on the second set of temperature sensors.
3. The data center system of claim 1 , wherein in analyzing the sensor data, the control system is configured to
calculate an average temperature of the cold air room based on temperature data obtained from the temperature sensors of the first set,
compare the average temperature with a first predetermine temperature threshold, and
in response to determining that the average temperature is greater than the first predetermined temperature threshold, the control system is configured to increase a fans speed of a first set of at least one or more fans of the IDEC unit responsible for circulating an external airflow to exchange heat with the internal airflow received from the hot air room.
4. The data center system of claim 3 , wherein the control system is further configured to activate an evaporative pump of the IDEC unit to spray liquid onto external air to lower a temperature of the external airflow.
5. The data center system of claim 3 , wherein the control system is further configured to activate a direct expansion (DX) system of the IDEC unit to lower a temperature of the external air flow.
6. The data center system of claim 3 , wherein the control system is further configured to
compare the average temperature with a second predetermined temperature threshold, and
decrease the fans speed of the at least one or more fans of the first set, in response to determining that the average temperature is below the second predetermined temperature threshold.
7. The data center system of claim 6 , wherein the control system is further configured to deactivate an evaporative pump of the IDEC unit to stop spraying liquid onto external air.
8. The data center system of claim 6 , wherein the control system is further configured to deactivate a direct expansion (DX) system of the IDEC unit.
9. The data center system of claim 1 , wherein the cold air room further comprises a first set of at least one or more pressure sensors to sense an air pressure of the internal airflow in the cold air room, and wherein the control system is configured to adjust a distribution of the internal airflow entering the IT room from the cold air room based on air pressure data obtained from the pressure sensors of the first set.
10. The data center system of claim 9 , wherein the hot air room further comprises a second set of pressure sensors to sense an air pressure of the internal airflow in the hot air room, and wherein the distribution of the internal airflow is adjusted further based on air pressure data obtained from the pressure sensors of the second set.
11. The data center system of claim 10 , wherein the control system is configured to modify a fans speed of a second set of at least one or more fans of the IDEC unit to adjust a flow volume of the internal airflow based on the air pressure data obtained from the first set and second set of pressure sensors.
12. The data center system of claim 9 , wherein the control system is configured to
calculate an average pressure of the internal airflow based on pressure data obtained from the pressure sensors,
compare the average pressure against a predetermined pressure threshold, and
adjust an opening ratio of a louver interfacing the cold air room and the IT room to adjust a flow volume of the internal airflow entering the IT room based on the comparison.
13. The data center system of claim 12 , wherein the louver comprises a plurality of louvers and the first set of pressure sensors comprises a plurality of subsets of pressure sensors, each of the subsets of pressure sensors being associated with one of the louvers, wherein each subset of pressure sensors is utilized to measure a flow volume of the internal airflow flowing through a corresponding louver.
14. A method of thermal management of a data center system, the method comprising:
receiving, by a control system, sensor data from a plurality of temperature sensors disposed within a cold air room adjacent to an information technology (IT) room of a data center system, the IT room including a plurality of electronic racks, wherein the cold air room is configured to receive cold air from an indirect evaporative cooling (IDEC) unit and to distribute the cold air to travel through an airspace of the electronic racks to exchange heat generated from the electronic racks to reach an hot air room adjacent to the IT room, wherein the hot air room is configured to return hot air carrying the exchanged heat back to the IDEC unit;
performing an analysis on the sensor data based on a first set of thermal management rules, and
transmitting one or more control signals to the IDEC unit to modify one or more operating parameters of the IDEC unit based on the analysis to provide an optimal thermal environment for operating IT components of the electronic racks.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the hot air room comprises a second set of temperature sensors to sense a temperature of the hot air room, wherein the control system is configured to analyze sensor data received from the temperature sensors of the second set, and wherein the one or more control signals are generated further base on the analysis on the second set of temperature sensors.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein performing an analysis on the sensor data comprises:
calculating an average temperature of the cold air room based on temperature data obtained from the temperature sensors of the first set;
comparing the average temperature with a first predetermine temperature threshold; and
increasing a fans speed of a first set of one or more fans of the IDEC unit responsible for circulating an external airflow to exchange heat with the internal airflow received from the hot air room, in response to determining that the average temperature is greater than the first predetermined temperature threshold.