Granted Patent B2

US 10,806,055 · App. 16/268,392 · Granted Oct 13, 2020

Inventors: Jeffrey Papen (Wilsonville, OR); Matthew Renner (San Francisco, CA); Montgomery Sykora (Denver, CO); Weston Adams (Logandale, NV)

Assignee: Core Scientific, Inc.

H05K7/20745H05K7/1497H05K7/20727

Abstract

Claims (50)

1. A system for cooling computing devices, comprising:

a facility having an interior space that includes a plurality of supply air spaces that are partitioned and fluidically separated from one another, an exhaust air space, and a plurality of computing spaces, the plurality of supply air spaces configured to receive outside air from an external environment of the facility, the exhaust air space configured to exhaust heated air to the external environment;

the plurality of supply air spaces each including a computing space of the plurality of computing spaces;

a plurality of air inlets coupled to at least one exterior wall of the facility and configured to deliver outside air to the plurality of supply air spaces from the external environment;

an exhaust air outlet configured to exhaust the heated air from the exhaust air space to the external environment;

a plurality of computing devices arranged within the computing space of each of the plurality of supply air spaces fluidically connecting the plurality of supply air spaces and the exhaust air space, wherein at least some of the plurality of computing devices include at least one fan of a plurality of computing device fans that, when operable, move the outside air from the plurality of supply air spaces across one or more heat generating components of the plurality of computing devices to cool the one or more heat generating components and exhaust the outside air into the exhaust air space as heated air;

each of the plurality of supply air spaces including a mixing chamber of a plurality of mixing chambers;

a plurality of elongate members disposed within the mixing chamber of each of the plurality of supply air spaces to create turbulent airflow, at least a subset of the plurality of elongate members each having an end connected to a wall delimiting the respective mixing chamber and a free end suspended within the respective mixing chamber;

wherein the plurality of computing device fans are configured to provide sufficient airflow of the outside air through the system to cool the plurality of computing devices;

wherein an overall airflow through the system is driven by the plurality of computing device fans; and

wherein an average temperature of the system is maintained within a desired temperature range by the overall airflow through the system.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

a first subset of the plurality of supply air spaces are arranged one after another into a first row of supply air spaces;

a second subset of the plurality of supply air spaces are arranged one after another into a second row of supply air spaces; and

the exhaust air space is disposed between and separates the first row of supply air spaces and the second row of supply air spaces.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein each of the plurality of supply air spaces includes at least one air inlet of the plurality of air inlets and is at least partially delimited by at least a portion of an external wall of the facility, and wherein the at least one air inlet is coupled to the portion of the external wall delimiting the respective supply air space.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the exhaust air space is a shared exhaust air space that is in fluid communication with each of the plurality of supply air spaces.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein:

a first subset of the plurality of computing devices are arranged and oriented within the computing space of each of the first subset of the plurality of supply air spaces such that heated air from the first subset of the plurality of computing devices is exhausted into the exhaust air space in a direction of the second row of supply air spaces; and

a second subset of the plurality of computing devices are arranged and oriented within the computing space of each of the second subset of the plurality of supply air spaces such that heated air from the second subset of the plurality of computing devices is exhausted into the exhaust air space in a direction of the first row of supply air spaces.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the exhaust air space has a width of approximately 10 to 14 feet, the width extending between the first row of supply air spaces and the second row of supply air spaces.

7. The system of claim 3 , further comprising a plurality of second air inlets configured to supply outside air to the plurality of supply air spaces, wherein:

each of the plurality of supply air spaces includes at least one second air inlet of the plurality of second air inlets; and

the at least one second air inlet is coupled to the portion of the external wall delimiting the respective supply air space vertically below the at least one air inlet of the respective supply air space.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein a second subset of the plurality of elongate members are respectively connected to and extend between at least two walls delimiting the respective mixing chamber.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein at least one mixing chamber of the plurality of mixing chambers is compartmentalized such that in a section of the at least one mixing chamber the plurality of elongate members do not impede air flow.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein at least some of the plurality of elongate members have a size, a shape, and an orientation different from at least one other elongate member of the plurality of elongate members.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of elongate members are arranged and oriented within each of the plurality of mixing chambers randomly.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the overall airflow through the system is entirely driven by the plurality of computing device fans; and

the plurality of computing device fans are configured to drive the overall airflow through the system at an air speed of approximately 300 to 600 feet per minute.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least two of the plurality of supply air spaces are configured differently from one another.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the computing space of at least one supply air space of the plurality of supply air spaces includes a main portion, a first computing floor portion, and a second computing floor portion disposed above the first computing floor portion; and

the main portion of the computing space is in fluid communication with (i) the mixing chamber of the at least one supply air space via an air filter, (ii) the first computing floor portion via a second filter, and (iii) the second computing floor portion via a third air filter.

15. A method of cooling computing devices within a facility having an interior space that includes a plurality of supply air spaces that are partitioned and fluidically separated from one another, an exhaust air space, a plurality of mixing chambers, and a plurality of computing spaces, the plurality of supply air spaces each including a computing space of the plurality of computing spaces and a mixing chamber of the plurality of mixing chambers, the method comprising:

producing an overall airflow through the facility via a plurality of computing device fans of a plurality of computing devices disposed in the computing space of each of the plurality of supply air spaces, the plurality of computing device fans configured to provide sufficient airflow of outside air through the facility to cool the plurality of computing devices;

maintaining an average temperature of the facility within a desired temperature range via the overall airflow through the facility; and

wherein producing the overall airflow through the facility includes:

flowing outside air from an external environment of the facility through a plurality of air inlets coupled to at least one exterior wall of the facility to supply the outside air to the plurality of supply air spaces;

flowing the outside air through the mixing chamber of at least one supply air space of the plurality of supply air spaces;

turbulating airflow through the mixing chamber of the at least one supply air space via a plurality of elongate members disposed therein, at least a subset of the plurality of elongate members each having an end connected to a wall delimiting the respective mixing chamber and a free end suspended within the respective mixing chamber;

flowing the outside air from the plurality of supply air spaces through the plurality of computing devices and across one or more heat generating components of the plurality of computing devices to remove heat from the one or more heat generating components;

flowing the outside air into the exhaust air space from the plurality of computing devices as heated air; and

flowing the heated air through an exhaust air outlet to exhaust the heated air in the exhaust air space from the facility to the external environment.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising partitioning the plurality of supply air spaces and the exhaust air space in a relatively air tight manner, wherein partitioning the plurality of supply air spaces and the exhaust air space includes arranging at least some of the plurality of computing devices to form a wall between at least one of the plurality of supply air spaces and the exhaust air space.

17. The method of claim 15 , further comprising adjusting a damper of an air inlet of the plurality of air inlets to control an amount of outside air that flows through the air inlet and into an associated supply air space of the plurality of supply air spaces.

18. The method of claim 15 , further comprising, prior to flowing the outside air through the plurality of computing devices, filtering the outside air and removing unwanted particles and debris from the outside air via flowing the outside air through at least one air filter disposed within the interior space.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising providing a pressure differential between at least one of the plurality of air inlets and the plurality of computing devices via the at least one air filter.

20. The method of claim 15 , wherein flowing outside air from the external environment through the plurality of air inlets includes drawing the outside air into each of the plurality of supply air spaces via an associated air inlet of the plurality of air inlets.

Assignments (21)

Continuity (2)