CFD Insights for Data Center Design
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kenwongwmCFD Insights for Data Center Design
Uploaded by
kenwongwmExternal CFD
Analysis for
Data Center
Building
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Introduction 04
Objective 05
Modelling 07
Conclusion 09
Recommendation 11
Mechartes has been working on several Data Center Projects across
the globe by providing consultancy services for the Internal Air Flow
Distribution Study and External Air Dispersion Modelling for the yard
and Mechanical Rooms.
This article will discuss our findings and insights from a computational
fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis we performed for the external utility yard
for one of the Data Center projects.
So let’s dive right in!
03
Introduction
Data Center facilities use chillers to cool the water used in their heating,
ventilation, and air-conditioning systems. Because many servers
operate close to one another, chillers must run around the clock to
maintain Data Center operation. Data Centers have several mechanical
units, including chillers, ODU units placed on the roof, and generators
emitting hot flue gas at very high temperatures.
In the design phase, it is critical to analyze how hot air impacts the
chillers’ performance and take measures to reduce it. Moreover, it is vital
to study the dispersion of pollutant emissions in the nearby pedestrian
area by analyzing flue gas properties, including NOX and SOX levels.
For various wind directions and ambient conditions, engineers can
study the performance of the chiller and mechanical units using CFD
analysis.
04
Objective
Objective
The main objective of the CFD analysis for the Project owners/
contractors/design consultants is to check the following:
i. To determine if “hot air rejected from chiller units & generators”
enters the inlets of chiller units & generators, and if so, what is the
increase in temperature due to re-circulation of air.
ii. To determine if the chiller units are receiving proper air circulation.
iii. To study the velocity & temperature profiles around the chillers units
& generator sets.
iv. Re-circulation calculation for each equipment.
v. Assessing the impact of NO2 emissions from the generator exhaust
on adjacent residential buildings and determining whether the
concentrations of NO2 are within the acceptable limit of 0.2 ppm
(400 mg/Nm3 for 1 hour of exposure).
In addition, we ran CFD simulations
under different wind and ambient
conditions.
Modelling
Modelling
Per the inputs and design drawings received, we prepared a detailed
3D model of the complete in the CFD Software.
A CFD Wind tunnel is created by modelling the nearby buildings. In the
data center building all the obstructions including the major pipes, wall
obstructions, equipment’s were also modelled. Chillers, mechanical
units, generators, and air intake louvers were modeled in detail .
Appropriate boundary conditions, including the intake, discharge
temperature and velocity from all the equipment, were considered for
the study. The wind and ambient conditions were chosen for the work
per the project requirement and site location.
08
Conclusion
Conclusion
Upon completion and approval of the 3D model, a steady-state CFD
Simulation was performed to study the velocity, temperature and re-
circulation on each piece of equipment.
It was observed from the study that there was a considerable increase
in temperature at the inlets of the chillers and other mechanical units,
which had an impact on the performance. The recirculation calculations
found that nearly 5 to 50% of air recirculated. This was mainly due to the
movement of hot air from the generator and the chiller outlets towards
the inlets of the chiller units.
It was also observed from the CFD results that the NO2 emission from
generator exhaust affected the Data Center building premises and high-
rise buildings, and the NO2 levels were higher than the acceptable limits.
Contour plots of Temperature,
Velocity and NO2 10
Recommendation
Recommendation
In order to prevent the effect of high-temperature generator discharge
air moving toward the inlets of generators, chillers, and other
equipment, revised CFD studies were conducted with the installation
of vertical ducts to leave the discharge & exhaust air at a higher level
from the ground.
To prevent hot air emitted from the chiller discharge from returning
to their inlets of the chiller and reduce recirculation, canopies were
constructed between them.
We at Mechartés focus on providing accurate simulation results
with a professional engineering approach. Our biggest strength is
our team of young, passionate engineers who work as a close-knit
team.
Feel free to share your thoughts and observations at srihari@
mechartes.com.
12
Contact Us
Global Sales Office
Mechartes International FZC
PO Box 125396, Dubai, UAE.
+971 4 381 2060
+971 56 1156701 +971 56 1156702
[email protected] [email protected]
Global Engineering Office
Mechartes Researchers Pvt. Ltd.
D-57, Sector 6, NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh, India - 201301
+91 880 017 7554
+91 120 454 0208 +91 120 413 1889
[email protected] [email protected]
That was...
External CFD
Analysis for
Data Center
Building