Approach
Shortcomings in Data Center design can compromise the reliability of the facility, increase operational costs, and shorten the life span of electronic equipment. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling is a valuable tool for understanding the movement of air through a data center, particularly as air-cooling infrastructure grows more complex. By using CFD analysis to eliminate hot spots, companies can lower energy consumption and reduce Data Center cooling costs. The position of HVAC equipment needs to be optimized to maintain ideal conditions in data centers and maximum temperatures need to be guaranteed.
As energy costs increase, engineering simulation allows the designer to balance the ventilation required to provide an optimum Data Center environment against the need to keep energy costs under control. The goal is to make sure that the data center is adequately protected and capital investments in HVAC system installations and/or upgrades are wisely planned.
Expertise
Thermal cooling of high-density data centers is a challenging yet mission critical task. Thinkbox utilizes the Ansys' Fluent simulation software to aide in the design of new and reconfiguration of existing Data Centers. For over twenty years, Fluent has been a leader in the development of CFD software for simulating fluid flow, heat and mass transfer, and a host of related phenomena involving turbulence, reactions, and multiphase flow. By applying this tool, it allows Thinkbox and their clients to investigate airflows and temperatures throughout a data center. With Fluent's flow modeling solutions, you can visualize the complex airflow and thermal performance of your data center.
Benefits
CFD analysis benefits you by minimizing system costs, reducing design time and expense, understanding and diagnosing problems and improving performance. CFD modeling assists in design and optimization in such areas as:
- Plenum airflow patterns
- Room airflow patterns
- Rack inlet temperatures
- Static pressure distribution
- Tile airflow distribution
- Effects of equipment and layout changes
- Effects of various failure scenarios
- Effects of floor tile layout and design