Air Path Flow And Concentration Distribution Simulation Of Particulate Pollutants In A Data Center Using Air-side Economizer

Abstract

With the significant surge in energy consumption of servers, the data center has begun to extensively adopt air-side economizers for energy saving. However, while the application of air-side economizer brings excellent energy savings, it also has some negative effects, such as the corrosion of electronic equipment. Particulate pollutants are a significant contributor to server corrosion. To clarify the movement patterns of particles in data centers and to better guide the application of air-side economizers, air path flow and concentration distribution simulation of particulate pollutants are carried out in a data center using air-side economizer. Particle sizes utilized for modeling are 0.3 μm and 10 μm respectively. The concentration distribution and airflow path of particles are simulated in the case of cold-aisle containment and hot-aisle containment. The simulation results showed that the average concentration of the entire data center in cold-aisle containment is lower than that of the hot-aisle containment. Based on the theoretical analysis, the Brown force is dominant for 0.3μm and gravity becomes the largest force for 10μm. This explains the sedimentation effect in the 10μm flow trajectory. After obtaining the simulation results, there are several strategies to prevent particle corrosion of the server. Depending on the utilization and importance of the server, the server can be placed accordingly in the area with the lowest predicted amount of particulate pollutants and the best thermal environment. In addition, data center operations and maintenance personnel need to regularly inspect and clean areas with high concentrations of particulate pollutants to prevent server downtime. Another approach is to add barriers to the flow near critical IT equipment to alter the flow path of contaminants leaving the cabinet.