JP2016196980A - Air conditioning system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce cost by reducing a floor height while securing an air flow required for cooling equipment causing waste heat.SOLUTION: An air conditioning system includes: equipment storage rack 2; a hot aisle 9 located adjacent to the exhaust side of the equipment storage rack 2; a cold aisle 7 divided from the hot aisle 9 and located adjacent to the intake side of the equipment storage rack 2; and an air conditioner for cooling return air from the hot aisle 9 and then supplying the air to the cold aisle 7. One of an air return passage 10 from the hot aisle 9 to the air conditioner and an air supply passage 8 from the air conditioner to the cold aisle 7 is extended in the longitudinal direction of the equipment storage rack 2 and is constituted by a duct 4 having an opening 4a formed on the lower surface. The duct 4 is disposed in one of the hot aisle 9 and the cold aisle 7 to be aligned with the height of an upper end of the equipment storage rack 2 while the hot aisle 9 and the cold aisle 7 are divided from each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioning system for a building (for example, a data center) in which a rack that accommodates a large number of devices (for example, data communication devices such as servers) with exhaust heat is disposed indoors. .

Conventionally, as this type of air conditioning system, an equipment storage rack capable of storing equipment with exhaust heat in the internal storage space;
A hot aisle that is formed adjacent to the exhaust side of the equipment storage rack and communicates with the internal storage space;
A cold aisle that is partitioned from the hot aisle and formed adjacent to the intake side opposite to the exhaust side in the equipment storage rack, and communicates with the internal storage space;
And an air conditioner that cools the return air from the hot aisle and supplies it to the cold aisle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Moreover, the air supply path from the air conditioner to the cold aisle includes a main duct disposed horizontally in the double ceiling and a branch duct that branches from the main duct and extends downward.
The branch duct is provided so as to penetrate the ceiling finishing material and the horizontal partition wall provided at the upper end of the cold aisle in the vertical direction.

JP 2012-63049 A (FIGS. 1 to 3)

According to the conventional air conditioning system described above, it is necessary to secure a space in the double ceiling where the main duct is arranged and a space where the branch duct is arranged above the cold aisle whose upper end is capped by the horizontal partition wall. is there.
As described above, since a large space is required above the equipment storage rack, there is a problem that the floor height becomes high and the ceiling height becomes high, resulting in a high construction cost.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioning system capable of solving the above-described problems and reducing the floor height and reducing the cost while ensuring the air flow necessary for cooling the equipment accompanied by exhaust heat.

  A feature of the present invention is a device storage rack capable of storing a device with waste heat in an internal storage space, a hot aisle formed in a state adjacent to the exhaust side in the device storage rack, and communicating with the internal storage space; A cold aisle that is partitioned from the hot aisle and is adjacent to an intake side opposite to the exhaust side in the equipment storage rack, and communicates with the internal storage space, and a return air from the hot aisle An air conditioner for cooling and supplying the cold aisle, and one of the air return air path from the hot aisle to the air conditioner, and the air supply path from the air conditioner to the cold aisle, The duct includes a duct extending along a longitudinal direction of the equipment rack and having an opening formed on a lower surface thereof. The duct includes the hot aisle and the duct. In one Rudoairu, while partitioning the said cold aisle and the hot aisle, there is to being arranged to fit the upper end height of the machine housing rack.

  According to the present invention, the airflow required for cooling the equipment housed in the equipment housing rack includes the hot aisle adjacent to the exhaust side of the equipment housing rack, the cold aisle adjacent to the air intake side of the equipment housing rack, and the hot aisle. The air return passage from the air conditioner to the air conditioner and the air supply passage from the air conditioner to the cold aisle are secured, and the internal accommodation space of the equipment accommodation rack can be kept at an appropriate temperature.

  In order to form such an air flow, either one of the hot aisle and the cold aisle is used to partition the hot aisle from the cold aisle. As in the conventional case, a capping horizontal partition wall is provided on the cold aisle, and a main duct is disposed above it. There is no need to provide a space in the heavy ceiling or a space for arranging a branch duct extending downward from the main duct.

  Therefore, the floor height can be kept lower than that of a conventional building, and accordingly, the construction cost can be reduced.

In addition, the air conditioning system can be applied to a new building as well as an application change or repair to an existing building.
In particular, the floor height can be kept low, so when applied to an existing building, even if it was a building that was not subject to change or renovation due to its low floor height, It can be handled as a target, and the range of selection can be expanded.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the duct includes a plurality of the opening portions at intervals in the longitudinal direction, and is provided with an air amount adjusting mechanism capable of adjusting an air amount passing through the opening portions.

  When air passes through the duct, even if the duct cross-sectional area is the same over the entire length, there is a difference in air pressure between the proximal end and the distal end of the flow path due to the influence of the pipe resistance. Even in the opening, the amount of air passing through the opening (hereinafter simply referred to as “passing air amount”) may vary depending on the installation position of the opening in the longitudinal direction of the duct. The passing air amount corresponds to the air intake amount when the duct is a duct constituting the air return air passage, and corresponds to the air blowing amount when the duct is a duct constituting the air supply passage. To do.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to adjust the variation in the passing air amount by the air amount adjusting mechanism so that the passing air amount in each opening is equal, and the hot aisle is uniformly distributed in the longitudinal direction of the duct. The air can be taken in or blown out into the cold aisle.

  Further, there may be a case where there is an area in the equipment storage rack that does not contain equipment. In such a case, according to the present configuration, the air flow adjustment mechanism reduces (or stops) the air flow rate to the opening in the vicinity of the region, and maintains (or improves) the cooling performance in other regions. You can also.

  In addition, it can be adjusted by the air amount adjusting mechanism so that the amount of air passing through the opening becomes an appropriate value in accordance with various use environments other than those described here.

  In the present invention, the equipment storage rack is placed and supported on an installation base via a seismic isolation device, and between the joints of the equipment storage rack and the duct maintains a sealing property between each other. It is preferable that a permissible portion that allows relative movement of each other is provided.

According to this configuration, by supporting the equipment storage rack via the seismic isolation device, vibration caused by the earthquake can be mitigated from being transmitted to the equipment storage rack and the equipment stored in the internal storage space. It is possible to reduce earthquake damage.
Moreover, even if relative movement occurs between the rack and the duct due to the vibration caused by the earthquake, the relative movement can be allowed while maintaining the sealing property between the allowing portions, and the capping effect by the duct can be maintained. Furthermore, damage to the joint structure between the equipment storage rack and the duct can be prevented.

  In the present invention, the equipment storage rack is a server rack, and a wiring rack capable of storing wiring related to the equipment is provided above the equipment storage rack and on the side of the duct. Is preferred.

  By providing a wiring rack in a space above the server rack and on the side of the duct, the space can be effectively used as a wiring area. As a result, the wiring can be accommodated without increasing the floor height.

It is a principal part top view which shows the installation condition of an air conditioning system. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view in II-II shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional view in III-III shown in FIG. It is a principal part top view which shows the installation condition of the air conditioning system of another embodiment. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view in VV shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional view in VI-VI shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the installation condition of the air conditioning system of another embodiment. It is a principal part top view which shows the installation condition of the air conditioning system of another embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1-3 have shown the principal part about the data center S which is one Embodiment of the building provided with the air conditioning system of this invention. In the present embodiment, the reinforced concrete structure is described as an example of the building structure. However, the structure is not limited to this building structure, and other building structures (for example, S structure, SRC structure, etc.) ). Further, the description of the arrangement of finishing materials in the building is omitted.

In the room of the data center S, device storage racks 2 capable of storing a large number of data communication devices (hereinafter simply referred to as “devices”) 1 such as server devices are arranged side by side in rows.
Here, in order to form an air flow in which two adjacent rows of the equipment storage racks 2 share a common airflow, these two rows of equipment storage racks 2 will be described as an example.

The equipment storage rack 2 is installed on the installation base 3 and has an outer periphery surrounded by a casing 2a. In the internal storage space V in the casing 2a, a plurality of equipment support sections (not shown) are vertically arranged. It is provided, and it is comprised so that each apparatus 1 can be supported by those apparatus support parts.
One side of the row of the equipment storage rack 2 is the front surface 2A, and the other side surface is the back surface 2B, and both the front surface 2A and the back surface 2B can circulate air between the space that faces the internal storage space V. It is configured.

The equipment 1 housed in the equipment housing rack 2 is mainly arranged in a state in which the equipment front faces the front 2A side of the equipment housing rack 2.
Each device 1 includes a built-in fan (not shown), and is basically configured to suck air from the front side of the device and discharge it to the back side of the device (see FIGS. 1 and 3). ). Therefore, when the built-in fan of the device 1 housed in the internal housing space V is operated, the air moves while the front surface 2A of the device housing rack is on the intake side and the back surface 2B is on the exhaust side.

The two rows of equipment storage racks 2 described here are installed in a state in which the front surface 2A faces each other across the space.
In addition, on the row end side of the equipment storage rack 2, a partition plate 2b is provided across the equipment storage rack 2, and a space (cold aisle 7 described later) sandwiched between the equipment storage racks 2 is sealed. .

In addition, a duct 4 is installed above the space sandwiched between the two device storage racks 2 so as to close the space. That is, the duct 4 is arranged in accordance with the height of the upper end portion of the equipment storage rack 2.
The duct 4 cooperates with the equipment storage rack 2 and the partition plate 2 b to partition the indoor space into a cold aisle 7 and a hot aisle 9.

In other words, the space between the two device storage racks 2 is the cold aisle 7.
Therefore, in this embodiment, the duct 4 serves as an air supply path 8 from the air conditioner 6 to the cold aisle 7.
Incidentally, the hot aisle 9 corresponds to a space adjacent to the back surface 2B of the equipment housing rack 2.
The hot aisle 9 communicates with the return air side of the air conditioner 6, and serves as an air return air path 10 to the air conditioner 6.

  In addition, between the equipment storage rack 2 and the duct 4, for example, a sheet material (an example of a permissible portion) 5 is provided in a state extending over both, and the mutual movement is maintained while maintaining the sealing property between each other. (See FIG. 3).

  The duct 4 is closed at the tip, and the base end is connected to the air supply side of the air conditioner 6 provided in the room (see FIGS. 1 and 2). A plurality of openings 4a are formed on the lower surface at intervals in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, the air cooled by the air conditioner 6 is sent from each opening 4a through the duct 4 to the cold aisle 7 sandwiched between the two device accommodation racks 2 and is filled.

Each opening 4a is provided with an air amount adjusting mechanism T capable of adjusting the amount of air passing therethrough. Specifically, the air amount adjusting mechanism T can be constituted by, for example, an air amount adjusting damper or a structure that simply adjusts the opening area manually.
By using the air amount adjustment mechanism T, for example, it is possible to suppress variations in the amount of air passing through each opening 4a. Generally, due to the influence of the duct resistance of the duct 4, the opening 4a on the proximal end side of the duct tends to have a larger amount of passing air than the opening 4a on the distal end side. Therefore, when the variation in the passing air amount is suppressed, the air amount adjusting mechanism T is adjusted so that the opening area of the opening portion 4a on the base end side is reduced.

  Further, as a different usage example, when there is a region in the internal housing space V where the heat generation amount of the device 1 is small compared to others, the region 4 where the heat generation amount is large by narrowing the opening 4a in the vicinity thereof. It is also possible to promote cooling in

A plurality of wiring racks 11 are provided in the space above the equipment housing rack 2 and on the side of the duct 4.
By using this wiring rack 11, the wiring 12 related to each device 1 can be arranged by effectively using the space that becomes a dead space.
The duct 4 and the wiring rack 11 are supported by being suspended from the ceiling slab in the present embodiment.

According to the air conditioning system of this embodiment, the air whose temperature has risen due to the heat generated from the device 1 is exhausted to the hot aisle 9, returned to the air conditioner 6, and cooled by the air conditioner 6. 4 is supplied to the cold aisle 7 and sucked into the internal storage space V of the equipment storage rack 2, the equipment 1 can be cooled, and a preferable air flow can be formed.
Moreover, since the whole can be accommodated within the height range of the equipment rack 2 and the duct 4, the floor height can be kept low, and the construction cost can be reduced in a new building. Become. In addition, in the case of renovation work to the data center S for an existing building, the existing building (for example, an office) that has been considered difficult to repair due to insufficient floor height in the past. Even if it exists, it becomes possible to make it an object of renovation, and as a result, economical renovation work becomes possible.

[Another embodiment]
Other embodiments will be described below.

<1> The duct 4 is not limited to the one configured as the air supply path 8 from the air conditioner 6 to the cold aisle 7 as described in the previous embodiment. For example, as illustrated in FIGS. The air return path 10 from the hot aisle 9 to the air conditioner 6 can also be configured. In this embodiment, the two device storage racks 2 are arranged in a state where the back surfaces 2B face each other, and a space between the both device storage racks 2 becomes the hot aisle 9.
Further, the air supply side and the return air side of the air conditioner 6 are also arranged opposite to those in the previous embodiment.
Also in this embodiment, the floor height reduction effect can be expected as in the previous embodiment. Moreover, in the hot aisle 9, since the air temperature is rising, the air after cooling the equipment can easily move to the upper opening 4a, and the burden on the return air side of the air conditioner 6 can be reduced. It becomes possible.

<2> In the previous embodiment, an example in which the equipment storage rack 2 is directly installed on the installation base 3 has been shown. However, for example, as shown in FIG. It may be installed. In this case, the seismic isolation effect by the seismic isolation device M can be exhibited, and the vibration damage to the accommodated equipment 1 can be reduced.
In this case, there is a concern about the relative movement between the equipment housing rack 2 and the duct 4 due to the action of the seismic isolation device M, but the permissible portion 5 is interposed between the equipment housing rack 2 and the duct 4. As a result, relative movement can be allowed while maintaining the capping effect of the duct 4.

<3> In the configuration including a plurality of different system ducts 4, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, a communication duct 4 </ b> A may be provided so that adjacent ducts 4 of another system communicate with each other. . In the case of this embodiment, even if an abnormality occurs in any one of the air conditioners 6 in each system, the duct 4 of the system in which the abnormality is generated from the air conditioner 6 in the normally operating system. Therefore, it is possible to supply air (or return air), and to ensure redundancy.
In the case of this embodiment, by providing the communication duct 4A on the base end side near the air conditioner 6 in the duct 4, the strong air supply performance (or air return performance) by the air conditioner 6 can be exhibited, which is preferable. Furthermore, it is preferable that the communication duct 4A is provided on the lower side of the duct 4 in order to keep the floor height low.

  In addition, as mentioned above, although the code | symbol was written in order to make contrast with drawing convenient, this invention is not limited to the structure of an accompanying drawing by this entry. In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be carried out in various modes without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  In addition to the data center, the air conditioning system can be used in a building in which a rack in which a large number of devices with exhaust heat are accommodated is placed indoors.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Data communication apparatus 2 Equipment accommodation rack 3 Installation base 4 Duct 4a Opening part 5 Sheet material (an example of an allowance part)
6 Air conditioner 7 Cold aisle 8 Air supply path 9 Hot aisle 10 Air return air path 11 Wiring rack 12 Wiring M Seismic isolation device T Air quantity adjustment mechanism V Internal accommodation space

Claims (4)

An equipment storage rack capable of storing equipment with exhaust heat in the internal storage space;
A hot aisle that is formed adjacent to the exhaust side of the equipment storage rack and communicates with the internal storage space;
A cold aisle that is partitioned from the hot aisle and formed adjacent to the intake side opposite to the exhaust side in the equipment storage rack, and communicates with the internal storage space;
An air conditioner that cools the return air from the hot aisle and supplies it to the cold aisle,
One of the air return air path from the hot aisle to the air conditioner and the air supply path from the air conditioner to the cold aisle extends along the longitudinal direction of the equipment storage rack, and has an opening on the lower surface. Composed of ducts formed,
The air conditioning system in which the duct is arranged in accordance with the height of the upper end portion of the equipment storage rack in a state of partitioning the hot aisle and the cold aisle in one of the hot aisle and the cold aisle. The duct includes a plurality of the openings at intervals in the longitudinal direction,
The air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein an air amount adjusting mechanism capable of adjusting an air amount passing through the opening is provided. The equipment storage rack is placed and supported on an installation base via a seismic isolation device,
3. The air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein a permitting portion is provided between a joint portion between the equipment housing rack and the duct, and maintains an airtightness between the equipment housing rack and the duct and allows a relative movement therebetween. . The equipment storage rack is a server rack,
The air conditioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a wiring rack capable of accommodating wiring related to the equipment is provided above the equipment housing rack and on a side of the duct.

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