JP2023042942A - Air conditioning system of data center - Google Patents

Abstract

To more easily suppress entry of dust and moisture into a building of a data center.SOLUTION: An air conditioning system of this data center includes a building with a vent hole formed at a lower part in the building, an information processing apparatus room provided between an outer wall of the building and the vent hole with racks storing an information processing apparatus arranged, an outside air introduction passage provided at the lower part of the building to connect the outside of the building and the vent hole, and a blower fan for sucking air outside the building via the outside air introduction passage and the vent hole, and supplying cool air to the information processing apparatus room.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to air conditioning systems for data centers.

In a data center, a large number of information processing equipment are arranged in an information processing equipment room provided in a building. Air conditioners are used to cool such information processing equipment rooms. As a cooling method using an air conditioner, for example, there is an outside air cooling method in which introduced outside air is cooled for cooling (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2013-245913 A JP 2016-017674 A

In the outside air cooling system, a filter for suppressing the entry of dust into the building due to the introduction of outside air is provided at the ventilation port through which the outside air is introduced. Since data centers are required to have a higher degree of cleanliness than ordinary buildings such as houses, filters with high collection performance are used for ventilation openings. Since a filter with high collection performance has high airflow resistance, a fan with high static pressure is used to introduce outside air. Since the air pressure difference between the inside and outside of the building increases due to the use of a fan with high static pressure, dust and moisture are likely to enter through the gap if there is a gap in the building. For example, if the suction side of the fan is placed in a region facing the outer wall and the pressure becomes negative, outside air containing dust and moisture may enter the building through gaps in the outer wall near that region without passing through the filter. Therefore, the building is constructed so as not to create gaps as much as possible. However, it is not easy to construct a highly airtight building with small gaps.

One aspect of the technology disclosed herein aims to provide an air conditioning system for a data center that can more easily suppress dust and moisture from entering the building of the data center.

One aspect of the disclosed technology is exemplified by the following data center air conditioning system. The air-conditioning system of this data center consists of a building with vents formed in the lower part of the building, and information processing equipment in which racks containing information processing equipment are arranged between the outer wall of the building and the vents. a room, an outside air introduction path provided in the lower part of the building and connecting the outside of the building and the ventilation port, sucking air from the outside of the building via the outside air introduction path and the ventilation port, and supplying the information and a blower fan for supplying cool air to the processing equipment room.

According to the disclosed technology, since the information processing equipment room is arranged between the vent and the outer wall, the vent is positioned away from the outer wall of the building. Therefore, it is possible to separate the area that becomes negative pressure by sucking the outside air from the vent with the blower fan from the outer wall of the building. The cold air blown by the blower fan is supplied from the inside of the building to the outside. Therefore, according to the disclosed technology, it is possible to suppress dust and moisture from entering the building of the data center due to the greater difference in air pressure between the inside and outside of the building.

The technology disclosed may further include the following features. In the information processing equipment room, a server is arranged on the upstream side of the cold air, and an auxiliary power supply is arranged on the downstream side. With such features, the technology disclosed can efficiently cool a server with severe cooling requirements, and can also cool an auxiliary power supply.

The technology disclosed may further include the following features. The auxiliary power supply includes an uninterruptible power supply and a battery, a floor member having a plurality of holes formed above the battery is provided, and the uninterruptible power supply is arranged on the floor member. Since uninterruptible power supply systems often suck air for cooling from the bottom by a fan installed inside, an uninterruptible power supply placed on a floor member draws cool air supplied through the floor member from the bottom. can be efficiently taken into the uninterruptible power supply.

The technology disclosed may further include the following features. The information processing equipment room includes a first information processing equipment room and a second information processing equipment room, and the first information processing equipment room and the second information processing equipment room have the air vent. It is provided so as to sandwich. By arranging the information processing equipment room and the vent in this way, the vent is further separated from the outer wall. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress dust and moisture from entering the building of the data center due to a greater difference in atmospheric pressure between the inside and outside of the building.

The technology disclosed may further include the following features. The air vent is provided with a filter that prevents dust and moisture contained in the outside air from entering the building. Intrusion of dust and moisture into the building is suppressed by providing such a filter in the opening.

The technology disclosed may further include the following features. The outside air introduction path is provided underground. The underground temperature is more stable than the surface. Therefore, for example, even if outside air with a high temperature is introduced in summer, the outside air is cooled to some extent by flowing through the outside air introduction passage provided in the ground. Therefore, the outside air sucked into the air conditioner is prevented from becoming hot.

The air-conditioning system of this data center can more easily control the ingress of dust and moisture into the data center building.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of a data center building to which an air conditioning system according to an embodiment is applied. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. FIG. 3 is an example of a side sectional view of the server rack in the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of cool air and warm air in the server room.

<Embodiment>
The configuration of the embodiment shown below is an example, and the disclosed technology is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of a building 11 of a data center 1 to which an air conditioning system according to an embodiment is applied. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. Data center 1 includes, for example, one or more buildings 11 . In FIG. 1, the vent 5 formed in the floor 14 of the building 11 of the data center 1 and the cool pit 8 formed under the floor 14 are also illustrated by dotted lines. FIG. 2 also schematically shows the flow of cold air and warm air in the building 11. As shown in FIG. In this specification, the right direction as viewed in FIG. 1 is "+X direction", the left direction as "-X direction", the upward direction as viewed in FIG. 1 as "+Y direction", and the downward direction as "-Y direction". Also called In FIG. 2, the upward direction is also referred to as the "+Z direction" and the downward direction is also referred to as the "-Z direction."

Building 11 includes outer walls 12 , roof 13 , floor 14 and eaves 15 . The building 11 is, for example, a building surrounded by an outer wall 12 that is rectangular in plan view. A corridor 7 is provided along the outer wall 12 in the building 11 so as to go around the inside of the building 11 . In the area surrounded by the corridor 7 in the building 11, for example, four information processing equipment rooms 2, two air conditioning machine rooms 3, and two electric rooms 4 are provided. The two air conditioning machine rooms 3 are arranged side by side on the center line of the building 11 in the lateral direction in a plan view of the building 11 . The two electric rooms 4 are arranged in a straight line on the longitudinal center line of the building 11 in a plan view of the building 11 . That is, the two air-conditioning machine rooms 3 and the two electric rooms 4 are arranged in a cross shape in plan view of the building 11 . In the building 11 , the air vent 5 is provided in the floor 14 inside the air conditioning machine room 3 . The vent 5 is provided with a vent filter 51 that prevents dust and moisture contained in the outside air from entering the building 11 and a fourth damper 52 that controls intake of outside air.

A cool pit 8 is provided under the floor 14 (eg, in the ground). As the cool pit 8, for example, a piping pit formed in the basement (underground) of the building 11 can be used. The cool pit 8 is formed, for example, in a cross shape in plan view of the building 11 so as to pass under the two air conditioning machine rooms 3 and the two electric rooms 4 . The cool pit 8 is connected to an outside air inlet 9 and a vent 5 provided outside the building 11 and serves as a flow path for air outside the building 11 (outside air) taken in from the outside air inlet 9 . The cool pit 8 is an example of an "outside air introduction path". The building 11 and the cool pit 8 are examples of "buildings".

A diffusion line fan 31 , a blower fan 32 , a cooling coil 33 , a second damper 34 , a humidifier 35 , a cooling coil 36 and a third damper 37 are arranged in the air conditioning machine room 3 . The blower fan 32 is arranged on the back side of the wall 28 arranged on the boundary with the air conditioning machine room 3 in the information processing equipment room 2 . The wall 28 is formed with a blowing port through which cold air from the blowing fan 32 passes. Cool air from the blower fan 32 is supplied to the information processing equipment room 2 through the blower port formed in the wall 28 . The flow of cool air and warm air in the building 11 will be described later. A fire wall 6 is provided in the air conditioning machine room 3 . Blowing fans 32 whose air blowing directions are directed in opposite directions with respect to the firewall 6 are arranged. That is, in the "-X direction" of the fire wall 6, the blower fan 32 is arranged so that the cool air blows out in the "-X direction". A blower fan 32 is arranged in the "+X direction" of the fire wall 6 so as to blow out cold air in the "+X direction".

The information processing equipment room 2 accommodates information processing equipment such as a server, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), and a battery. As can be understood by referring to FIG. 1, two information processing equipment rooms 2 are arranged so as to sandwich the air conditioning machine room 3 (or the vent 5 provided in the floor 14 of the air conditioning machine room 3). In other words, the information processing equipment room 2 is arranged between the outer wall 12 and the vent 5 . The information processing equipment room 2 includes a server room 21 and an auxiliary power supply room 23 . In the server room 21, server racks 22 in which information processing devices such as servers are accommodated are aligned in the Y direction.

In the information processing equipment room 2, the server room 21 is arranged at a position closer to the air conditioning machine room 3 than to the auxiliary power supply room 23 (on the upstream side of cold air blown by the blower fan 32 installed in the air conditioning machine room 3). By arranging the server room 21 on the upstream side of the auxiliary power supply room 23, it is possible to effectively cool information processors such as servers that have severe cooling conditions. Also, cold air that has passed through the server room 21 is supplied to the auxiliary power supply room 23 through the punching door 231 formed with a plurality of holes, so that the battery 233 and the UPS 234 can be cooled. In addition, by providing the server room 21 in which the server racks 22 containing the information processing devices storing various kinds of information are located away from the outer wall 12, the data center 1 can achieve the information security required for the data center. It also meets the requirements above. The information processing equipment room 2 arranged in the “−X direction” of the air conditioning machine room 3 is an example of the “first information processing equipment room”. The information processing equipment room 2 arranged in the "+X direction" of the air conditioning machine room 3 is an example of a "second information processing equipment room".

A battery 233 and a UPS 234 are arranged in the auxiliary power supply room 23 . The auxiliary power supply room 23 is divided into a first floor and a second floor by a grating floor 232 in which a plurality of holes are formed. A battery 233 is arranged on the first floor of the auxiliary power supply room 23, and a UPS 234 is arranged on the second floor. Since the grating floor 232 in which a plurality of holes are formed allows air to flow, cold air supplied to the first floor flows into the second floor via the grating floor 232 . Battery 233 and UPS 234 are examples of "auxiliary power supplies." The grating floor 232 is an example of a "floor member."

FIG. 3 is an example of a side sectional view of the server rack 22 in the embodiment. A rack door 221 made of a perforated plate having a plurality of holes is provided on the front surface of the server rack 22 (on the intake side of the server 91). The back of the server rack 22 may be open. In the server rack 22, a plurality of rack rails extending in the horizontal direction are provided in the vertical direction. Each server 91 is installed on the rack rails of the server rack 22 . A plate-shaped blank panel 222 is provided on the front surface of the rack rail where the server 91 is not provided in order to prevent warm air from the hot air passage from entering the cold air passage.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of cool air and warm air in the server room 21. As shown in FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the plurality of server racks 22 are arranged so that the front surfaces (the intake sides of the servers 91 accommodated in the server racks 22) face each other. A passage facing the intake side of the server 91 housed in the server rack 22 is called a cold air passage 211 . Straighteners 26 are provided at both ends of the cold air passage 211 . The rectifying body 26 reduces the static pressure on the intake surface side of the server rack 22 and creates turbulent flow due to the high flow velocity of the cool air blown by the blower fan 32 , thereby preventing the cold air from flowing into the server rack 22 . It is installed for the purpose of preventing the occurrence of poor suction. By providing the rectifier 26 , it is possible to allow a substantially uniform amount of cold air to flow from the blower fan 32 to the cold air passage 211 . In addition, a ceiling 24 and a partition plate 25 extending downward from both ends of the ceiling 24 are provided above the cold air passage 211 . Inflow of hot air from the hot air passage 212 to the cold air passage 211 is suppressed by the ceiling 24 and the partition plate 25 .

By arranging the plurality of server racks 22 so that the front faces face each other, the plurality of server racks 22 face the rear faces (the exhaust side of the servers 91 accommodated in the server racks 22). A passageway facing the exhaust side of the servers 91 housed in the server rack 22 is referred to as a warm passageway 212 . Closing plates 27 are provided at both ends of the hot air passage 212 . The hot air passage 212 is separated from the space of the server room 21 by the closing plate 27 . By providing the blocking plate 27 , the warm air exhausted to the hot air passage 212 is suppressed from flowing into the cold air passage 211 . The space above the hot air passage 212 communicates with the back of the ceiling 24 (the space above the ceiling 24 ), and the hot air in the hot air passage 212 flows into the space above the ceiling 24 .

Returning to FIG. 2, warm air flowing upward from the hot air passage 212 and warm air passing through the auxiliary power supply room 23 are exhausted to the outside via the first damper 16 provided on the roof 13, for example. The first damper 16 is provided above the air conditioning machine room 3 . That is, the first damper 16 is not provided directly above the information processing equipment room 2 . The first damper 16 is normally closed, but is opened when exhausting air. A canopy 15 protrudes in front of the first damper 16 (in the exhaust direction) to prevent rainwater from entering the building 11 even when the first damper 16 is opened.

Warm air flowing upward from the hot air passage 212 and warm air passing through the auxiliary power supply room 23 are returned to the air conditioning machine room 3 via the second damper 34 and the third damper 37, for example. When the second damper 34 is released, warm air returning to the air conditioning machine room 3 via the second damper 34 is humidified by the humidifier 35 and cooled by the cooling coil 33 . Note that when more warm air is returned to the air conditioning machine room 3, the third damper 37 is also released. The warm air returned to the air conditioning machine room 3 via the third damper 37 is cooled by the cooling coil 36 . In the air-conditioning machine room 3 , the diffusion line fan 31 sufficiently mixes the outside air sucked from the vent 5 and the return air returned to the air-conditioning machine room 3 via the second damper 34 and the third damper 37 . The blower fan 32 can supply sufficiently mixed air (cold air) to the information processing equipment room 2 .

The air-conditioning machine room 3 may be cooled using only the outside air (outside air cooling system) with the second damper 34 and the third damper 37 closed, or the second damper 34 and the third damper 37 may be closed. Cooling using warm air in the building 11 (circulation cooling system) may be performed by opening the fourth damper 52 and closing the fourth damper 52 . Note that the humidifier 35 may be stopped when the circulation cooling method is used.

In the building 11, a circulation fan and an outside air intake fan are not provided in the area on the outer wall 12 side (for example, the auxiliary power supply room 23). That is, in the present embodiment, outside air is taken in from the ventilation port 5 arranged in the center of the building 11, and cold air is supplied from the center of the building 11 toward the outside (the outer wall 12) by the blower fan 32 of the air conditioning machine room 3. be.

<Action and effect of the embodiment>
In this embodiment, the air-conditioning machine room 3 is sandwiched between the two information processing equipment rooms 2, so that the cool air supplied by the blower fan 32 flows from the center of the building 11 toward the outer wall 12. . That is, in this embodiment, cold air is supplied from the vicinity of the center of the building 11 toward the outer wall 12 . Furthermore, it is the cool pit 8 and not the building 11 that becomes negative pressure due to the suction of air by the air conditioning machine room 3 . Therefore, according to the present embodiment, by suppressing the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the building 11 (or increasing the pressure inside the building 11 from that outside the building 11), dust and moisture can enter the building 11 from outside the building 11. can be suppressed.

Since the data center 1 according to the present embodiment can suppress dust and moisture from entering the building 11 from outside the building 11 as described above, the cleanliness of the cold air supplied to the server 91 is increased, and the server 91 Cleanliness can be improved.

Further, according to the present embodiment, since the difference in air pressure between the inside and outside of the building 11 is small, intrusion of dust and moisture into the building 11 is suppressed even if the building 11 is not highly airtight with small gaps. Therefore, construction of the building 11 can be facilitated. Further, in this embodiment, the corridor 7 is provided on the outer wall 12 side in the building 11 , and the air conditioning machine room 3 and the information processing equipment room 2 are provided within the area surrounded by the corridor 7 . Therefore, the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the building 11 can be further reduced.

In this embodiment, the server room 21 is arranged on the upstream side of the cold air supplied by the blower fan 32, and the auxiliary power supply room 23 is arranged on the downstream side. A punching door 231 through which air can flow is provided at the boundary between the auxiliary power supply room 23 and the server room 21 . By adopting such an arrangement, this embodiment can efficiently cool the server 91, which has strict cooling requirements, and the server room 21 and the auxiliary power supply room 23 via the punching door 231. Cold air can be supplied to cool the battery 233 and the UPS 234 .

In this embodiment, the auxiliary power supply room 23 is divided into the first floor and the second floor by the grating floor 232, the battery 233 is arranged on the first floor, and the UPS 234 is arranged on the second floor. The UPS 234 is provided with a fan inside, and the inside is often cooled by sucking cooling air from the bottom and exhausting it from the top, so the UPS 234 is arranged on the second floor of the auxiliary power supply room 23 Therefore, the cooling air supplied through the first floor of the auxiliary power supply room 23 can be efficiently taken into the UPS 234 by the fan of the UPS 234 .

In this embodiment, a vent filter 51 is provided in the vent 5 . In this embodiment, dust and moisture can be removed by the vent filter 51 from outside air introduced into the building 11 through the vent 5, and dust and moisture from the outside of the building 11 can enter the building 11. Intrusion can be suppressed.

In the present embodiment, no circulation fan or outside air intake fan is provided in the area on the outer wall 12 side (for example, the auxiliary power supply room 23 or the corridor 7). In this embodiment, by adopting such a configuration, it is suppressed that the region on the outer wall 12 side becomes a negative pressure.

In this embodiment, the air-conditioning machine room 3 is arranged on the central side (inner side) of the building 11 , so that the pipes and the like are concentrated on the central side of the building 11 . Therefore, according to this embodiment, the amount of work involved in the construction work of the building 11 can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the first damper 16 is not arranged directly above the server room 21 but is arranged above the air conditioning machine room 3 . Therefore, according to the present embodiment, even if rainwater enters the building 11 from the first damper 16 , the rainwater is prevented from falling into the server room 21 .

<Modification>
In the embodiment described above, the air-conditioning machine rooms 3 are provided in which the air blowing directions are directed in opposite directions with respect to the fire wall 6 . However, in the building 11, the air conditioning machine room 3 for cooling the information processing equipment room 2 in the “−X direction” and the air conditioning machine room 3 for cooling the information processing equipment room 2 in the “+X direction” are provided. It is good also as one air-conditioning machine room 3. FIG. In this case, the air-conditioning machine room 3 may be provided with a blower fan 32 that blows cool air in the "-X direction" and a blower fan 32 that blows cool air in the "+X direction".

In the above-described embodiment, no external air intake fan or exhaust fan is provided, but an external air intake fan and an exhaust fan may be provided. A fan for taking in outside air is provided in the ventilation port 5, and a fan for exhausting is provided in line with the first damper 16, so that the number of rotations of the fan for taking in outside air and the fan for exhausting the outside air can be controlled. The amount of outside air taken into the building 11 and the amount of air exhausted from the building 11 can be adjusted.

Here, in the case where a fan for taking in outside air is not provided in the ventilation port 5, since outside air is also taken in by the power of the blower fan 32, the inside of the air conditioning machine room 3 is more efficient than when no fan for taking in outside air is provided. static pressure increases. A fan for taking in outside air is provided in the ventilation port 5, and the outside air is taken in by the fan for taking in outside air. It becomes possible to suppress the intrusion of At least the outer wall (floor board) around the ventilation port 5 and the ventilation port filter 51 is configured with a panel structure with a high degree of airtightness, so that outside air can be further prevented from entering from places other than the ventilation port filter 51. - 特許庁

Although the temperature/humidity sensor was not arranged in the embodiment described above, a temperature/humidity sensor may be arranged. For example, a temperature and humidity sensor that detects the temperature and humidity (outside temperature and humidity) outside the building 11 is arranged outside the building 11, and a temperature and humidity sensor that detects the temperature and humidity (indoor temperature and humidity) inside the building 11 is installed inside the building. 11. Then, if the temperature and humidity are such that the outside air cooling method is effective based on the detected outside air temperature and humidity and the room temperature and humidity, outside air may be introduced by opening the fourth damper 52 of the vent 5 as the outside air cooling method. . Here, the amount of outside air taken in from the vent 5 can be adjusted by controlling the opening of the fourth damper 52 . In addition, the degree of opening of the first damper 16 may be controlled to discharge the same amount of air as the outside air taken in from the vent 5 to the outside. When it is determined that the outside air cooling method is not effective based on the detected outside air temperature and humidity and room temperature and humidity, the circulation cooling method is used and the fourth damper 52 and the first damper 16 are closed. A computer including a processor and a memory may control the opening degrees of the fourth damper 52 and the first damper 16 based on the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature and humidity sensor.

In the embodiment described above, the building 11 is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view, but the building 11 may be formed in a shape other than a rectangle in plan view. The building 11 may be formed, for example, in a circular shape or a polygonal shape having a pentagon or more when viewed from above.

The embodiments and modifications disclosed above can be combined.

1 Data center 2 Information processing equipment room 3 Air-conditioning machine room 4 Electric room 5 Vent 6 Firewall 7 Corridor 8 Cool pit 9 External air inlet 11 Building 12 Outer wall 13 Roof 14 Floor 15 Eaves 16 First damper 21 Server room 22 Server rack 23 Auxiliary power supply room 24 Ceiling 25 Partition plate 26 Rectifier 27 Closing plate 28 Wall 31 Diffusion line fan 32 Blower fan 33 Cooling coil 34 Second damper 35 Humidifier 36 Cooling coil 37 Third Damper 51 Vent filter 52 Fourth damper 91 Server 211 Cold passage 212 Warm passage 221 Rack door 222 Blank panel 231 Punching door 232 Grating floor 233 Battery 234..UPS

Claims (6)

A building with a vent formed in the lower part of the building,
an information processing equipment room provided between the outer wall of the building and the ventilation opening, in which racks containing information processing equipment are arranged;
an outside air introduction path provided in the lower part of the building and connecting the outside of the building and the vent;
a blower fan that sucks air from the outside of the building via the outside air introduction path and the vent and supplies cool air to the information processing equipment room;
Air conditioning system for data center. In the information processing equipment room, a server is arranged on the upstream side of the cold air, and an auxiliary power supply device is arranged on the downstream side.
The air conditioning system for a data center according to claim 1. The auxiliary power supply includes an uninterruptible power supply and a battery,
A floor member having a plurality of holes formed above the battery is provided,
The uninterruptible power supply is arranged on the floor member,
The air conditioning system for a data center according to claim 2. The information processing equipment room includes a first information processing equipment room and a second information processing equipment room,
The first information processing equipment room and the second information processing equipment room are provided so as to sandwich the air vent,
The air conditioning system for a data center according to any one of claims 1-3. The ventilation port is provided with a filter that suppresses the entry of dust and moisture contained in the outside air into the building.
The air conditioning system for a data center according to any one of claims 1-4. The outside air introduction path is provided underground,
The air conditioning system for a data center according to any one of claims 1-5.

Images