KR20180012526A - Apparatus for cooling sever room, cooling apparatus using apparatus for cooling sever room, and method for managing data center using therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the present invention relates to a cooling apparatus for cooling a server room having a server rack disposed in a direction. A server room cooling apparatus includes a first heat exchange part for cooling air introduced from a server room and supplying it to the server room again; a second heat exchange part which includes an outside air supply part for supplying outside air to the inside, is adjacent to the first heat exchange part, performs heat exchange with the first heat exchange part using the outside air introduced through the outside air supply part, and then discharges the introduced outside air to the outside; and a heat exchange member which is formed between the first heat exchange part and the second heat exchange part and performs heat exchange between the first heat exchange part and the second heat exchange part. It is possible to maintain the proper temperature and humidity of a data center.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a server room cooling apparatus, a cooling unit for a server room cooling apparatus, and a method of operating the data center using the same.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a server room cooling apparatus, a cooling member for a server room cooling apparatus, and a method of operating a data center using the same, wherein the server room is cooled using external natural air according to operating conditions.

Servers, network equipment, enterprise equipment, etc. in the data center generate heat. Therefore, the data center operating these equipment also operates a large-scale facility to cool the heat.

To cool the data center's heat, cool air must be supplied to each piece of equipment, usually using a thermostat to generate cold air.

However, the energy consumed to run the equipment associated with the thermostat and the thermostat corresponds to 50 to 60% of the total power used in the data center. Therefore, in order to reduce the energy input to cooling the data center, a method of cooling the heat of the equipment by introducing cool air outside the building into the server room has been introduced recently.

In this connection, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2011-0129514 (published on December 2, 2011) entitled " Internet Data Center Air Conditioning System Realizing Green Computing Environment " A technique of cooling the cooling water through the cooling unit and flowing the cooling water into the data center is being developed.

The above-described background technology is technical information that the inventor holds for the derivation of the present invention or acquired in the process of deriving the present invention, and can not necessarily be a known technology disclosed to the general public prior to the filing of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a server room cooling apparatus, a cooling member for a server room cooling apparatus, and a data center operating method using the same, which can indirectly utilize outside air to maintain an appropriate temperature and humidity of a data center.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a server room cooling apparatus, a cooling member for a server room cooling apparatus, and a method of operating a data center using the same, which are provided in a modular form and can be utilized as they are without changing the structure of an existing data center .

Embodiments of the present invention provide a server room cooling apparatus, a cooling member for a server room cooling apparatus, and a method of operating a data center using the same, which are provided in a modular fashion and can freely install as many cooling apparatuses as desired in a desired place.

In addition, embodiments of the present invention are applicable to a server room cooling apparatus, a cooling member for a server room cooling apparatus, and a data center operating method using the same, wherein the hot air passes through the server room to perform heat exchange so that cooling can be performed without a cooling apparatus in winter .

Embodiments of the present invention also provide a server room cooling apparatus, a cooling member for a server room cooling apparatus, and a method of operating a data center using the same, which can reduce energy consumed in cooling a data center.

In addition, embodiments of the present invention can provide a server room cooling apparatus, a cooling member for a server room cooling apparatus, and a data center using the same, which can more effectively block foreign matter contained in outside air and can reduce the cost of maintenance ≪ / RTI >

 According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a cooling apparatus for cooling a server room having a server rack disposed along one direction, the cooling apparatus comprising: a first heat exchanger for cooling air supplied from the server room to supply the cooled air to the server room; A first heat exchanging part for exchanging heat with the first heat exchanging part by using the outside air introduced through the outside air inflow part and formed adjacent to the first heat exchanging part, A second heat exchanger for discharging outside air to the outside; And a heat exchange member formed between the first heat exchanging unit and the second heat exchanging unit and performing heat exchange between the first heat exchanging unit and the second heat exchanging unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooling member provided in a cooling apparatus for cooling a server room, the cooling member including: a cooling coil disposed in the first heat exchange unit and cooling the air introduced into the first heat exchange unit from the server room; A plurality of compressors disposed in the second heat exchanger and compressing the refrigerant passing through the cooling coil and having different cooling capacities; A condenser disposed in the second heat exchanging unit for condensing the refrigerant having passed through the compressor; And an expansion valve disposed in the first heat exchanger and expanding the refrigerant condensed in the condenser.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating a data center using a server room cooling apparatus, the method comprising: determining whether a temperature of the outside air is below a predetermined reference temperature; Introducing outside air into the second heat exchanger through the outside air inlet when the temperature of the outside air is lower than a predetermined reference temperature; The cold air of the outside air flowing into the outside air inflow portion is absorbed by the antifreezing liquid by the cold air absorption coil of the second heat exchanging portion; And the frost absorbing the cold air is moved to the first heat exchanger by the pump and the cold air is discharged to the server room by the cold air discharge coil of the first heat exchanger.

Other aspects, features, and advantages will become apparent from the following drawings, claims, and detailed description of the invention.

The server room cooling apparatus, the cooling member for the server room cooling apparatus, and the method of operating the data center using the same according to the embodiments of the present invention can indirectly use the outside air to maintain the proper temperature and humidity of the data center .

Further, the server room cooling apparatus, the cooling member for the server room cooling apparatus, and the data center operation method using the cooling apparatus, the cooling member for the server room cooling apparatus, and the data center using the same, Can be utilized as it is without changing the existing data center structure.

Further, the server room cooling apparatus, the cooling member for the server room cooling apparatus, and the data center operation method using the cooling apparatus, the cooling member for the server room cooling apparatus, and the data center using the same, Is provided in a modular fashion so that as many cooling units as desired can be freely installed at desired locations.

Further, according to the server room cooling apparatus, the cooling member for the server room cooling apparatus, and the data center operating method using the server room cooling apparatus according to the embodiments of the present invention, the hot air passes through the server room to perform heat exchange, Cooling may be possible without a device.

Further, energy consumed in cooling the data center can be reduced by the server room cooling apparatus, the cooling unit for the server room cooling apparatus, and the method of operating the data center using the same according to the embodiments of the present invention.

Further, according to the server room cooling apparatus, the cooling member for the server room cooling apparatus, and the method of operating the data center using the server room cooling apparatus according to the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to more effectively block foreign substances contained in the outside air, Cost can be reduced.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing a server room cooling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a side view of a server room cooling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a plan view of a server room cooling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a heat exchange member of the server room cooling apparatus of FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.
Fig. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a refrigeration cycle performed in the cooling member of the server room cooling apparatus of Figs. 1 to 3. Fig.
6 is a conceptual view of a general cooling member.
Fig. 7 is a conceptual view of a cooling member of the server room cooling apparatus of Figs. 1 to 3. Fig.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing air flow during normal operation in the server room cooling apparatuses of FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.
Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing an air flow during the outdoor air cooling operation in the server room cooling apparatuses of Figs. 1 to 3. Fig.
10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a data center according to an embodiment of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention is capable of various modifications and various embodiments, and specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. The effects and features of the present invention and methods of achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In the following embodiments, the terms first, second, and the like are used for the purpose of distinguishing one element from another element, not the limitative meaning. Also, the singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, the terms include, including, etc. mean that there is a feature, or element, recited in the specification and does not preclude the possibility that one or more other features or components may be added. Also, in the drawings, for convenience of explanation, the components may be exaggerated or reduced in size. For example, the size and thickness of each component shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown for convenience of explanation, and thus the present invention is not necessarily limited to those shown in the drawings.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like or corresponding components throughout the drawings, and a duplicate description thereof will be omitted .

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a server room cooling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of a server room cooling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. And Fig.

1, 2, and 3, a server room cooling apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured to cool the air introduced from the server room 200 and supply the cooled air to the server room 200 The first heat exchanging part 101 and the second heat exchanging part 101 are formed adjacent to the first heat exchanging part 101, 2 heat exchanging unit 102. As shown in Fig.

The first heat exchanging part 101 includes a filter part 110, a cold air emitting coil 121, a cooling coil 130 and a first blowing part 140. The second heat exchanging part 102 includes a filter part 110, A cold air absorption coil 123, an outdoor unit 160, a second air supply unit 170, and an exhaust unit 180.

The server room cooling apparatus 100 using outside air according to an embodiment of the present invention supplies cold outside air to a place where it is necessary to cool the heat such as a data center, The present invention is characterized in that the inside of the Server Room is cooled at a lower cost by using outside air (for example, the outside of the building) at all times throughout the year even under changing environmental conditions. In addition, the server room cooling apparatus 100 using the outside air according to an embodiment of the present invention is a kind of outside-air indirect cooling method in which the outside air is not directly introduced into the server room 200 but the second heat exchange unit (120 in FIG. 4) composed of a run-around coil is used between the first heat exchanger 101 and the first heat exchanger 101 through which hot air flows while passing through the server room, And is characterized in that cooling can be performed even in the winter season without a cooling apparatus. Furthermore, the server room cooling apparatus 100 using the outside air according to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured in a modular manner to form the server room cooling apparatus 100, so that the server room cooling apparatus 100 can be easily assembled, And the like.

Here, the data center provided with the server room cooling apparatus 100 using outside air according to an embodiment of the present invention can be manufactured as a container type modular type. Therefore, it is possible to stack the data centers in the form of a plurality of containers in the horizontal / vertical direction according to need, and the expansion can be facilitated.

Hereinafter, this will be described in more detail.

Referring again to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the server room cooling apparatus 100 may be partitioned by partition walls into a first heat exchange unit 101, a second heat exchange unit 102, a server room 200, have.

The filter unit 110 is formed between the server room 200 and the first heat exchange unit 101 to filter air moving from the server room 200 to the first heat exchange unit 101. Here, the filter unit 110 may be formed so as to be dewatered by a pre-filter (nonwoven fabric filter) and a medium filter (medium density) so that dust can be easily filtered.

A cool air discharge coil 121 may be formed on one side of the filter unit 110. The cold air discharge coil 121 radiates cool air to the air introduced through the filter unit 110 and cools the cold air. The cold air discharge coil 121 is combined with the cold air absorption coil 123 and the pump 125 of the second heat exchange unit 102 to form a heat exchange member 120 as will be described later.

Although not shown in the drawings, the cold air discharge coil 121 may further include a vaporization type humidifier (not shown), a drain pump (not shown), and a drain plate (not shown).

The evaporation type humidifier (not shown) is a humidifier for adjusting the humidity of the server room 200. When the water is spilled on the humidifier, the membrane is humidified. The air passing through the filter material absorbs the moisture of the filter material, . By providing such a vaporization type humidifier, humidity control of the data center can be made possible.

Meanwhile, the cooling plate 121 may be used to generate condensed water during cooling. At this time, a drain plate (not shown) may be formed so as to allow the condensed water generated in the cold air discharge coil 121 to flow downwardly, And can discharge the water to the outside through the pipe.

On the other hand, if the pipe through which the condensed water is discharged to the outside is clogged, water may overflow, and a drain pump (not shown) may function to pump water out so that the water does not overflow. This is because, when the server room cooling apparatus 100 is installed outside, a pipe for discharging water out of the server room may be clogged by a foreign substance, and it can be provided as a safety device therefor.

A cooling coil 130 may be formed on one side of the cold air discharge coil 121. The cooling coil 130 may function to cool the air that has passed through the cold air absorption coil 123 once more. The cooling coil 130 can be used to cool the server room 200 when the cooling is difficult due to external air only. Here, the cooling coil 130 may be an oval coil. That is, the cooling coil 130 may be formed as an elliptical copper pipe so as to minimize the air resistance and improve the cooling performance in the rear of the coil. Such an elliptical coil can maintain a low static pressure even at high wind speed, which is suitable for energy saving. Such a cooling coil 130 is combined with the outdoor unit 160 to be described later to form a cooling member (see 105 in FIG. 7), which will be described later.

Although not shown in the drawing, a heater (not shown) may be further provided on one side of the cooling coil 130. The heater (not shown) may serve to reheat the air so that the air is not too cold when the server is too hot or the cooling is too strong. Or a heater (not shown) may be used for temperature rise assistant when the internal temperature needs to be raised (for example, in a high temperature environment test).

Further, although not shown in the drawings, a drain pump (not shown), a drain plate (not shown), and a leakage sensor (not shown) may be further provided at one side of the cooling coil 130.

In detail, the cooling coil 130 may be used to generate condensed water during cooling. At this time, the drain plate (not shown) causes the condensed water generated from the cooling coil 130 to flow downwardly and to be high, So that the water can be discharged to the outside.

On the other hand, if the pipe through which the condensed water is discharged to the outside is clogged, water may overflow the drain plate. A drain pump (not shown) may pump the water out so that the water does not overflow. This is because, when the server room cooling apparatus 100 is installed outside, a pipe for discharging water out of the server room may be clogged by a foreign substance, and it can be provided as a safety device therefor.

On the other hand, a leak sensor (not shown) is a sensor that can transmit an alarm (signal) so that the operator can know when the drain pan is full of water. For example, the lamp lights up in green at normal times, and lights up when the water reaches the leak sensor, so that the operator can visually check the lamp.

The first blowing unit 140 serves to supply the air cooled by the first heat exchanging unit 101 to the server room 200. A high efficiency BLDC fan is applied to the first blowup unit 140, and it is possible to reduce the operation cost in comparison with a general AC fan. A plurality of blowers may be installed in the first blowing part 140. At this time, the position of the blower can be arranged at a desired position, and the air flow rate can be adjusted by adjusting the number of blowers. At this time, the unused air blower may be blocked by the cover to prevent the backflow of air. The modular server room cooling apparatus can be implemented by changing the arrangement of the blowers of the first blow-in unit 140. Accordingly, it is possible to change the arrangement of the blowers freely according to need, A server room cooling system, which is more advantageous for cooling many servers, can be realized. In other words, the scalability and variability of the server room cooling system can be seen to increase.

Next, the second heat exchanger 102 will be described.

The outside air inflow portion 150 is formed at one side of the second heat exchanging portion 102 and serves to introduce air outside the server room cooling apparatus 100 into the server room cooling apparatus 100. A damper is provided in the outside air inflow portion 150 to control the opening and closing of the outside air inflow portion 150 to control the amount of outside air introduced through the outside air inflow portion 150. As an example of such a damper, an electric motor or a motorized damper (MD) that is automatically opened and closed by air pressure may be provided.

The outside air inlet 150 may further include a pre-filter 151. The prefilter 151 can be installed in the inside of the outside air inflow part 150 and removes foreign matter such as dust, insects, or leaves in the air. And the like. Such a prefilter 151 is advantageous in that it has a small resistance, a high dust collection efficiency, a high corrosion resistance, a simple cleaning ability, and a light weight so that it is easy to handle. The server room cooling apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention has a structure in which the outside air does not enter the server room 200 but passes through the second heat exchange unit 102 and then is discharged back to the outside, And may not be provided in the unit 150.

A cold air absorption coil 123 may be formed on one side of the outside air inflow portion 150. The cold air absorption coil 123 serves to absorb the cold air of the outside air flowing into the outside air inflow portion 150.

The pump 125 may circulate a brine (antifreeze) as a heat exchange medium between the cold air discharge coil 121 and the cold air absorption coil 123. Here, the pump 125 may be formed at a position adjacent to the outside air inflow portion 150 and may be cooled by the incoming outside air.

The cold air absorption coil 123 and the pump 125 are combined with the cold air discharge coil 121 of the first heat exchange unit 101 to form the heat exchange member 120. That is, the cold air discharge coil 121, the cold air absorption coil 123, and the pump 125 may be combined to constitute a heat exchange member 120 composed of a run-around coil. This will be described in more detail as follows.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a heat exchange member of the server room cooling apparatus of FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 4, the cold air discharge coil 121, the cold air absorption coil 123, and the pump 125 form a heat exchange member 120. [ That is, the cold air discharge coil 121 is formed in the first heat exchange unit 101, the cold air absorption coil 123 is formed in the second heat exchange unit 102, and the cold air discharge coil 121 and the cold air absorption coil And the pump 125 circulates a brine (antifreeze) between the cold air discharge coil 121 and the cold air absorption coil 123. In addition, Role.

The antifreeze absorbs the cold air of the outside air flowing into the outside air inflow part 150 through the cold air absorption coil 123 of the second heat exchanging part 102 and circulated by the pump 125 to be supplied to the first heat exchanging part 101, Discharging coil 121 of the first heat exchanging unit 101 and passes through the cold room discharging coil 121 of the first heat exchanging unit 101 to cool the room by discharging the cold air to the hot air while passing through the server room 200 do.

Here, the pump 125 can adjust the pump output by applying an inverter, and the output can be increased or decreased in accordance with the amount of heat to be cooled. As described above, since the output of the pump 125 can be adjusted, it has temperature control and energy saving effect.

That is, when the temperature of the air passing through the server room 200 is low, the output of the pump 125 can be lowered and energy can be saved. Since the cooling efficiency of the motor may be lowered when the output of the pump 125 is lowered, the pump 125 may be disposed on one side of the outside air inflow portion 150 to smoothly cool the pump 125 It is.

Next, Fig. 5 is a conceptual diagram of the refrigeration cycle performed in the cooling member (see 105 in Fig. 7) of the server room cooling apparatus of Figs. FIG. 6 is a conceptual view of a general cooling member, and FIG. 7 is a conceptual view of a cooling member of the server room cooling apparatus of FIGS.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 5, an outdoor unit 160 may be formed on one side of the cold-air absorption coil 123. The outdoor unit 160 may include a compressor 161 and a condenser 162. The outdoor unit 160 is combined with the expansion valve 163 and the cooling coil 130 to form a cooling member (see 105 in FIG. 7) to perform a refrigeration cycle. Here, the cooling coil 130 serves as an evaporator on the refrigeration cycle shown in Fig.

In detail, the refrigeration cycle consists of four stages of "evaporation → compression → condensation → expansion", and the refrigerant circulates in the following order while repeating the state change from liquid to gas and from gas to liquid.

In the evaporation process, the refrigerant changes from liquid to gas.

(2) In the compression process, the refrigerant is put into a high pressure state which is easy to be liquefied at room temperature.

③ During the condensation process, the refrigerant becomes liquid in the gas.

④ In the expansion process, make the refrigerant liquid easy to evaporate.

The refrigerant circulates in the cooling member while sequentially repeating the four operations, thereby moving the heat from the low temperature side to the high temperature side.

Here, the server room cooling apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of compressors 161 having different capacities from each other, and the cooling amount is adjusted according to the required cooling capacity. This will be described in more detail as follows.

First, referring to FIG. 6, it is common that a general outdoor unit includes a single compressor. In this case, when the set cooling air temperature is reached, the cooling member is turned off, and there is a possibility that the hot ozone is instantaneously transferred to the cool zone.

In order to solve such a problem, the cooling member 105 of the server room cooling apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of compressors 161 having different capacities from each other, Adjust the cooling amount accordingly. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the compressor 161 includes a first compressor 161a, a second compressor 161b, a third compressor 161c, and a fourth compressor 161d. At this time, the first compressor 161a, the second compressor 161b, the third compressor 161c, and the fourth compressor 161d may be stacked in order from the bottom.

Here, the first compressor 161a compresses 10% of the total refrigerant, the second compressor 161b compresses 20% of the total refrigerant, and the third compressor 161c compresses 30% of the total refrigerant , And the fourth compressor 161d may be set to compress 40% of the total refrigerant.

In detail, when the cooling member 105 is stopped, the heat of the server room 200 may pass over to the first heat exchanging unit 101, causing condensation water on the cooling coil 130 to evaporate, So that the server room cooling apparatus 100 must be always in the cooling operation mode. Since the server room cooling apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of compressors 161 having different capacities from each other, the compressors having the smallest capacities (the first compressors 161a in FIG. 7) Can be operated at all times. Therefore, even if the temperature of the server room 200 reaches the cooling set temperature, the cooling member 105 can be set so that the cooling does not stop but the cooling is weak.

In particular, it is possible to arrange a compressor (a first compressor 161a in Fig. 7) and a cooling coil 130 (i.e., an evaporator) connected thereto at the lowest position among the four compressors, have.

If the compressor (i.e., the first compressor 161a) and the cooling coil 130 (that is, the evaporator) connected at all times are disposed at the lowest position, the following effects can be obtained together. The server room cooling apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured such that the first heat exchange unit 101 is formed on the server room 200 so that more air passes under the cooling coil 130 do. Accordingly, the heat-exchanging efficiency is increased because the normally-operated compressor (i.e., the first compressor 161a) and the cooling coil 130 connected thereto are located at the lower portion.

Further, the cooling member can be selectively operated (opened) according to the required cooling capacity, thereby enabling energy-saving operation. For example, when it is necessary to operate at 40% of the cooling capacity, the first compressor 161a which is in charge of 10% cooling and the fourth compressor 161d which is in charge of cooling 40% is operated , A first compressor 161a which carries 10% of the required cooling capacity and 50% of the cooling capacity or 10% cooling and a third compressor 161c which carries out cooling of 30% It can also be operated at 40% of the coolable capacity.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 again, the second air inflow part 170 may suck the outside air introduced from the outside air inflow part 150 and discharge it to the exhaust part 180. For example, a high-efficiency BLDC fan is applied to the second air-rich part 170, which makes it possible to reduce the running cost as compared with a general AC fan.

The server room 200 is formed on one side of the first heat exchange unit 101 and a plurality of server racks 210 are arranged in the server room 200 along the first direction. At this time, each server rack 210 may have a plurality of servers.

A region of the server room 200 connected to the first heat exchange unit 101 to receive cold air from the first heat exchange unit 101 becomes a cool zone CZ, A hot zone (HZ) is defined as a region where hot air having passed through the hot zone is discharged.

The cold air supplied to the cool zone CZ flows into the server rack 210, passes through a plurality of servers provided in the server rack 210 and is heated by the hot air zone HZ, And is supplied again to the portion 101. Therefore, the cool zone CZ is connected to the first heat exchanging unit 101 and is open. Here, for efficient cooling of the server, the hot zone HZ and the cool zone CZ are blocked by the shielding member 220, the cool zone CZ is connected to the first heat exchange unit 101, The hot zone HZ supplies hot air RA to the first heat exchanger 101 provided in the upper portion of the server room 200, .

Cool air (SA) supplied to the cool zone (CZ) of the server room (200) is supplied to each series of server racks (210) and discharged from the server rack (210) The hot air (RA) enters the hot zone (HZ). The air introduced into the hot zone HZ flows into the first heat exchanging unit 101 again and is then cooled in the first heat exchanging unit 101.

The server room cooling apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention can absorb the heat only by using the heat exchange member 120 without introducing the outside air directly into the server room 200, It is possible to cool the generated hot air. Therefore, in winter, when the temperature of the outside air is sufficiently low, the server room 200 can be cooled without the operation of the cooling coil 130, and the outdoor unit 160 is cooled by the outside air during the cooling period to improve the operation efficiency of the cooling coil 130 .

This type of indirect air cooling system compares with the direct air cooling system, but the number of cooling days using the outside air is reduced. However, the energy consumption per year is low and the air quality inside the server room can be maintained .

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing air flow during normal operation in the server room cooling apparatuses of FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. Referring to FIG. 8, the server room cooling apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention performs cooling using the cooling member 105 during normal operation (that is, when the external temperature is not sufficiently low).

The operation sequence in normal operation is as follows.

First, the first blowup unit 140 operates to supply cold air to the cool zone CZ. The cool air supplied from the cool zone (CZ) is heated through the server rack (210). The heated air passes through the hot zone HZ, passes through the filter unit 110, and is purified and flows into the first heat exchanging unit 101. The inflow air is cooled by the cooling member 105, and the cooling air is repeatedly supplied to the cool zone CZ by the first blowing unit 140 to perform cooling.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing an air flow during the outdoor air cooling operation in the server room cooling apparatuses of Figs. 1 to 3. Fig. Referring to FIG. 9, the server room cooling apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention does not consume power for operating the cooling member when the outside air is cold, Thereby reducing the cooling energy.

The procedure for operating the outdoor unit is as follows.

First, the first blowup unit 140 operates to supply cold air to the cool zone CZ. The cool air supplied from the cool zone (CZ) is heated through the server rack (210). The heated air flows into the first heat exchanging unit 101 through the hot zone HZ and the filter unit 110.

On the other hand, the outside air flows into the second heat exchanging part 102 through the outside air inflow part 150. The antifreeze absorbs the cold air of the outside air flowing into the outside air inflow portion 150 through the cold air absorption coil 123 of the second heat exchange portion 102 and the antifreeze which absorbs the cold air is absorbed by the pump 125, The cold air is discharged through the air passing through the server room 200 while passing through the cold air releasing coil 121 of the first heat exchanging unit 101. [ That is, the cold air discharge coil 121 is formed in the first heat exchange unit 101, the cold air absorption coil 123 is formed in the second heat exchange unit 102, and the cold air discharge coil 121 and the cold air absorption coil And the pump 125 circulates a brine (antifreeze) between the cold air discharge coil 121 and the cold air absorption coil 123. In addition, Role. The antifreeze absorbs the cold air of the outside air flowing into the outside air inflow part 150 through the cold air absorption coil 123 of the second heat exchanging part 102 and circulated by the pump 125 to be supplied to the first heat exchanging part 101, Discharging coil 121 of the first heat exchanging unit 101 and passes through the cold room discharging coil 121 of the first heat exchanging unit 101 to cool the room by discharging the cold air to the hot air while passing through the server room 200 do. Cooling is performed while the process of supplying the cooled air to the cool zone CZ by the first blowing unit 140 is repeatedly performed.

According to the present invention as described above, the cooling air required for cooling the server is cooled by using the cool outside air, so that the operation time of the cooling device is reduced, and the energy required for cooling is greatly reduced.

10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a data center according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, a method of operating a data center according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes:

A step of determining whether the temperature of the outside air is below a predetermined reference temperature (step S110), a step in which the outside air flows into the second heat exchanger through the outside air inflow section (step S120) when the temperature of the outside air is below a predetermined reference temperature, Wherein the cold air absorbed by the cold air absorption coil of the second heat exchanger absorbs the cold air of the outside air flowing into the outside air inflow portion into the antifreezing fluid in step S130, And releasing cold air to the server room by the cold air releasing coil of the first heat exchanger (step S140). When the temperature of the outside air is not lower than the predetermined reference temperature, the air introduced into the first heat exchanging unit after passing through the server room is cooled by the cooling member (step S150), and the cooled air is supplied to the server room (Step S160).

First, it is determined whether the temperature of the outside air is below a predetermined reference temperature (step S110). If the outside air temperature is lower than the predetermined reference temperature, the outside air flows into the second heat exchanging part 102 through the outside air inflow part 150 (Step S120). In detail, according to the present invention, the cooling of the server room (200) can be performed by the heat exchange member (120) without the operation of the cooling member (105) during the winter season when the temperature of the outside air is sufficiently low. Therefore, when the temperature of the outside air is lower than the predetermined reference temperature, the outside air flows into the second heat exchanging part 102 through the outside air inflow part 150.

Next, the cold air of the outside air flowing into the outside air inflow portion is absorbed by the antifreeze (Step S130) by the cold air absorption coil of the second heat exchanger, the antifreeze which absorbs the cool air is moved to the first heat exchanger by the pump, The cool air is discharged to the server room by the cold air discharge coil of the first heat exchanger (step S140). Specifically, the cold air discharge coil 121, the cold air absorption coil 123, and the pump 125 form a heat exchange member 120. That is, the cold air discharge coil 121 is formed in the first heat exchange unit 101, the cold air absorption coil 123 is formed in the second heat exchange unit 102, and the cold air discharge coil 121 and the cold air absorption coil And the pump 125 circulates a brine (antifreeze) between the cold air discharge coil 121 and the cold air absorption coil 123. In addition, Role.

The antifreeze absorbs the cold air of the outside air flowing into the outside air inflow part 150 through the cold air absorption coil 123 of the second heat exchanging part 102 and circulated by the pump 125 to be supplied to the first heat exchanging part 101, Discharging coil 121 of the first heat exchanging unit 101 and passes through the cold room discharging coil 121 of the first heat exchanging unit 101 to cool the room by discharging the cold air to the hot air while passing through the server room 200 do.

Here, the pump 125 can adjust the pump output by applying an inverter, and the output can be increased or decreased in accordance with the amount of heat to be cooled. As described above, since the output of the pump 125 can be adjusted, it has temperature control and energy saving effect.

On the other hand, when the temperature of the outside air is not lower than the predetermined reference temperature, only the heat exchange member 120 may be insufficient for cooling the server room 200. In this case, the cooling member 105 operates to cool the air introduced into the first heat exchanging unit 101 through the server room 200 by the cooling member 105 (step S150) The air is again supplied to the server room 200 (step S160).

In detail, the outdoor unit 160 may include a compressor 161 and a condenser 162. The outdoor unit 160 is combined with the expansion valve 163 and the cooling coil 130 to form a freezing member to perform a refrigeration cycle. Here, the cooling coil 130 serves as an evaporator on the refrigeration cycle shown in Fig. Here, the server room cooling apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a plurality of compressors 161 having different capacities, so that the cooling amount can be adjusted according to the required cooling capacity.

The server room cooling apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention can absorb the heat only by using the heat exchange member 120 without introducing the outside air directly into the server room 200, It is possible to cool the generated hot air. Therefore, in winter, when the temperature of the outside air is sufficiently low, the server room 200 can be cooled without the operation of the cooling coil 130, and the outdoor unit 160 is cooled by the outside air during the cooling period to improve the operation efficiency of the cooling coil 130 .

This type of indirect air cooling system is less energy efficient than the general modular data center, which uses only the cooling elements to cool the room year by year, but the air quality inside the server room is lower than that of the general modular data center. It is advantageous in that it can be maintained well.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

100: Server room cooling system
101: first heat exchanger
102: second heat exchanger
105: cooling member
110:
120: heat exchange member
121: cold air releasing coil
123: cold air absorption coil
125: Pump
130: cooling coil
140: First power supply
150:
160: outdoor unit
170: Second power supply
180:

Claims (19)

CLAIMS 1. A cooling apparatus for cooling a server room having a server rack disposed along one direction, comprising:
A first heat exchanger for cooling the air introduced from the server room and supplying the air to the server room again;
A first heat exchanging part for exchanging heat with the first heat exchanging part by using the outside air introduced through the outside air inflow part and formed adjacent to the first heat exchanging part, A second heat exchanger for discharging outside air to the outside; And
And a heat exchange member formed between the first heat exchanging unit and the second heat exchanging unit and performing heat exchange between the first heat exchanging unit and the second heat exchanging unit. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein heat exchange is performed between the outside air flowing into the second heat exchanger through the outside air inlet and the air introduced into the first heat exchanger from the server room. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger are separated from each other,
And cooling is performed by an indirect cooling method using outside air introduced through the outside air inflow portion of the second heat exchanger. The method according to claim 1,
And a cooling member disposed in the first heat exchange unit to cool the air introduced into the first heat exchange unit from the server room. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the cooling member includes a plurality of compressors having different cooling capacities from each other. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the heat exchange member uses a run around coil. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The heat-
And a heat exchange member including a cold air discharge coil, a cold air absorption coil connected to the cold air discharge coil, and a pump for circulating the anti-freeze liquid between the cold air discharge coil and the cold air absorption coil,
The cold air discharge coil is formed in the first heat exchanger,
And the cold air absorption coil is formed in the second heat exchange unit. 8. The method of claim 7,
When the outside air is below a predetermined temperature,
And the pump is operated to circulate the antifreeze liquid between the cold air discharge coil and the cold air absorption coil. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the pump is formed on one side of the outside air inflow portion. The method according to claim 1,
In the server room, a cool zone (CZ) is a zone where cool air is supplied from the first heat exchanger,
In the server room, a hot zone (HZ) is a region where hot air passing through the server rack is discharged,
Wherein the hot zone and the cool zone are blocked by a shield member formed between the hot zone and the cool zone. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the server room cooling apparatus including the server room, the first heat exchanging unit, and the second heat exchanging unit is formed in a container shape, and a plurality of the server room cooling apparatuses are formed so as to be arranged in parallel to one or more directions Server room cooling system. A cooling member provided in a cooling apparatus for cooling a server room,
A cooling coil disposed in the first heat exchange unit and cooling the air introduced into the first heat exchange unit from the server room;
A plurality of compressors disposed in the second heat exchanger and compressing the refrigerant passing through the cooling coil and having different cooling capacities;
A condenser disposed in the second heat exchanging unit for condensing the refrigerant having passed through the compressor; And
And an expansion valve which is disposed in the first heat exchanger and expands the refrigerant condensed in the condenser. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the plurality of compressors are stacked in order,
And the compressor having the smallest cooling capacity is formed at the bottom of the cooling member. 13. The method of claim 12,
A cooling element for a server room cooling system characterized in that the compressor with the smallest cooling capacity operates at all times. 15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14,
Wherein the plurality of compressors have a different cooling capacity from each other. A method of operating a data center using a server room cooling system,
Determining whether the temperature of the outside air is below a predetermined reference temperature;
Introducing outside air into the second heat exchanger through the outside air inlet when the temperature of the outside air is lower than a predetermined reference temperature;
The cold air of the outside air flowing into the outside air inflow portion is absorbed by the antifreezing liquid by the cold air absorption coil of the second heat exchanging portion; And
Wherein the freezing fluid that has absorbed cold air is moved to the first heat exchanging unit by the pump and the cool air is discharged to the server room by the cold air emitting coil of the first heat exchanging unit. 17. The method of claim 16,
Wherein the first heat exchanging part and the second heat exchanging part are formed to be separated from each other and cooling is performed by indirect cooling using external air introduced through the outside air inflow part of the second heat exchanging part. 17. The method of claim 16,
The cold air absorption coil of the second heat exchange unit absorbs cold air of the outside air flowing into the outside air inflow portion,
And the introduced outside air is discharged to the outside. 17. The method of claim 16,
When the temperature of the outside air is higher than a predetermined reference temperature,
Cooling the air passing through the server room by the cooling member into the first heat exchange unit; And
And the cooled air is again supplied to the server room.

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