RU2498427C1 - Procedure for cooling of electronic equipment and system for implementation of this procedure - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: electricity.

SUBSTANCE: in the procedure for electric equipment cooling delivery of cooling air is made with use of cooling air ionisation, at that concentration and polarity of air ions is selected do that no static charge accumulation of triboelectric origin takes place at components of cooled electronic equipment. For the purpose of this procedure implementation the system is used which contains air duct (1) to generate a flow of cooling air through electronic equipment (2) and fan (3), cooler (4) and device (5) for cooling air humidity regulation which are installed in-series before the cooled equipment. At that the system is equipped with ioniser (6) to saturate cooling air with ions which is installed between device (5) for cooling air humidity regulation and cooled electronic equipment (2) and the device for cooling air humidity regulation is made as air drier.

EFFECT: increasing heat removal efficiency due to expansion of temperature range for cooling air at the input and output of the cooled equipment.

10 cl, 2 dwg

Description

The invention relates to a method for cooling electronic equipment, for example, installed in instrumentation and distribution or server cabinets, and to a system that implements this method.

The performance of an electronic device is uniquely related to the electrical power it consumes and the corresponding heat generation. Increased productivity leads to increased energy consumption and heat dissipation.

An increase in the productivity of an electronic device has a technological threshold determined by the efficiency of removal of excess heat. The indicated threshold is determined by the simultaneous action of two factors: on the one hand, the speed of a separate functional element of an electronic device depends on the parameters of its operating current (for digital devices, on the clock frequency and voltage at which they operate), on the other hand, the length of the electric connections between adjacent functional elements of an electronic device limits the speed of information transfer along these lines. Thus, with an increase in the productivity of the electronic device, the first factor leads to an increase in excess heat, which implies an increase in the heat transfer area (respectively, an increase in the dimensions of the device), and the second factor unambiguously relates the increase in productivity to a decrease in the length of the conductors (i.e., a decrease in the dimensions of the device )

A universal way to remove excess heat from computers is to blow cooling air into the heat-generating zones inside the computer.

From document RU 2318299, a cooling method for instrument and network cabinets is known, according to which an air duct is arranged in the cabinet with air ducts of the same length and, therefore, the same flow resistance, as well as with a uniform supply air temperature. The supply air flow guided in the circuit is cooled using an air-water heat exchanger at the bottom of the cabinet. Heated exhaust air is collected in the collector in an upward flow, rejected and fed to the heat exchanger in a downward flow.

There is also a method of air conditioning in electronic modular units installed in the instrument and distribution cabinet, according to the patent RU 2344578 according to which a stream of cooling air is generated in a closed cycle, and cold supply air is supplied to the electronic modular units, and the heated exhaust air is cooled in a heat exchanger. Moreover, to prevent constant dehydration of air moving in a closed cycle, the humidity of the air flow is stabilized by a certain supply of atmospheric air.

The temperature and humidity of the cooling air are interconnected and usually normalized comprehensively: the temperature of the dry thermometer psychrometer from + 20 ° C to + 25 ° C; relative humidity from 40% to 50% (see, for example, US standard ANSI TIA / EIA-942 (TIA-942) telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Data Center "). The presence of humidity regulation is due to the fact that traditionally in computer cooling systems they use "water" technology for combating static electricity, according to which the process of occurrence and accumulation of static charges is neutralized by moisture from the air.

The change in temperature and relative humidity during passage through the equipment to be cooled is shown in the table (the absolute humidity remains constant):

Temperature
air air, ° С 10 fifteen eighteen 19 twenty 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 thirty 35 Relative humidity, % one hundred 76 62 58 55 52 48 46 43 40 38 36 34 thirty 23

The far right column of the table defines the upper limit of the parameters of the air leaving the cooled electronic device. At a moisture content of 23% or lower, static charges of a triboelectric nature begin to intensively form on the elements of electronic devices; the upper temperature limit of about + 35 ° C is determined by the thermal strength of electronic equipment.

In known cooling schemes with humidified air, the heat removal rate is determined by the temperature difference between the air entering and leaving the cooled device, which is about 15 ° C.

For example, an air-cooled KNURR CoolServe air cooler with a "water" cooling circuit (at a coolant temperature of 12 ° C), cooling the air at the outlet to 20 ° C, ensures maximum cooling capacity of about 6 kW.

The objective of the invention is to increase the efficiency of heat removal by expanding the temperature range of the cooling air at the entrance to and exit from the equipment to be cooled.

This problem is solved in a method of cooling electronic equipment, comprising supplying cooling air to electronic equipment, in which according to the invention the cooling air is ionized, and the concentration and polarity of the aeroions are selected so that static elements of triboelectric nature do not accumulate on the elements of the cooled electronic equipment.

Ionization of air allows you to abandon the normalization of air by humidity due to the neutralization of the process of accumulation of static charges of triboelectric nature by aeroions. In case of refusal to humidify the air, the upper temperature limit at the outlet of the cooled device will remain unchanged, but the lower one can be shifted 10 ° or even 20 ° down. The specific value of the lower limit of the temperature range is determined by the thermal strength of the cooled device. Thus, with the same air flow and the same dimensions, it is possible to increase the heat removal by 50-100%, since the amount of heat removed is directly proportional to the temperature difference between the cooled device and the refrigerant (in this case, ionized air). In turn, this allows to increase the clock frequencies of electronic components, and, consequently, their performance.

Preferably, before the cooling air is ionized, its temperature and humidity are measured, and if the measured air temperature is outside a predetermined temperature range, the air is cooled or heated so that its temperature is in a predetermined range, and if the measured humidity exceeds a predetermined value, the air is drained.

The supply of cooling air can be carried out both in a closed and in an open circuit.

This problem is also solved by the cooling system of electronic equipment containing an air duct to create a flow of cooling air through electronic equipment, in which a fan, a cooler and means for adjusting the humidity of the chilled air are installed in series in front of the cooled electronic equipment. According to the invention, the system is equipped with an ionizer for saturating the cooling air with aero ions installed between the humidity control means and the electronic equipment to be cooled, while the humidity control means is made in the form of an air dryer.

Such a system makes it possible to implement the method described above.

Preferably, the system comprises an air flow sensor installed at the outlet of the fan section, an air temperature sensor installed at the outlet of the cooler section, an air temperature sensor installed at the outlet of the refrigerated device, and a control unit associated with said sensors, a fan and a cooler, the control unit being made with the ability to control the fan and cooler depending on the signals coming from these sensors.

Moreover, the system may further comprise an air humidity sensor installed at the dryer output and a static charge sensor installed in the area of the cooled electronic equipment, said sensors being connected to a control unit, which is also connected to the ionizer and configured to control the ionizer depending on the signals coming from these sensors.

The duct in this system can be either closed or open.

The invention is illustrated by drawings.

Figure 1 schematically shows the cooling system of electronic equipment according to the invention in an embodiment with a closed duct;

figure 2 is a graph of the dependence of the performance of the refrigeration unit and the heat dissipation of the cooled electronic device from the temperature of the coolant at the inlet to the refrigeration unit and the air temperature at the entrance to the cooled device.

One of the options for the method of cooling electronic equipment is implemented by the system schematically shown in figure 1. The system comprises an air duct 1 for supplying cooling air to the electronic equipment section 2 and for removing heated air from this section. In front of section 2 of the electronic equipment, section 3 of the fan is arranged sequentially, providing a stream of air with a given flow rate, section 4 of the cooler, for example, in the form of an air-water heat exchanger, section 5 of the desiccant and section 6 of the ionizer.

In section 5 of the desiccant, moisture is removed from the cooling air, increasing its electric strength (the ratio of breakdown voltage to gap thickness) and eliminating the risk of condensation.

In the ionization section 6, the air is saturated with ions. Depending on the type of electronic equipment located in section 2, in the ionization section 6, air can be saturated with either positive or negative ions.

For example, in the interaction of dielectrics with air, the dielectric receives a negative charge, and to compensate for it, the blowing air must be saturated with positive aero ions. When two different dielectrics interact, in particular, when the tape is rewound during the operation of the tape drive, one of the dielectrics will receive a negative charge, and the other a positive one. Obviously, to remove the static charge from the latter, it is necessary to blow not with positive, but with negative ions. As part of the ionization section 6, ionizers based on a corona discharge, thermionic processes and ultraviolet irradiation can be used. The use of ionizers based on hydroionization is not allowed.

To monitor and control the cooling process, the system may include sensors 7-11, and a control unit 12.

In particular, an air flow sensor 7 is installed at the output of the fan section 3, a temperature sensor 8 is installed at the output of the cooler section 4, a humidity sensor 9 is installed at the output of the dryer section 5, a static charge sensor 10 is installed in the area of the cooled electronic equipment in section 2, and the output of section 2 of the electronic equipment is equipped with a second temperature sensor 11. All sensors 7-11 are connected to the control unit 12, which, in turn, is connected to a fan, cooler and ionizer. The control unit is configured to control the specified fan, cooler and ionizer depending on the signals received from sensors 7-11.

In this embodiment, the duct 1 is closed, however, it can be open as well, providing air intake from the environment and taking it outside the cooled electronic equipment.

When the duct is open, it is possible that the air supplied to the equipment to be cooled will have a temperature that is too low, which is undesirable for the normal operation of this equipment. Such a situation may arise, for example, when taking air outside the room in which the electronic equipment is installed in the winter period. In this case, the air will not need to be cooled, but heated so that its temperature is in a predetermined temperature range. For this, the cooler in section 4 is switched to heating mode, for example, by supplying hot water to an air-water heat exchanger. Other means installed in section 4 of the cooler can be used to heat the air, for example, various types of electric heaters.

The cooling system of electronic equipment operates as follows.

In section 3, a fan creates an air flow. In this case, the air flow is controlled by the flow sensor 7, the temperature sensor 11 at the outlet of the electronic equipment section 2 and the control unit 12. Then, air enters the cooler section 4. In section 4 of the cooler, the air is cooled to a predetermined temperature, while the temperature of the air cooler leaving section 4 is measured by a sensor 8, the signal from which is supplied to the control unit 12. The control unit 12, depending on the signal of the temperature sensor 8, regulates the operation of the cooler so that the temperature of the air leaving it is in a predetermined range.

Alternatively, the system may not include a temperature sensor 8 and appropriate cooler controls, since in most cases the mode of operation of the cooler section 4 is stationary. The performance of the cooler section 4 should only correspond to the excess heat on the equipment to be cooled, and for a balanced system additional executive and control elements, as well as an appropriate control system, are not required.

Next, the cooled air enters the desiccant section 5, and if its humidity measured by the humidity sensor 9 exceeds a predetermined value, the control unit 12 gives a command to turn on the desiccant. Excess moisture is discharged from sections 4 and 5 of cooling and dehumidifying air through a drainage system (not shown conditionally).

Then, the cooled and dried air enters the ionization section 6, where it is saturated with ions, in particular, with positive charges for cooling conventional computer equipment.

In the cooled equipment located in section 2, the cooled ionized air flows around all surfaces, including those on which, under the influence of air flows, foci of static charges of a triboelectric nature arise. When such a focus occurs between the charged surface and ions in the air flow, attractive forces are formed (for charges of opposite polarity). Under the influence of the attractive force, air ions of the corresponding polarity approach the source of a static charge, come into contact with it, and recombine. The constant supply of ionized air to the zone of static charges allows eliminating the possibility of their accumulation to levels that are dangerous for electronic equipment. The degree of ionization of the air is controlled by the control unit 12 depending on the signal from the static charge sensor 10.

Alternatively, the system may not contain additional actuating and control elements, as well as the corresponding control system, since in most cases the operation mode of the ionization section 6 is stationary. The performance of the ionization section 6 should only correspond to the intensity of the formation of foci of static electricity on the cooled equipment.

The operation of the closed duct system shown in FIG. 1 is described above. When the duct is open and in the above case, when the temperature of the cooling air drawn from the external environment is too low, i.e. if the temperature of the air leaving the cooler is below the minimum allowable, the cooler either switches to heating mode or turns off while turning on the heater, which can be installed in section 4 of the cooler.

Figure 2 shows a graph of the operating mode of the aforementioned known device KNURR CoolServe (air cooler with a "water" cooling circuit). In the standard version, when the process of the occurrence and accumulation of static charges is neutralized by moisture from the air, the device cools the air at the outlet to 20 ° C. The maximum cooling capacity of the KNURR CoolServe device is 6 kW (at a coolant temperature of 12 ° C, point A on the graph). If such a device is equipped with an ionization section, the temperature of the coolant can be reduced to almost 0 ° C, the temperature of the cooling air to + 8 ° C, which corresponds to a cooling capacity of 8 kW (point B on the graph) with a constant flow rate of air blowing around the equipment to be cooled. In this case, the absolute humidity of the cooling air must be adjusted so that at a temperature of + 8 ° C its relative humidity does not exceed 50%.

Claims (10)

1. A method of cooling electronic equipment, comprising supplying cooling air to electronic equipment, characterized in that the cooling air is ionized, and the concentration and polarity of the aero ions are selected so that static elements of triboelectric nature do not accumulate on the elements of the cooled electronic equipment. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that before the cooling air is ionized, its temperature and humidity are measured, and if the measured air temperature is outside a predetermined temperature range, the air is cooled or heated so that its temperature is in a predetermined range, and if the measured humidity exceeds the set value, the air is drained. 3. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the supply of cooling air is carried out in an open circuit. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the supply of cooling air is carried out in a closed loop. 5. The cooling system of electronic equipment, comprising an air duct for creating a flow of cooling air through electronic equipment, in which a fan, a cooler and means for adjusting the humidity of the cooled air are successively installed in front of the cooled electronic equipment, characterized in that it is equipped with an ionizer for saturating the cooling air with aero ions installed between humidity control means and cooled electronic equipment, while humidity control means neny in the form of an air dryer. 6. The system according to claim 5, characterized in that it further comprises an air flow sensor installed at the outlet of the fan section, an air temperature sensor installed at the outlet of the cooler section, an air temperature sensor installed at the outlet of the cooled electronic equipment, and a control unit, associated with these sensors, a fan and a cooler, and the control unit is configured to control the fan and cooler depending on the signals from these sensors. 7. The system according to claim 6, characterized in that it further comprises an air humidity sensor installed at the outlet of the dryer, and a static charge sensor installed in the area of the cooled electronic equipment, while these sensors are connected to a control unit, which is also connected to the ionizer and made with the ability to control the ionizer depending on the signals coming from these sensors. 8. The system according to any one of paragraphs.5-7, characterized in that the duct is closed. 9. The system according to any one of paragraphs.5-7, characterized in that the duct is made open. 10. The system according to claim 9, characterized in that a heater is additionally installed in the cooler section.

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