US20130205822A1 - System and method for cooling a computer system - Google Patents

System and method for cooling a computer system Download PDF

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Publication number
US20130205822A1
US20130205822A1 US13/808,310 US201113808310A US2013205822A1 US 20130205822 A1 US20130205822 A1 US 20130205822A1 US 201113808310 A US201113808310 A US 201113808310A US 2013205822 A1 US2013205822 A1 US 2013205822A1
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United States
Prior art keywords
cooling
computing system
refrigeration machine
cooling circuit
circuit
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US13/808,310
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English (en)
Inventor
Peter Heiland
Andreas Birkner
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SAM TECHNOLOGIES GmbH
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SAM TECHNOLOGIES GmbH
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Assigned to SAM TECHNOLOGIES GMBH reassignment SAM TECHNOLOGIES GMBH ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: BIRKNER, ANDREAS, HEILAND, PETER
Publication of US20130205822A1 publication Critical patent/US20130205822A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D31/00—Other cooling or freezing apparatus
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
    • H05K7/00—Constructional details common to different types of electric apparatus
    • H05K7/20—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating
    • H05K7/20709—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating for server racks or cabinets; for data centers, e.g. 19-inch computer racks
    • H05K7/20763—Liquid cooling without phase change
    • H05K7/2079—Liquid cooling without phase change within rooms for removing heat from cabinets
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01M—TESTING STATIC OR DYNAMIC BALANCE OF MACHINES OR STRUCTURES; TESTING OF STRUCTURES OR APPARATUS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G01M3/00—Investigating fluid-tightness of structures
    • G01M3/02—Investigating fluid-tightness of structures by using fluid or vacuum
    • G01M3/04—Investigating fluid-tightness of structures by using fluid or vacuum by detecting the presence of fluid at the leakage point
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
    • H05K7/00—Constructional details common to different types of electric apparatus
    • H05K7/20—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating
    • H05K7/20709—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating for server racks or cabinets; for data centers, e.g. 19-inch computer racks
    • H05K7/208—Liquid cooling with phase change
    • H05K7/20827—Liquid cooling with phase change within rooms for removing heat from cabinets, e.g. air conditioning devices
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
    • H05K7/00—Constructional details common to different types of electric apparatus
    • H05K7/20—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating
    • H05K7/20709—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating for server racks or cabinets; for data centers, e.g. 19-inch computer racks
    • H05K7/20836—Thermal management, e.g. server temperature control

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a system and a method for cooling a computing system, in particular for cooling a server farm.
  • Computing systems in particular server farms comprising a large number of racks, generate large amounts of heat during operation.
  • a server farm typically has a pure heat output of several kilowatts.
  • air conditioners are used which are very energy intensive in operation.
  • a direct discharge of heat energy is to be understood as a configuration in which liquid-cooled heat sinks are in direct contact with the processors.
  • This method though it has the advantage that a majority of the generated heat can be discharged from a small local volume, has not yet been implemented in practice, at least not on an industrial scale, possibly due to the fact that the technical difficulties associated with liquid cooling of processors, such as adequately ensuring tightness, are still in no reasonable relation to the benefits.
  • an object of the invention is to reduce the energy requirements of a conventional cooling system for computing systems.
  • the object of the invention is already achieved by a system for cooling a computing system, by a computing system, and by a method for cooling a computing system according to any of the independent claims.
  • the invention relates to a system for cooling a computing system, which comprises a refrigeration machine.
  • a refrigeration machine commonly refers to a device which is used to produce cold, i.e. a temperature that is lower than the ambient temperature.
  • the invention especially relates to compression-type refrigeration machines, i.e. refrigeration machines having a mechanical compressor by means of which the coolant is liquefied and can subsequently evaporate in the cold section of the refrigeration machine, whereby it cools down and produces the cooling effect.
  • compression-type refrigeration machines i.e. refrigeration machines having a mechanical compressor by means of which the coolant is liquefied and can subsequently evaporate in the cold section of the refrigeration machine, whereby it cools down and produces the cooling effect.
  • the invention also relates to any other types of refrigeration machines, in particular sorption refrigeration machines such as adsorption or absorption refrigeration machines, in particular refrigeration machines operating on the principle of absorptive dehumidification, also commonly referred to as a desiccant cooling system (DCS), refrigeration machines operating on the magnetocaloric effect, refrigeration machines operating with Peltier elements, geothermal refrigeration machines, steam jet refrigeration machines, refrigeration machines operating on the Joule-Thomson effect, and/or refrigeration machines operating on the principle of evaporative cooling.
  • sorption refrigeration machines such as adsorption or absorption refrigeration machines
  • refrigeration machines operating on the principle of absorptive dehumidification also commonly referred to as a desiccant cooling system (DCS)
  • DCS desiccant cooling system
  • refrigeration machines operating on the magnetocaloric effect refrigeration machines operating with Peltier elements
  • geothermal refrigeration machines geothermal refrigeration machines
  • steam jet refrigeration machines refrigeration machines operating on the Joule-Thomson effect
  • the computing system comprises at least a first and a second cooling circuit, wherein the first cooling circuit is operable via a liquid and/or via heat conduction. That means, the first cooling circuit is not an air-based cooling system. Rather, the cooling effect is accomplished using a liquid such as water, or by heat conduction whereby the heat is directly discharged from the heat-generating components via components having a good thermal conductivity. Heat conduction also refers to the use of heat pipes which remove the heat more quickly due to a condensation and evaporation process. Further, according to the invention, at least the second cooling circuit which usually is an air-based cooling circuit, is connected to a cold section of the refrigeration machine.
  • the invention in particular suggests to cool components which are operated at high temperature, in particular the processor, using a liquid-based or heat conduction based cooling circuit. Due to the high temperatures, in particular a temperature above 50° C., at which these components can be operated, it is often possible to discharge the produced heat to the outside without the use of a refrigeration machine, or to further use it as useful heat for heating purposes and hot water preparation.
  • the processor cooling circuit in the sense of the invention may not only include the main processors of the computing system, rather the processor cooling circuit may also include additional processors and electronic devices such as memory circuits, hard disks, chip sets, power components of the power supply, which in turn are included in different components of the computing system such as in server racks, telecommunications equipment, power supplies, data storages, and other components of the computing system.
  • the computing system in the sense of the invention not only comprises the servers but also other power supply components, especially power adaptors and emergency power supplies, communication modules, data storages, etc.
  • the second cooling circuit which is typically configured as an air-based cooling circuit and is connected to the cold section of a refrigeration machine, now only needs to remove the energy which cannot be discharged (or is not discharged) through the first cooling circuit which is operated at a much higher temperature.
  • the second cooling circuit typically operates at a feed flow temperature which does not substantially exceed 20° C., in particular at a maximum of 20° C.
  • this cooling circuit may be configured as a closed system to which the components of the computing system are connected. Since, now, the amount of heat to be dissipated over the comparatively inefficiently operating refrigeration machine is low, the cooling energy required for the system can be reduced considerably.
  • the invention thus relates to a system for cooling a computing system having a plurality of cooling circuits, in particular at least two cooling circuits, wherein by distributing the total thermal energy to be discharged to a plurality of cooling circuits a distribution is effected to different temperatures of these individual cooling circuits, which permits, based on the respective temperature of this thermal energy, to cool a fraction or several fractions of the total thermal energy to be discharged in a particularly efficient manner, or to supply it for a further use.
  • a return flow of the first cooling circuit can be connected with both a heat exchanger and the cold section of the refrigeration machine.
  • the heat exchanger may be mounted to the outside of a building.
  • a heat exchanger in the sense of the invention also refers to a reuse of the cooling fluid, for example for generating useful heat. Due to the fact that the first cooling circuit, in particular the processor cooling circuit, can be connected both to a heat exchanger, in particular an outside heat exchanger, and to the cold section of the refrigeration machine, it is possible to selectively distribute the amount of heat which is to be discharged through the refrigeration machine and which is to be discharged through the heat exchanger, in particular via a directional valve.
  • the refrigeration machine in order to cool the first cooling circuit the refrigeration machine has only to be used if, for example due to an elevated outside temperature, cooling via an externally arranged heat exchanger is no longer possible.
  • the energy-intensive use of the refrigeration machine is reduced to a minimum, while the system enables to provide reliable cooling even in case of very high outside temperatures.
  • the cooling fluid may be passed through nearby heat exchangers which are connected to the printed circuit boards and so cool the printed circuit boards and/or the devices thermally coupled with the printed circuit board. Also, the cooling fluid may be passed through the printed circuit boards themselves.
  • One embodiment of the invention comprises at least three cooling circuits, one cooling circuit thereof being operated by air and the other two cooling circuits being operated by means of a liquid or heat conduction, and at least one cooling circuit of the other cooling circuits, i.e. the liquid-based cooling circuits, can be connected both to an external heat exchanger and to a cold section of the refrigeration machine.
  • the so defined system effectively operates as a three-stage system. Specifically, it is intended to provide three cooling circuits with different feed flow temperatures.
  • the processors of the computing system may be cooled by a first cooling circuit having the highest feed flow temperature.
  • This cooling circuit usually does not required the support of a refrigeration machine, rather it is possible, at least in temperate climates, to remove the heat to the outside via an external heat exchanger.
  • the high temperature level for other purposes, for example to heat buildings, or to produce hot water or electricity. It will be understood that it may yet be useful to configure the system in such a way that the fluid of this cooling circuit may likewise be fed to the cold section of the refrigeration machine in order to ensure reliable cooling even at extremely high outside temperatures.
  • This second cooling circuit whenever possible uses an external heat exchanger so that the use of the refrigeration machine can be dispensed with. So depending on the climate zone it is possible, at least in the winter months, to operate even this other cooling circuit without using a refrigeration machine. In case of elevated outside temperatures, on the other hand, recourse is made to the refrigeration machine by selectively distributing the coolant.
  • Another cooling circuit is usually air-based and operates at a lower feed flow temperature than the two abovementioned cooling circuits.
  • This cooling circuit for example cools the air in the racks or even the air in the room in which the computing system is installed. Since for this purpose, generally, temperatures of 20° C. or below are needed, this generally requires the use of a refrigeration machine. However, because of the heat discharge over the two other cooling circuits it is possible to considerably reduce the use of the refrigeration machine. It will be appreciated that depending on the size and configuration of the system, more other cooling circuits may be provided at intermediate temperatures in order to optimize the system so that as much heat as possible may be discharged without using refrigeration machines.
  • the system for cooling the computing system may be connected with the computing system itself, to optimize the distribution of coolant. It is conceivable, for example, that at least some individual servers of the computing system report, via an interface, the respective work load and/or the respective temperature to control electronics of the cooling system, so that the cooling system is controlled in function of the work load, in particular regarding the local distribution of different processing powers or waste heat generation within servers, racks, components of the computing center and within the computing center itself.
  • One advantage of such a control system is, inter alia, that additional cooling capacity is already requested at a very early stage, namely immediately upon an increase of utilization of the computing system.
  • the required capacity of thermal storages for storing cold may be reduced by having the refrigeration machine already switched on as soon as a need for additional cooling energy is foreseeable due to the utilization of the computing system (and not only when the temperature in the computing system has already risen) and thus reducing the time to be bridged by a cold storage between the demand of cooling energy and provision thereof by the refrigeration machine (the refrigeration machine usually requires a few seconds or minutes from its activation to provide the cooling energy).
  • Smaller thermal buffers permit more compact configurations, which may be of advantage especially in case of cooling modules integrated in the computing system, e.g. in racks, or connected to the racks.
  • a temperature monitoring program may be installed on the individual computers to control the cooling system, which runs in the background and reports increasing cooling requirements to the controller of the cooling system.
  • an already existing LAN port may be used, for example.
  • the system comprises at least redundantly configured pumps for distributing the cooling fluid and/or a redundantly configured refrigeration machine. At least in larger server farms, even in case of a failure of individual components of the cooling system permanent continued supply of the cooling fluid has to be ensured for a long time, for which purpose buffering storages are generally not sufficient.
  • an additional conventional refrigeration compressor or a supply of cold tap water into the system may be provided, for example.
  • cooling circuits themselves may be configured redundantly, so that for example in case of a loss of coolant in a cooling circuit the heat may be removed via a cooling circuit redundant thereto.
  • the system may be integrated into an existing air conditioning system of a building and/or into a hot water supply system and/or into an electricity supply system.
  • the process heat which results from a refrigeration machine is used at least partly to heat the building and/or to provide hot water. It is also conceivable to use the process heat to generate electricity, for example using Peltier elements.
  • process heat refers to any kind of energy removed from the cooling system, also referred to as recooling.
  • the controller of the system for cooling a computing system is also integrated in the module.
  • the modules are preferably sized according to the system dimensions of components of the computing center, e.g. as a 19′′ system for rack components.
  • Ports for electric power supply, for communications and/or for cooling conduits are preferably configured so as to be automatically connected when the module is inserted. In this way, a faster installation is realized for maintenance and replacement purposes.
  • the module has at least one independent emergency power supply which at least ensures the operation of the pumps which supply the cooling fluid to the computing system, even in the event of a power outage. It is conceivable to additionally connect at least one control electronics of the cooling system to the emergency power supply. For simpler control is also possible to drive the pumps such that they continue to run in case the control electronics is switched off.
  • the emergency power supply of the cooling system may be ensured by an emergency power supply of the computing system, in particular by an uninterruptible power supply.
  • Computing systems generally have an uninterruptible power supply. Such uninterruptible power supplies of computing systems are usually also cooled. Therefore, it is intended to use the cooling system also for the uninterruptible power supply.
  • An uninterruptible power supply generally comprises at least accumulators which can bridge momentary interruptions of the mains voltage. The uninterruptible power supply usually starts up within a few milliseconds, so that even short term voltage disturbances are compensated for.
  • a computing system usually also has telecommunications devices, such as modules for connection to a telecommunications network. It will be appreciated that the cooling system according to the invention, if necessary, also ensures cooling of these telecommunications modules.
  • a liquid of the second cooling circuit after having passed through a cold section of the refrigeration machine, may be fed through a heat exchanger to cool the air prevailing in the computing system. That is, as already described above, the second cooling circuit is air-based, and the air is cooled down by a heat exchanger which is for example integrated in a rack of the computing system.
  • the liquid after having passed through the heat exchanger is fed to the first cooling circuit. Therefore, this is an embodiment in which the two cooling circuits are connected in series, so that the cooling fluid first supplies cold to the second cooling circuit which is operated at a low feed flow temperature, and is then fed to the first cooling circuit, in particular the processor cooling circuit, at a higher temperature.
  • the refrigeration machine is integrated in a rack or in a server. This particularly permits refrigeration machines to be accommodated in the system in decentralized manner. Also, this may permit a server to cool itself, for example. In this case each cooling circuit may be optimized to the specific individual device.
  • a port for a cooling circuit in the sense of the invention refers to any type of interface through which heat energy can be transferred.
  • refrigeration machines are provided integrated in or immediately adjacent to a server, the refrigeration machines being configured as a module.
  • each module comprises heat exchangers, controllers, pumps, interfaces, and the refrigeration machine itself.
  • the refrigeration machine provides just the refrigeration machine as a module is also conceivable.
  • the refrigeration machine (preferably implemented as a module) is arranged immediately adjacent to the server or rack.
  • the refrigeration machine may be disposed above or below a server or rack. So no additional footprint is required.
  • the cooling module is arranged laterally, also, one refrigeration module may supply several components such as racks with cooling energy.
  • heat exchangers and fans for generating an internal air circulation for cooling a rack may be arranged both within or adjacent to a rack, for example. So in another embodiment of the cooling module, an arrangement of the cooling module in such a unit for internally cooling for example a rack is possible.
  • the refrigeration machine is integrated in a server, in particular a blade server.
  • the refrigeration machine is configured as a module that is insertable into a server, in particular as a plug-in module.
  • a server in particular as a plug-in module.
  • This embodiment of the invention may be used for conventional blade servers, for example.
  • Integration into the server or the computing system, or an arrangement directly adjacent thereto allows for short cable lengths and transfer paths for the coolant (liquid, heat conduction, air), thereby reducing thermal losses of the cold transfer, furthermore reducing the energy required for the cold transfer (e.g. the pump power), and hence increasing efficiency.
  • integration or adjacent arrangement of the cooling modules allows a modular configuration of the computing center with respect to the cooling system; the components (e.g. racks) each comprise a separate cooling system tailored to the component.
  • the computing center can be extended without the need to extend a central cooling system or to expand the cooling capacity thereof (except for the discharge of process heat).
  • a computing center is conceivable that does not require a central cooling system (except for the discharge of process heat).
  • Another advantage of integrated or adjacent cooling modules is a reduction of external ports for the cooling circuits when several cooling circuits are already combined in the cooling modules. So, for example, only one fluid port is needed as an external port to discharge process heat. Otherwise, all components can be integrated in the server or the rack.
  • a system for cooling a computing system may be configured such that non-adjacent and non-integrated cooling modules or refrigeration machines and adjacent or integrated refrigeration machines or cooling modules are used in an optimum combination in terms of investment costs and operating costs.
  • the system for cooling a computing system comprises a system for detecting a loss of coolant and for initiating an emergency shutdown in a loss of coolant event, which may also be configured as a module.
  • the means for emergency shutdown are configured as a power supply interrupter.
  • the entire computing system or portions of the computing system and/or the pumps for circulating the coolant may be switched off, so that the components are disconnected from power. This ensures that at worst components are damaged which come directly into contact with the cooling water, and that other damage to components due to the electric conductivity of the cooling water is avoided by disconnecting the power supply of the components.
  • the emergency shutdown comprises a pump which in the event a loss of fluid is detected generates a negative pressure in the coolant system.
  • the pump may pump out the liquid into a designated reservoir or into drains. Due to the resulting negative pressure no or only little additional water will leak, so that the damage in the system remains localized.
  • means for emergency shutdown are integrated in a rack of the computing system.
  • each rack may comprise means for detecting a loss of coolant, in particular a humidity sensor.
  • a loss of coolant in particular a humidity sensor.
  • the power supply of the rack is disconnected.
  • the rack with automatically closing valves, so that it is separated from the coolant circuit.
  • the module for detecting a loss of coolant may be a component of a cooling module.
  • the invention provides for a system for cooling a computing system that comprises a plurality of cooling circuits, wherein one cooling circuit is coolable without using the refrigeration machine and another cooling circuit is coolable using the refrigeration machine.
  • a system for cooling a computing system that comprises a plurality of cooling circuits, wherein one cooling circuit is coolable without using the refrigeration machine and another cooling circuit is coolable using the refrigeration machine.
  • the return flow of a rack cooling circuit may be used to cool power components and processors.
  • process heat is dischargeable through the combined cooling circuit.
  • the return flow of the last cooling circuit which has the highest temperature is supplied to a heat exchanger.
  • the system for cooling a computing system comprises a plurality of cooling circuits, wherein at least in one cooling circuit a bypass is provided, by which the volume flow in the module to be cooled and connected to the cooling circuit may be increased by a partial recirculation of the coolant without increasing the total volume flow of the coolant in the cooling circuit. So it is possible to keep the total volume flow substantially constant, and to direct a portion of the volume flow to detour components to be cooled, via a bypass. If now additional cooling is required, the flow rate in the bypass may be reduced, whereby the flow rate along the components to be cooled increases.
  • a liquid is used as the coolant which has an electrical conductivity of less than 10*10 ⁇ 6 S/m.
  • pure water or a water-glycol mixture may be used. In this way, electrical damage to the components of the computing system and the risk of electric shock to operating personnel are reduced.
  • components of the refrigeration machine in particular a compressor, may be cooled using at least one of the cooling circuits.
  • the refrigeration machine is integrated in simple manner into the cooling of the system and is in particular cooled by a liquid.
  • the waste heat of the compressor or of the compressor motor may be further used for example as thermal energy (for example for building heating or for generating electric energy).
  • this may avoid the need for generating the cooling power to cool the compressor of the refrigeration machine by the refrigeration machine itself (or by another refrigeration machine), by removing the motor heat via another cooling circuit which can be cooled directly in the recooling without any other refrigeration machine, for example because of its high temperature. In this way, the energy required to cool the computing center is reduced.
  • a refrigeration machine which comprises a compressor that has a soft start circuit.
  • a soft start circuit reduces the inrush current and thus reduces the torque of the motor in the start-up phase. In addition to a softer start, the service life of the motor may be significantly increased in this way.
  • the invention provides for a substantially thermally neutral computing system which merely releases a heating power of less than 20%, preferably less than 10% of the power consumption of the computing system as thermal energy into a room in which the computing system is installed. Therefore, in many cases cooling of the room by an energy-consuming refrigeration machine can be dispensed with.
  • the computing system may possibly also be installed in office areas, etc.
  • a housing of the computing system may be insulated, in particular the housing walls may have a heat transfer coefficient of k ⁇ 3 W/m 2 K, preferably k ⁇ 1 W/m 2 K.
  • the housing walls may comprise a thermally insulating material, such as hard foam. It is also conceivable to apply insulating material to the inner and/or outer surface of the housing walls.
  • the housing walls of the computing system may be coolable to approximately ambient temperature using fluid lines which are connected to a cooling circuit.
  • the walls may be of a double-walled construction or may include cooling coils. By cooling the walls, unwanted release of heat into the environment can be prevented, even with a temperature in the housing above room temperature.
  • the invention further relates to a computing system and in particular to one embedded in a system as described above for cooling a computing system.
  • a computing system and in particular to one embedded in a system as described above for cooling a computing system.
  • the computing system comprises a housing in which the components of the computing system, in particular processors, memory, hard discs, etc. are arranged.
  • the computing system comprises at least a first and a second cooling circuit, wherein the first cooling circuit permits to cool processors and power components of the computing system using a liquid and/or by heat conduction, and wherein the second cooling circuit comprises a heat exchanger arranged in the housing.
  • the computing system includes fluid ports for both the first and the second cooling circuit.
  • the housing is preferably formed as a rack.
  • the invention further relates to a cooling module, in particular for a system for cooling a computing system as described above.
  • the cooling module comprises a port for a first cooling circuit, in particular a cooling circuit which permits to cool processors and power components of a computing system using a liquid. Moreover, the cooling module comprises another port for a further cooling circuit. This further cooling circuit permits to cool for example housings or servers of a computing system, at a lower temperature. Furthermore, the cooling module comprises a port for discharging process heat. Via this port recooling is accomplished such that thermal energy is removed from the cooling system.
  • the cooling module comprises a refrigeration machine.
  • the refrigeration machine is in particular intended to provide a sufficiently low temperature for the second cooling circuit which is operated with a lower feed flow temperature.
  • the cooling module is configured as a plug-in module for a server, in particular a blade server.
  • the cooling module includes mechanical means to be inserted into a slot.
  • the cooling module has a standard size which occupies one or more slots of a server.
  • the invention further relates to a housing of a computing system, which is in particular configured as a rack.
  • the housing includes a heat exchanger arranged in the housing, and a fluid port connected to the heat exchanger.
  • the housing walls may be formed as a heat exchanger.
  • the heat exchanger permits to cool the interior of the housing.
  • the housing comprises another fluid port to which modules, in particular plug-in modules or power components, may be connected.
  • the invention further relates to a computing module, which is configured as a plug-in module for a rack.
  • a computing module may comprise processors, for example, but also hard disks, telecommunications electronics, etc.
  • the rack comprises a fluid port through which processors and power components of the computing module may be supplied with a cooling fluid.
  • the computing module may comprise a further fluid port for supplying cooling fluid which in particular cools the housing of the computing module, for example using an integrated heat exchanger.
  • cooling fluid which in particular cools the housing of the computing module
  • the invention further relates to a module for detecting a leak, in particular for a system for cooling a computing system as described above.
  • the module comprises means for detecting a leak in the cooling system, a controller, and means for shutting down a computing system, at least partially.
  • the module for detecting a leak is adapted to determine the location or size of the leak based on measured parameters such as the pressure in the fluid system, moisture sensors, etc., and then selectively shuts down the computing system or performs an emergency shutdown by interrupting the power supply, in function of the location and severity.
  • the computing system comprises at least a first and a second cooling circuit, wherein the first cooling circuit is operated at a higher temperature than the second cooling circuit and by means of a liquid and/or by heat conduction.
  • the feed flow temperatures of the two cooling circuits differ by at least 20° C., preferably by at least 30° C.
  • waste heat from the first cooling circuit is only fed to the refrigeration machine if an external discharge thereof, for example via a heat exchanger, is not possible, for example due to high ambient temperatures.
  • the first cooling circuit preferably provides for cooling processors and/or power components of the computing system, whereas the second cooling circuit preferably cools the racks of the computing system and/or the room in which the latter is arranged.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of a system 1 for cooling a computing system.
  • the first cooling circuit is coupled to a heat exchanger, via feed flow 2 and return flow 3 , and the heat generated thereby may be used as useful heat for the building.
  • the first cooling circuit may be operated at a higher temperature, for example the target temperature may be 50° C. at the feed flow and 60° C. at the return flow. Due to the high possible feed flow temperature, a refrigeration machine is not necessarily required for cooling.
  • the second cooling circuit comprising the air cooling, by contrast, is coupled with a refrigeration machine (not shown), since it has to be operated with a lower temperature, for example the temperature is not more than 20° C. at the inlet and 35° C. at the outlet.
  • the refrigeration machine in this embodiment is a compression-type refrigeration machine.
  • Refrigeration machine 8 comprises a coolant circuit 13 which may be considered as the refrigeration machine's internal coolant circuit.
  • the coolant in evaporator 9 expands, thereby becoming gaseous and causing a temperature decrease.
  • Evaporator 9 forms the cold section of the refrigeration machine.
  • the coolant is fed through the cooling circuit 13 to a condenser. Through an increase of pressure the coolant liquefies and can release waste heat at the condenser to extract energy from the system.
  • Condenser 11 forms the hot section of the refrigeration machine 8 .
  • Via expansion valve 12 the coolant is again fed to the evaporator, and thus a closed circuit is formed.
  • FIG. 2 a schematically illustrates a refrigeration machine, in which the internal coolant circuit 13 is connected, via an internal heat exchanger 59 , to coolant ports outside the refrigeration machine.
  • FIGS. 2 and 2 a thus illustrate the possibility of configuring a cooling circuit according to the invention such that it includes, instead of a cooling liquid (for example water), the coolant of the refrigeration machine, wherein cooling is accomplished directly through the evaporator of the refrigeration machine.
  • a cooling liquid for example water
  • the size of the refrigeration machine can be reduced, which may be important in particular for refrigeration machines integrated in servers, for example.
  • FIG. 4 schematically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a system 1 for cooling a computing system.
  • the system 1 for cooling a computing system comprises a first cooling circuit 21 .
  • the first cooling circuit is a liquid-based cooling circuit which serves to cool processors and power components arranged in rack 20 .
  • FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of a system 1 for cooling a computing system.
  • the system comprises a first cooling circuit 21 , which is water-based.
  • the air directed through modules 26 of the server is cooled by a heat exchanger 24 connected to the second cooling circuit 22 after leaving the computing system.
  • a heat exchanger 24 connected to the second cooling circuit 22 after leaving the computing system.
  • FIG. 6 shows another embodiment, in which in contrast to the above embodiments the second heat exchanger 24 connected to the cooling circuit is mounted apart from the rack of the computing system. Using a fan 27 the air may be set in motion, and the second cooling circuit may be implemented with a lower feed flow temperature, for example using the air-conditioning of the room in which the servers are installed.
  • FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of a system 1 for cooling a computing system, which is based on the principle of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 .
  • both the refrigeration machine is provided with a port 28 and the first cooling circuit is provided with a port 29 , through which the heat may be removed and provided as useful heat, for example for building heating, hot water supply, or for generating electric energy.
  • the second cooling circuit 22 comprises a heat exchanger 24 preferably arranged in the rack of computing system 30 , by which the air in the rack is cooled. Due to the small amount of heat to be discharged, tap water may be used as a cooling medium, for example. It will be understood that it is also conceivable, for example, to preheat the tap water for hot water supply (for example by heat exchangers—not shown), so that the energy extracted from the second cooling circuit may be used, which only results in a return flow temperature of for example below 30° C.
  • the so already heated coolant fluid is then passed into the first cooling circuit 21 and cools the processors and power components.
  • the cooling circuits are connected in series, and the cooling liquid, for example provided by a refrigeration machine, first passes through the cooling circuit with the lower temperature level and then through the cooling circuit with the higher temperature level. It will be appreciated that more than two cooling circuits can be connected in series in this way, for example the cooling circuits 21 , 22 , and 38 of server 37 shown in FIG. 13 .
  • the fluid extracted from the return flow of the first cooling circuit 21 is first passed via a heat exchanger 25 and then fed into the return flow of the warm section of refrigeration machine 8 .
  • This embodiment may also be referred to as a sequential cooling circuit.
  • An advantage of this embodiment of the invention is that thus only two ports are required for connecting an external heat exchanger 25 . Because of a maximum temperature difference of 20° C., preferably 10° C., in the first cooling circuit 21 and in cooling circuit 32 of the refrigeration machine this is possible in a particularly simple manner.
  • FIGS. 13 to 15 a system 1 for cooling a computing system with three cooling circuits will be described in detail by way of a schematically illustrated exemplary embodiment.
  • the system 1 for cooling a computing system comprises a first group of heat generating components 34 which are connected to a first cooling circuit 21 which is liquid-based.
  • a refrigeration machine 8 is provided having a cold section 16 by which at least the second cooling circuit 22 is cooled.
  • the hot section of refrigeration machine 8 is connected to an external heat exchanger.
  • the air-cooled components of the third group of heat generating components 36 require the lowest feed flow temperature.
  • the processors and power components assigned to the first group of heat generating components 34 are cooled with the highest feed flow temperature, in particular with a feed flow temperature of about 50° C.
  • FIG. 13 illustrates a configuration in which the use of a refrigeration machine is entirely dispensed with in the first group of heat generating components 34 .
  • the second group of heat generating components 35 is cooled with a feed flow temperature which is between that of the first cooling circuit 21 and that of the second cooling circuit 22 .
  • the cooling fluid of the third cooling circuit 38 may now be selectively distributed to the heat exchanger 23 and the cold section 16 of refrigeration machine 8 .
  • the first cooling circuit may be distributed selectively to heat exchanger 23 and to the cold section of refrigeration machine 8 (not illustrated), in function of the required cooling power and the existing outside temperature.
  • FIG. 13 also illustrates that by means of valves and pumps (not shown) at least two cooling circuits may be selectively distributed to heat exchanger 23 and the cold section of refrigeration machine 8 .
  • FIG. 14 shows the system 1 for cooling a computing system as illustrated in FIG. 13 in an operational state with an outside temperature below 30° C., for example below 30° C. and above 10° C.
  • the respective temperatures of the feed and return flows are shown by way of example.
  • both the first cooling circuit 21 and the third cooling circuit 38 are connected such, by means of the valves, that these cooling circuits are connected to heat exchanger 23 .
  • FIG. 15 shows an operational state of the system 1 for cooling a computing system with an outside temperature of above 30° C., for example above 30° C. and below 50° C.
  • this operational state now, only the first cooling circuit 21 is connected to heat exchanger 23 . Since the outside temperature no longer suffice to bring the fluid of the third cooling circuit 38 to a sufficiently low temperature, now cooling circuit 38 is also connected to the cold section of the refrigeration machine. Thus, the refrigeration machine cools the third cooling circuit 38 and the second cooling circuit 22 .
  • a curve is plotted which represents the temperature in function of time.
  • the time is represented on the X-axis, and the temperature is represented on the Y-axis.
  • the first cooling circuit may be operated without using the refrigeration machine for the entire time.
  • the second cooling circuit i.e. the cooling circuit of the three cooling circuits which is operated with the lowest feed flow temperature, however, has to be operated using the refrigeration machine for a considerable period of time; only at night for example, and/or only in the winter the use of the refrigeration machine may be dispensed with.
  • the additional third cooling circuit with a feed flow temperature between the feed flow temperatures of the first and second cooling circuits further improves the efficiency of the system.
  • This cooling circuit needs to be operated through the refrigeration machine only at a temperature above 30° C.
  • FIG. 13 a shows, by way of example, a system for cooling a computing system.
  • Server 37 and the three cooling circuits 21 , 22 , and 38 for the components 34 , 36 , and 35 of server 37 have been described in conjunction with FIG. 13 .
  • FIG. 13 a shows a configuration which includes free cooling, i.e. cooling without the use of a refrigeration machine, which is illustrated and will now be described schematically by way of example based on the specified temperatures.
  • the three cooling circuits of the server are connected in series, first cooling circuit 22 with a feed temperature of 15° C. and an outlet temperature of 20° C.
  • This cooling circuit 22 is connected to cooling circuit 38 , with a feed temperature of 20° C. and an outlet temperature of 40° C.
  • This cooling circuit 38 is in turn connected to cooling circuit 21 , with a feed temperature of 40° C. and an outlet temperature of 60° C.
  • Heat exchanger 25 provides an outlet temperature of the cooling fluid of 20° C.
  • This cooling fluid is passed to a heat exchanger 56 for free cooling and cools the outlet temperature of the cooling fluid of cooling circuit 21 from 60° C. to 60° C.- ⁇ T, before the latter is passed to the inlet of the cold section 16 of refrigeration machine 8 .
  • the cooling power that has to be provided by refrigeration machine 8 is reduced.
  • FIG. 17 shows an embodiment of the invention in which a refrigeration machine 8 , in particular a compression-type refrigeration machine, is built into a rack 20 or arranged immediately adjacent to the rack 20 (not shown). Refrigeration machine 8 is connected to a heat exchanger 24 which forms the second cooling circuit for cooling the air prevailing in the rack.
  • a refrigeration machine 8 in particular a compression-type refrigeration machine
  • Process heat is discharged through the hot section of refrigeration machine 8 and by heat exchanger 25 .
  • Processors and power components are connected with a first cooling circuit 21 , and the heat therefrom is discharged to the outside through heat exchanger 23 .
  • FIG. 18 shows another exemplary embodiment in which again the refrigeration machine 8 is arranged in or on the rack.
  • the cooling fluid is first passed from the return flow of the hot section of refrigeration machine 8 via the processors and power components.
  • FIG. 19 shows an overview of the components of a cooling module.
  • the cooling system is configured modularly to provide for a simple adaptation to the racks or other components of the computing center.
  • a cooling module may comprise a subset of the illustrated components.
  • the components may be configured as a cooling module, or non-modularly.
  • the refrigeration machine is not forcibly a part of the cooling module, it may be arranged outside the cooling modules or only in one cooling module serving a plurality of racks, the latter comprising another or each comprising another cooling module including the other components.
  • the cooling system is in particular configured modularly in order to provide for a simple adaptation to the racks or other components of the computing center.
  • a cooling module comprises a subset of the components shown.
  • the components may be configured as a cooling module, or non-modularly. Therefore, it will be understood that the system may consist, as far as technically feasible, of any combination of the following components.
  • FIG. 20 shows an exemplary embodiment of a cooling module 39 which may for example be attached at or in a server or rack (not shown).
  • cooling module 39 comprises a port 43 for processor cooling or for supplying a first cooling circuit.
  • a port 44 is provided to which the rack cooling circuit may be connected to provide a second cooling circuit.
  • an intermediate heat exchanger 31 is provided, which allows to combine process heat from refrigeration machine 8 and heat from the first cooling circuit to be discharged via port 41 .
  • Cooling module 39 comprises an own internal heat exchanger 46 to cool the cooling module.
  • the air flow 47 is indicated by arrows.
  • This cooling circuit cools the waste heat of the cooling module itself. This waste heat is generated by the components of the cooling module (for example by the motor of the compression refrigeration machine, or by the controller). Due to the internal cooling system of the cooling module, the cooling module is thermally neutral to the outside.
  • the cooling module comprises leak detection means 42 (a module for detecting a loss of coolant), as described in FIG. 37 , for example in form of a pressure monitoring device and/or moisture sensor.
  • cooling module 39 may comprise additional components, such as electronic interfaces and other cooling ports, mechanical connections, for example to be inserted into a 19′′ rack system, etc.
  • FIG. 20 a shows an exemplary embodiment of a cooling module 39 which may be attached for example at or in a server or rack (not shown).
  • a cooling module 39 which may be attached for example at or in a server or rack (not shown).
  • the additional component for free cooling is illustrated and will be explained with reference to the temperatures indicated in the Figure.
  • the coolant may already be pre-cooled at the inlet of port 44 , by heat exchanger 56 , before being passed to refrigeration machine 8 . Therefore, the coolant does not has to be cooled from 20° C. to 15° C., i.e. by 5 K, by the refrigeration machine, but by 5K- ⁇ T. Thus, the cooling power to be provided by the refrigeration machine is reduced, and accordingly the energy consumption for cooling.
  • the principle of free cooling is not only applicable in the cooling module, as illustrated, but in the entire cooling system according to the invention. Moreover, the principle of free cooling may be applied in combination with at least two, preferably at least three cooling circuits, as illustrated in FIG. 13 a.
  • the cooling module 39 is connected to a rack 20 .
  • the cooling module 39 is arranged close to the rack 20 or is integrated into the rack 20 .
  • a further cooling circuit 22 is provided, which is connected to the second port of the cooling module ( 44 in FIG. 20 ).
  • Cooling circuit 22 is connected to the cold section of the refrigeration machine integrated in the cooling module 39 ( 8 in FIG. 20 ).
  • the rack may be designed to be thermally neutral to the outside. Since the cooling module is also thermally neutral to the outside, as described in FIG. 20 , the entire system consisting of the rack and the cooling module is thermally neutral to the outside. Therefore, this system does not require any additional cooling of the surrounding room.
  • FIG. 21 a shows a rack with a cooling module 39 , as in FIG. 20 , but with the difference that the heat exchanger and the fans (not shown) for cooling the rack by means of heat exchanger 22 are configured as a rack cooling module 61 arranged adjacent to the rack, and that the air flow for cooling purposes is fed through holes of the rack 20 and the rack cooling module 61 .
  • Rack 20 , rack cooling module 61 , and cooling module 39 may be arranged one upon the other, as illustrated, or side by side (not shown), or in a combination thereof.
  • the cooling module 39 may be part of the rack cooling module 61
  • the rack cooling module 61 may be part of the cooling module 39 .
  • FIG. 22 shows a module which comprises a subset of the components listed in FIG. 19 .
  • the cooling module comprises a controller which is in particular responsible for controlling the pumps and valves and for controlling temperature and humidity sensors. Using this controller and the appropriate pumps and valves, the coolant is controlled, which for example flows to a heat exchanger or to a refrigeration machine, etc. Therefore, the controller is connected with all components which are supplied by the cooling module, for example via a network connection.
  • controller is connected to a leak controller including a moisture or pressure sensor, by means of which the pumps and/or the voltage can be switched off, if necessary.
  • cooling module is connected, via a network connection, with the computing system and with the individual sub-systems, such as individual racks, means for power supply and telecommunications.
  • cooling module 39 is positioned above the server 20 and is in thermal communication with the server 20 , as in FIG. 21 .
  • the cooling module 39 comprises the refrigeration machine, a controller, valves, pumps and sensors, a heat exchanger through which the heat of a first cooling circuit and the process heat from a refrigeration machine are combined and can be discharged through port 41 .
  • a particular advantage thereof is that with this modular configuration only the process heat has to be discharged to the outside via port 41 .
  • the system comprises a refrigeration machine 8 integrated in the housing of server 48 , in particular a compression-type refrigeration machine.
  • the cold section of compression refrigeration machine 8 supplies a cold liquid to a heat exchanger 24 arranged in the server, fans 50 generate an air flow in server 48 , which is cooled in heat exchanger 24 .
  • the temperature may be maintained at about room temperature.
  • other means for producing a fluid motion may be used, for example means based on the principle of electro-hydrodynamics (not shown).
  • a first group of heat generating components 34 is coupled with a processor cooling circuit, via port 49 (feed and return flow). Through this processor cooling circuit, a large part of the energy is discharged without the use of refrigeration machine 8 .
  • Another group of heat generating components 36 is not coupled to a processor cooling circuit but is cooled by the cold air in the housing of server 48 .
  • FIGS. 25 and 26 an exemplary embodiment will be explained in which a cooling module is integrated in a blade server.
  • FIG. 25 shows a blade server 51 .
  • Blade servers are also known under the name BladeSystem or BladeCenter.
  • the housing of the blade server has a plurality of slots for modules 52 , so-called blades. These may be hard disks, memory chips, etc., for example.
  • Cooling module 39 is configured in correspondence with the modular configuration of the blade server and is likewise plugged-in. In this exemplary embodiment, it occupies two slots of the blade server.
  • FIG. 26 shows the rear side of the blade server.
  • a refrigeration machine 8 provides cold cooling fluid which is supplied to an internal heat exchanger 24 to cool the interior of the housing of blade server 51 .
  • Process heat from the refrigeration machine may be removed through the hot section and port 41 .
  • FIG. 27 illustrates such a system with a plurality of blade servers 51 .
  • the blade servers 51 comprise only one port for removing process heat.
  • FIG. 27 a illustrates a second, air-based cooling circuit for blade servers, in which the air flow 62 is directed through heat exchanger 24 .
  • the blade server is designed such that this air flow 62 forms a closed air circulation within the blade server, so that the blade server is or can be thermally neutral to the outside (except for the liquid-based removal of the process heat).
  • FIGS. 28 through 34 the different ways to integrate and arrange the cooling module, the computing system, and the controller will be illustrated.
  • FIG. 28 shows an embodiment in which a respective cooling module is disposed on top of each rack.
  • FIG. 29 shows an embodiment in which one cooling module is arranged above two racks and therefore is responsible for cooling both racks.
  • FIG. 30 shows an arrangement with a respective cooling module arranged below each rack.
  • FIG. 31 shows an arrangement with a cooling module at a lateral side of a rack. It is in particular conceivable that this cooling module supplies one or two racks with cold.
  • FIG. 32 shows an embodiment in which a cooling module is integrated in the rack, for example as a plug-in module.
  • FIG. 33 shows an embodiment in which the controller of the cooling module is arranged separately from the actual cooling module. In this case, one controller is responsible for several cooling modules.
  • An advantage of this embodiment of the invention is that the electronic control device has to be provided only once.
  • FIG. 33 a shows an embodiment similar to that illustrated in FIG. 33 , in which, however, the components of cooling modules are distributed to a plurality of cooling modules. So it is possible for example, that each rack of the computing center has for example a first cooling module associated therewith, each of which for example includes the refrigeration machine and other components of the cooling module for cooling the cooling circuits of the rack, while a second cooling module includes the heat exchanger for recooling the process heat and combines the cooling circuits of several racks in this heat exchanger.
  • a rack may also be understood as another, similar component of the computing system, for example a telecommunications device or a power supply device.
  • a server may likewise be understood as another module such as a hard disk module, etc.
  • components of the computing system as well as components of the system for cooling a computing system according to the invention may likewise be accommodated in a container (not shown).
  • the fluid carrying conduit is surrounded by two electrodes 55 , 56 . If now water penetrates into the region between electrodes 55 and 56 , both the capacity and the conductivity between the electrodes changes.
  • a leak can be deduced from the conductivity and/or from the capacity between the electrodes.
  • the electrodes may be used as a part of the housing or may be placed at the bottom of a rack or server, for example.
  • This module comprises means for detecting a loss of coolant and means for initiating an emergency stop.
  • the system may comprise a separate controller which has communication interfaces, interfaces for reading sensors, and for triggering actions as will be described below.
  • a loss of coolant may be detected based on coolant pressure monitoring (for example in a cooling system that is operated at a positive pressure), or using sensors which can detect liquids (capacitively or resistively, see FIG. 35 and FIG. 36 ), or based on an unexpected increase in temperature in the components of the computing system to be cooled (temperature monitoring at or in the components to be cooled, such as processors), or based on the fact that coolant pumps run at a higher speed due to a lack of medium to be pumped, or using flow meters that monitor the amount of coolant flowing therethrough.
  • An advantage of using sensors which operate independently of the electrical conductivity of the coolant is that this permits to use coolants having a comparatively low conductivity (for example below 2*10 ⁇ 8 S/m).
  • a system including a plurality of means and sensors as described above is distributed in and near the cooling module, the servers, racks, other components of the computing center such as power supplies, and connecting lines for the coolant. In this way, in the event of a leak the location of the leak can be determined.
  • the means of initiating an emergency shutdown may include a communications interface through which components of the computing center and/or responsible personnel is informed about a loss of coolant.
  • the means for emergency shutdown may in particular comprise means for interrupting the power supply of the concerned component (or components) of the computing center (e.g. for the rack), and interfaces for controlling or shutting down pumps and valves, by means of which the emergency shutdown as described below may be effected.
  • controller comprises a direct interface for controlling pumps and valves.
  • a system may be shut down in controlled manner, for example, or in the event of an emergency, may be abruptly disconnected from the power supply and shut down.
  • the computing system may be shut down in controlled manner and turned off, so that the running applications are closed and data is saved.
  • the applications and/or data may be relocated to other computing systems or components thereof which are not affected by the loss of coolant. With such controlled shutdown it can be ensured that an interruption of coolant flow does not result in a local overheating in the components connected to the cooling circuit.
  • the system for detecting loss of coolant may receive a command for emergency stop through the communication interface.
  • the entire computing system or portions of the computing system may be disconnected from power supply, for example, and/or the pumps for circulating the coolant may be switched off.
  • the emergency shutdown involves a pump by which, in case a loss of fluid is detected, a negative pressure is generated in the coolant system.
  • the pump may pump out the liquid into a designated reservoir or into drains. Due to the resulting negative pressure, no or only little additional water will leak, so that the damage in the system will remain localized.
  • the cooling fluid conduits may be closed using valves, whereby further liquid can be prevented from leaking from the system.
  • means for emergency shutdown are integrated in or adapted to a rack or other component of the computing system.
  • the shutdown of the cooling module and of the component of the computing system or computer center made be effected locally, if necessary, without affecting other components of the computing system or computing center.
  • FIG. 38 illustrates a controlled shutdown
  • the computing center will then distribute applications that run in the section affected by the leakage to other parts of the system which are not affected by the leakage. Also, the data is backed up.
  • FIG. 40 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a computing center 55 .
  • Computing center 55 comprises a plurality of racks 20 which in turn comprise individual modules 52 , such as servers, hard disk units, etc.
  • modules 52 are coupled by liquid-based cooling to a first cooling circuit 21 , through which heat is discharged to the outside via heat exchanger 23 .
  • a heat exchanger is provided within the racks 20 .
  • the first cooling circuit 21 is combined and the second cooling circuit 22 is combined.
  • This may be implemented through connection of heat exchangers 24 to cooling circuit 22 by connecting them in parallel to cooling circuit 22 . It is also conceivable for the heat exchangers 24 to be connected in succession, so that the cooling fluid flows from one heat exchanger to the next (not shown).
  • FIG. 41 shows another exemplary embodiment of a computing center 55 .
  • computing center 55 is similar to that of the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 40 .
  • the first cooling circuit 21 for processor cooling purposes is in thermal communication with the cooling circuit of the hot section of the refrigeration machine 8 , through a heat exchanger 31 .
  • An advantage of this embodiment of the invention is that consequently only one port has to be provided for discharging waste heat through heat exchanger 25 .
  • FIG. 42 shows another embodiment of the invention which is based on that of FIG. 41 .
  • a respective refrigeration machine is provided for each rack 20 .
  • FIG. 43 shows another embodiment of a computing center 55 , in which servers 20 are connected to a cooling module 39 (as described above).
  • the advantage of this embodiment is that for extracting energy from the system, the cooling modules only have to be connected to cooling circuit 53 through which heat is discharged to the outside via heat exchanger 25 . It will be understood that this heat may be used as useful heat.
  • FIG. 44 shows an embodiment of the invention in which a plurality of servers 37 are included in a rack 20 , and in which a cooling circuit of servers 37 , which for example is a processor cooling circuit, is combined across multiple servers to a first cooling circuit 21 , wherein the volume flow of cooling liquid can be controlled individually for each server using a respective pump 57 and, optionally, an additional valve 33 . Heat is transferred to the environment via recooling heat exchanger 23 . Pumps 57 and, optionally, valves 33 may be controlled in a manner as required by the respective processor cooling circuit in the servers, for example based on an evaluation of temperature sensors (not shown).
  • volume flow of the coolant in the respective servers may be regulated to the required amount, furthermore, the performance of the pumps may be optimally adapted to the required level, and the temperature difference between inlet and outlet of the processor cooling circuits may be controlled through the controllable or adjustable volume flow, for a given amount of heat to be discharged. It will be understood that this adjustment of the volume flow is also applicable to more cooling circuits, for example cooling circuits 21 , 22 , and 38 as illustrated in FIG. 13 .
  • FIG. 45 shows a configuration in which a plurality of racks 20 are provided, and in which a cooling circuit for servers 37 , which for example is a processor cooling circuit, is combined across multiple servers to a first cooling circuit 21 , wherein the volume flow of cooling liquid can be controlled individually for each server using a valve 33 , and wherein the volume flow for each rack is controlled by a pump.
  • the volume flow may be set and controlled separately for each rack 20 and for each server 37 . It will be understood that this adjustment of the volume flow is also applicable to more cooling circuits, for example cooling circuits 21 , 22 , and 38 as illustrated in FIG. 13 .
  • FIG. 46 shows another embodiment of the invention in which a rack 20 is equipped with individual modules that are illustrated as servers 37 , and in which a cooling circuit is a processor cooling circuit, for example.
  • a bypass 58 is provided for each server, via which cooling fluid may be directed past the server detouring it, using a valve 33 or a T-shaped branching.
  • a portion of the coolant which flows through the modules may be returned in a circuit from the coolant outlet of servers 37 to the coolant inlet of servers 37 without being passed via the processor cooling port 21 of the rack and the recooling heat exchanger 23 .
  • the bypass may for example be controlled in function of the individual work load of the server and/or the individual temperature of the server, so that the individual server may influence the temperature at its coolant outlet and coolant inlet in function of the work load. This may be relevant in conjunction with an optimal design of the cooling system of an individual computing center (for example, for adapting the coolant temperatures, avoiding low temperatures due to large temperature differences and thus preventing condensation, dimensioning of flow rates).
  • bypass and the so allowed increase of the amount of coolant flowing through the server permit to achieve a more homogeneous temperature distribution among all the components connected to the processor cooling circuit.
  • the system may adapt to changing computational loads or operating conditions by controlling the cooling fluid in the bypass.
  • the bypass and the amount of cooling liquid flowing through the bypass may be adjusted by means of controllable valves and controllable pumps. Controlling (not shown) may be accomplished by the server or from outside the server, and temperature sensors (not shown) may also be involved.
  • bypass is also applicable to more cooling circuits, for example cooling circuits 21 , 22 , and 38 as illustrated in FIG. 13 .
  • FIG. 47 shows another embodiment of the cooling system including a bypass similarly to that illustrated in FIG. 46 , but with the difference that the cooling liquid is not returned from the outlet of the processor cooling circuit of server 37 to the inlet of the processor cooling circuit of server 37 , rather cooling liquid is directed past the server detouring it. In this way, the volume flow in the coolant circuit for cooling the processor may be reduced without affecting the volume flow in recooling heat exchanger 23 .
  • Another advantage of this bypass is that it allows to reduce a pressure loss in servers with low work load.
  • a cooling system in the sense of the invention may consist of a number of cooling circuits which may be connected together in different ways. As for example illustrated in FIG. 9 and in FIG. 13 a , these cooling circuits may be connected to form a circuit in which the different individual cooling circuits are connected in series, wherein the individual cooling circuits connected in series have a different temperature level (provided that each of these individual circuits absorbs thermal energy), but the volume flow in all cooling circuits connected in series is identical. Each cooling circuit is affected by a pressure loss which adds up in cooling circuits connected in series and which has to be compensated for by the pumps of the cooling circuit.
  • the described bypass permits to individually reduce the volume flow of coolant in the server with less work load without thereby reducing the volume flow in the other servers connected in series. Since a bypass usually exhibits a significantly lower pressure loss than the cooling circuit in a module (because the bypass extends over short lengths of coolant conduits, while in a module, for example in a server, the cooling circuit extends over longer conduits lengths, for example via multiple processors or other power components) the pressure loss to be compensated for by the pumps and thus the required pumping capacity will also be reduced. In this way, the described bypass permits to adapt the required pumping capacity to the individual thermal load to be cooled in each of the modules cooled by cooling circuits, for example servers, in function of the design and configuration of the cooling system.
  • a bypass may also be provided across an entire rack, for example across heat exchangers 24 of the second cooling circuit 22 , or across another system of the computing center (for example a power supply) instead for individual servers (not shown). The operation thereof corresponds to that of a bypass across a server.
  • FIG. 48 shows another embodiment of the invention, which is based on that of FIG. 40 .
  • the refrigeration machine is not located in the computing center but outside, here illustrated adjacent to heat exchangers 23 , 25 , and 56 .
  • free cooling is illustrated, with the cooling fluid of the second cooling circuit 22 first being passed through free cooling heat exchanger 56 , before being fed to the inlet 14 of the cold section 16 of refrigeration machine 8 .
  • the cooling fluid is cooled at heat exchanger 56 by an amount of ⁇ T, depending, inter alia, on the ambient conditions (e.g. temperature), thus reducing the cooling power to be provided by refrigeration machine 8 and hence the energy consumption thereof.
  • the full cooling capacity for the second cooling circuit 22 may possibly be provided by free cooling, for example in case of low ambient temperatures of, for example, less than 10° C.
  • FIG. 49 shows another exemplary embodiment of the invention which is based on that of FIG. 40 .
  • the second cooling circuit is connected to a cold water supply 63 which is made available to the computing center.
  • This cold water supply may for example be supplied with cooling energy by a refrigeration machine not located in the computing center, or by an ordinary water supply connection, or by a geothermal cooling system.
  • FIG. 50 schematically illustrates another exemplary embodiment of a computing center 55 which involves recovery of electric energy from thermal energy.
  • Computing center 55 comprises a plurality of racks 20 which in turn comprise individual modules 52 , such as servers, hard disk units, etc.
  • modules 52 are in thermal communication with a first cooling circuit 21 , via liquid-based cooling.
  • a heat exchanger is provided within rack 20 .
  • This cooling circuit is only shown in phantom here, the cooling circuit is not shown.
  • At least the first cooling circuit 21 is combined.
  • the exemplary embodiment comprises a thermoelectric generator, or Peltier element 66 .
  • the first cooling circuit with a feed flow temperature T 1 first extends to a heat exchanger (hot side) 67 of an element for generating electric energy, which is in thermal communication with one side of thermoelectric generator 66 .
  • Another heat exchanger (cold side) 68 of the element for generating electric energy is in thermal communication with the other side of thermoelectric generator 66 , the return flow temperature of this heat exchanger (cold side) 68 being T 2 .
  • the heat exchanger (cold side) 68 is in thermal communication, through a cooling circuit, with recooling heat exchanger 25 .
  • electric energy is generated, which in this embodiment is fed as recycled energy 70 via an inverter 69 into the power supply, so that the electric energy required for the power supply of the computing center 65 is reduced by the recycled energy 70 , assuming that an approximately constant amount of energy is provided to power the components of the computing center 64 .
  • thermal energy may be converted into electric energy which is supplied to the computing center, thereby reducing the amount of electric energy required for the power supply of a computing center.
  • thermoelectric generator 66 a mechanical generator based on the Carnot cycle may be used, for example, an ORC (organic rankine cycle) machine which drives an electric generator to produce energy.
  • ORC organic rankine cycle
  • Stirling engine may be used.
  • thermo-magnetic generator may be used.
  • the system according to the invention for cooling a computing system which provides a first cooling circuit with a high temperature permits or at least better promotes a conversion of thermal energy from a computing center into electric energy.
  • the invention enables to considerably reduce the power consumption required to cool a computing system.

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  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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US13/808,310 2010-07-06 2011-02-10 System and method for cooling a computer system Abandoned US20130205822A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE102010026297 2010-07-06
DE102010026297.8 2010-07-06
PCT/EP2011/000617 WO2012003895A1 (fr) 2010-07-06 2011-02-10 Système et procédé de refroidissement d'un ordinateur

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US11497145B2 (en) * 2018-08-21 2022-11-08 National University Of Singapore Server rack and data center including a hybrid-cooled server
CN109405395A (zh) * 2018-12-03 2019-03-01 广州市香港科大霍英东研究院 一种便携式吸附冷藏箱
US10852788B2 (en) 2018-12-12 2020-12-01 George Anthony Edwards Computer component cooling device and method
US11533830B2 (en) 2019-02-28 2022-12-20 Ovh Cooling arrangement having primary and secondary cooling devices for cooling an electronic device
US11212942B2 (en) * 2019-08-26 2021-12-28 Ovh Cooling arrangement for autonomous cooling of a rack
US11765864B2 (en) 2019-08-26 2023-09-19 Ovh Cooling arrangement for a rack hosting electronic equipment and at least one fan
CN111278255A (zh) * 2019-12-31 2020-06-12 南京理工大学 基于凝结传热的相变蓄热装置及其关键参数确定方法
CN113722769A (zh) * 2020-05-20 2021-11-30 佛山市顺德区顺达电脑厂有限公司 水冷服务器泄漏防护方法
US20220276683A1 (en) * 2021-02-26 2022-09-01 Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. Optimizing Waste Heat Recovery and Return Water Temperature Using Dynamic Flow Control based on Server Power Profiles and Cooling Capacity of Servers
US11871540B2 (en) * 2021-02-26 2024-01-09 Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. Optimizing waste heat recovery and return water temperature using dynamic flow control based on server power profiles and cooling capacity of servers
CN113163687A (zh) * 2021-04-16 2021-07-23 侯婷 计算机机房管理用主机降温装置
WO2023244120A1 (fr) * 2022-06-13 2023-12-21 Green Horizon As Système énergétique pour centre de données

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