WO2013190487A1

WO2013190487A1 - Air-conditioning unit particularly for large computing centers

Info

Publication number: WO2013190487A1
Application number: PCT/IB2013/055036
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stefano Michieli; Enrico MOSCARDO; Juraj MYKYTYNSKY
Original assignee: Emerson Network Power S.R.L.
Priority date: 2012-06-20
Filing date: 2013-06-19
Publication date: 2013-12-27
Also published as: ITPD20120198A1; EP2885585A1

Abstract

An air-conditioning unit ( 10) particularly for large computing centers, comprising a structural framework (11) which contains a heat exchange battery (12) which is extended along a vertical or inclined arrangement so as to intercept a substantially horizontal air flow; a first front face (13) of the structural framework supports a plurality of fans (14) which are designed to provide a substantially horizontal air flow (15) through the heat exchange battery ( 12) and toward an opposite second face ( 16) of the structural framework, which supports one or more grilles (17) for expelling the horizontal flow of treated air (18), air filtering panels (19) being interposed between the fans ( 14) and the heat exchange battery (12).

Description

AIR-CONDITIONING UNIT PARTICULARLY FOR LARGE COMPUTING CENTERS

The present invention relates to an air-conditioning unit particularly for large computing centers.

Server rooms, and in general any site or computing center that contains numerous electronic devices and racks (i.e. racks for supporting a plurality of servers, electric and electronic instruments and the like, generally enclosed within adapted ventilated cabinets) require a continuous air conditioning that is adapted to prevent the heat originating from the computers and from the electronic instruments from accumulating and thus determining temperatures that are so high as to damage the internal components of such electronic instruments and the like.

Nowadays, in order to overcome these drawbacks, floor or ceiling air- conditioning plants are generally installed in server rooms and in computing centers, and are increasingly widespread particularly in environments installed on a raised floor or with false ceilings that can be used as technical spaces for the passage of cables, pipes and any other service conduits.

Such floor or ceiling air-conditioning plants, which are also known as 'high precision coding' plants because they conduct the cooling air exactly proximate to or directly into the cabinet to be cooled, can be extremely burdensome in terms of installation and energy consumption if they are used for large-sized computing centers or server rooms, i.e. in situations in which conveying the air under the floor, or in the false ceiling, is not very effective owing to the high cubic volume of the interspaces in which the air is blown, or aspirated, by the air-conditioning means, with the necessity of deploying a plurality of further, auxiliary fans, for example at each cabinet or plurality of neighboring cabinets, with further costs for installation and power supply.

The aim of the present invention is to provide an air-conditioning unit particularly for large computing centers which is capable of serving large computing centers and server rooms at low cost, with major energy savings with respect to using a conventional 'precision cooling' technology.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide an air- conditioning unit that can also be used in environments in which no preexisting raised floors or false ceilings are present.

Another object of the invention is to provide an air-conditioning unit that is easy to manage.

Another object of the invention is to provide an air-conditioning unit that can be combined in a modular fashion with one or more further, identical air-conditioning units.

Another object of the invention is to provide an air-conditioning unit particularly for large computing centers, which can be made using conventional systems and technologies.

This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are all achieved by an air-conditioning unit particularly for large computing centers, characterized in that it comprises a structural framework which contains an air/water heat exchange battery which is extended along a vertical or inclined arrangement so as to intercept a substantially horizontal air flow, a first front face of said structural framework supporting a plurality of fans which are designed to provide a substantially horizontal air flow through said heat exchange battery and toward an opposite second face of said structural framework, which supports one or more air outflow grilles, air filtering panels being interposed between said fans and said heat exchange battery.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the detailed description that follows of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of the air-conditioning unit particularly for large computing centers according to the invention, which is illustrated for the purposes of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings wherein:

- Figure 1 is a perspective view of an air-conditioning unit according to the invention; - Figure 2 is a cutaway perspective view of the unit in Figure 1 ;

- Figure 3 is a view of the unit according to the invention with some structural aspects highlighted;

- Figure 4 is a modular use scheme of an air-conditioning unit according to the invention;

- Figure 5 is a detail of an example of the modularity.

With reference to the figures, an air-conditioning unit particularly for large computing centers is generally designated with the reference numeral 10.

Such air-conditioning unit 10 comprises a structural framework 11 which contains a heat exchange battery 12, of the air/water type, which is extended along a vertical or inclined arrangement so as to entirely intercept a substantially horizontal air flow.

In particular, the heat exchange battery 12 is inclined at an angle of between 10° and 20° with respect to a vertical reference plane, not shown for the sake of simplicity.

A first front face 13 of such structural framework 11 supports a plurality of fans 14, numbering six in the accompanying Figures, which are designed to provide a substantially horizontal air flow 15 through the heat exchange battery 12 and toward an opposite second face 16 of the structural framework 11 , which supports one or more grilles 17 for expelling the horizontal flow of treated air 18.

Air filtering panels 19 are interposed between the fans 14 and the heat exchange battery 12.

The inclination of the heat exchange battery 12 ensures that all the air blown by the fans 14 not only passes through the battery but is also deviated by its exchange vanes so that the entire flow strikes those vanes, i.e. so that there are no passages where the air passes through without striking the heat exchange vanes.

The air-conditioning unit 10 is obviously completed by two sides 21 and 22," a bottom 23 and a cover 24, which are adapted to convey the air by allowing it to pass through horizontally only.

The exchange battery 12 is of the type with refrigerated water, with a tube bundle with high-efficiency vanes.

The fans 14 are of the radial type and are arranged so that their rotation axis is horizontal, arranged three below and three above, and stacked vertically in twos.

Advantageously the fans 14 are of the electronically switched type, conventional per se, i.e. able to operate according to environmental requirements, controlled by an electronic control unit, at between 10% and 100% of their power.

Each fan 14 is conveniently mounted on a supporting frame 26, which is hinged like a leaf to the structural framework 11 ; each fan 14, by way of the corresponding supporting frame 26, is able to rotate between two configurations, a first, closed-leaf configuration, with the supporting frame 26 locked to the structural framework 11 , ready for the normal operation of the air-conditioning unit 10, and a second, open-leaf configuration, for opening and inspection, i.e., allowing easy access to the interior of the framework 11 for cleaning or for removing the filtering panels 19 or for other technical interventions, including on the fans 14.

The inflow and the outflow of the refrigeration water that circulates in the heat exchange battery 12 are managed by a single two- or three-way hydraulic valve 30, which is sized for such a flow-rate as to minimize load losses.

In the embodiment described herein, which obviously is a non- limiting example of the invention, the dimensions of the space occupation of the air-conditioning unit 10 include a width L of approximately 3.5 meters, a height H of approximately 2 meters, and a depth P of approximately 1.3 meters.

The air-conditioning unit 10 is adapted to operate individually or modularly, i.e., interconnected to one or more identical additional units 10a, 10b, 10c, as shown for the purposes of example in Figure 4.

By stacking two similar air-conditioning units 10 and 10a, and placing it side by side with two further identical stacked units 10b and 10c, a cooling wall is obtained which is approximately 7.5 meters wide and approximately 4 meters high.

Figure 5 shows an example of a connection between two stacked air- conditioning units 10 and 10a, wherein a delivery line 49 is connected with a vertical offtake 50 that connects the entry points of the units 10 and 10a to the same delivery line 49, while a return line 51 for the heated water descends from the valve 30a of the upper unit 10a, connecting with the valve 30 of the underlying unit 10, which in turn is connected to the hot water return line 52.

In practice it has been found that the invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects.

In fact, with the invention an air-conditioning unit particularly for large computing centers has been devised which is capable of serving large computing centers and server rooms at low cost, with major energy savings with respect to using a conventional 'precision cooling' technology; in fact the cooling wall that is formed by employing one or more of the air- conditioning units for a horizontal air flow according to the invention does not require a raised floor or false ceiling, or auxiliary fans that favor circulation of the air at the cabinets to be cooled, requiring for its operation only an electric power supply for the fans and means for pumping the cooling water that flows through the heat exchange battery.

Moreover, the air-conditioning unit according to the invention is easy to manage in terms of cleaning and maintenance in general, thanks to the fan support frames which can be opened in the manner of a leaf.

Moreover, with the invention an air-conditioning unit has been devised that can be combined in a modular fashion with one or more further, identical air-conditioning units, so as to define a cooling wall of the desired size.

In addition, with the invention an air-conditioning unit particularly for large computing centers has been devised, which can be made using conventional systems and technologies.

The invention, thus conceived, is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, all the details may be substituted by other, technically equivalent elements.

In practice the materials employed, provided they are compatible with the specific use, and the contingent dimensions and shapes, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

The content of Italian patent application no. PD2012A000198, the priority of which is claimed in the present application, is incorporated as a reference.

Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, such reference signs have been inserted for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

1. An air-conditioning unit (10) particularly for large computing centers, characterized in that it comprises a structural framework (11) which contains a heat exchange battery (12) which is extended along a substantially vertical or inclined arrangement so as to intercept a substantially horizontal air flow, a first front face (13) of said structural framework supporting a plurality of fans ( 14) which are designed to provide a substantially horizontal air flow (15) through said heat exchange battery (12) and toward an opposite second face (16) of said structural framework, which supports one or more grilles (17) for expelling the horizontal flow of treated air (18), air filtering panels (19) being interposed between said fans (14) and said heat exchange battery (12).

2. The air-conditioning unit according to claim 1 , characterized in that each fan ( 14) is mounted on a supporting frame (26), which is hinged like a leaf to the structural framework (11), each fan (14), by way of the corresponding supporting frame (26), being able to rotate between two configurations, a first, closed-leaf configuration, with the supporting frame (26) locked to the structural framework (11), ready for the normal operation of the air-conditioning unit (10), and a second, open-leaf configuration, for opening and inspection, i.e., allowing easy access to the interior of the framework (11 ) for cleaning or for removing the filtering panels (19) or for other technical interventions.

3. The air-conditioning unit according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said heat exchange battery ( 12) is inclined at an angle of between 10° and 20° with respect to a vertical reference plane.

4. The air-conditioning unit according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said exchange battery (12) is of the type with refrigerated water, with a tube bundle with high-efficiency vanes.

5. The air-conditioning unit according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said fans (14) are of the radial type and are arranged so that their rotation axis is horizontal.

6. The air-conditioning unit according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said fans (14) are of the electronically switched type.

7. The air-conditioning unit according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inflow and the outflow of the refrigeration water that circulates in the heat exchange battery (12) are managed by a single two- or three-way hydraulic valve (30), which is sized for such a flow-rate as to minimize load losses.

8. The air-conditioning unit according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is adapted to operate individually or modularly, i.e., interconnected to one or more identical additional units (10a, 10b, 10c).