Monday, January 25, 2016: 9:45 AM-10:45 AM
Fundamentals and Applications
Chair:
Chuck Curlin, P.E., Shultz Engineering Group
Data center design has become more and more energy conscious over the recent years. What has been the impact to the airflow within the raised floor with regard to system performance (space, rack, fans, coils and more)? CFD models and actual field data show the predictability of airflow performance. In addition, the business case for sustainable data centers and what should be in that life cycle assessment are presented.
1 Measurement of Perforated Tile Airflow in Data Centers (OR-16-007)
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James W. VanGilder, P.E., Schneider Electric |
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Zachary Pardey, Northeastern University |
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Christopher M. Healey, Ph.D., Schneider Electric |
The cooling performance of a raised-floor data center is dominated by its ability to deliver adequate cooling airflow to IT equipment through perforated tiles. Although many studies have focused on the design of plenum systems and the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics to predict tile airflow rates, very little has been published regarding accurately measuring airflows in existing facilities. We investigate the ability of a commercially-available passive flow hood to accurately measure data center tile airflow.
2 The Business Case for Sustainability in Data Centers (OR-16-008)
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Robert Tozer, Ph.D., Operational Intelligence Ltd. |
Energy efficiency has become increasing important in the data center industry, driven by rising energy prices, environmental legislation, corporate social responsibility pressures and competition. Energy efficiency is part of sustainability, however consideration of other aspects such as the embodied environmental impact of materials, components and systems are needed for a holistic view of sustainability. Life cycle assessment areas of protection may be defined as climate change, ecosystem quality, human health and resource depletion. The industry is starting to become more aware of these issues and developing metrics to quantify performance. This paper describes key data center sustainability issues and proposes how the industry should approach its environmental responsibilities in order to capitalize on the business opportunity as well as demonstrating sustainable leadership.