Airflow management plays an important role in ensuring secured and energy-efficient operation of data centres (DCs). Higher power density in DC is a risk resulting in serious deterioration of airflow distribution accompanied by the increasing cooling energy demand. In this study, the airflow optimization effects of rack baffles and server lower-side terminal baffles on the thermal environment are first validated by experiments. Then, the optimization mechanisms of the two baffle systems are analysed by numerical simulations. The results show that the optimization mechanisms of these two systems are different and the combination can contribute to better airflow distribution than separate baffles. The analysis is validated by altogether 12 cases in 3 scenarios where different combinations of the two systems were included. The results validated the combination of 8 cm × 45° server lower-side terminal baffles and 20 cm × 75° rack baffles can further improve the airflow distribution and relieve heat accumulation in the DC. The impacts of combined baffle system on the thermal environment in DC are analysed by experiments and simulations. The combined system superposes the airflow optimization functions of the two systems. The maximum temperature drop of the hotspot is 0.7 °C, which is 0.4 °C lower than that when only optimal rack baffles or server lower-side terminal baffles are installed.

中文翻译：

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数据中心机架式复合导流板热性能研究

气流管理在确保数据中心（DC）的安全和节能运行中起着重要作用。直流电中较高的功率密度可能会导致气流分布严重恶化，并伴随不断增加的冷却能量需求。在这项研究中，首先通过实验验证了机架挡板和服务器下侧终端挡板对热环境的气流优化效果。然后，通过数值模拟分析了两个挡板系统的优化机理。结果表明，这两个系统的优化机制是不同的，并且与单独的挡板相比，组合可以使气流分布更好。在包括两种系统不同组合的3种情况下，总共12例案例对分析进行了验证。结果证明，将8 cm×45°服务器下侧终端挡板和20 cm×75°机架挡板组合使用可以进一步改善气流分布并减轻DC中的热量积聚。通过实验和仿真分析了组合挡板系统对直流热环境的影响。组合的系统叠加了两个系统的气流优化功能。热点的最高温度降为0.7°C，比仅安装最佳机架挡板或服务器下侧终端挡板时的温度降幅低0.4°C。通过实验和仿真分析了组合挡板系统对直流热环境的影响。组合的系统叠加了两个系统的气流优化功能。热点的最高温度降为0.7°C，比仅安装最佳机架挡板或服务器下侧终端挡板时的温度降幅低0.4°C。通过实验和仿真分析了组合挡板系统对直流热环境的影响。组合的系统叠加了两个系统的气流优化功能。热点的最高温度降为0.7°C，比仅安装最佳机架挡板或服务器下侧终端挡板时的温度降幅低0.4°C。