Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the performance of a data center and thermal management by using phase change material (PCM). Numerical studies were conducted for two dimensional model of data center and installation of PCM at different locations.

Design/methodology/approach

Finite volume method was used for the unsteady problem, while impacts of air velocity and PCM location on the flow field, thermal pattern variations and phase change dynamics were evaluated. Three different locations of the PCM were considered while air velocity was also varied during the simulation. Thermal field variations and cooling performance of the system for different PCM location scenarios were compared.

Findings

It was observed that the installation of the PCM has significant impacts on the vortex formation, thermal field variation within the system and its performance. The left, right and top wall installation of the PCM changed the thermal patterns near the heat cell of the data centre. The phase change process is fast for the upper wall installation of the PCM, while the discrepancy of the melt fraction dynamics between different air flow at this position is minimum. The case where PCM placed in the upper wall at the highest air velocity is the best configuration in terms of heat storage. The utilization of PCM and changing its locations provide an excellent tool for thermal management and cooling performance of data centre.

Originality/value

Results of this study can be used for initial design and optimization of cooling systems for thermal management of data centers while the importance of the high-performance computing becomes very crucial for the advanced simulations in different technological applications.

中文翻译：

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相变材料数据中心热管理数值分析

目的

本文的目的是分析使用相变材料 (PCM) 的数据中心和热管理的性能。对数据中心的二维模型和不同位置的 PCM 安装进行了数值研究。

设计/方法/方法

有限体积法用于非定常问题，同时评估了空气速度和 PCM 位置对流场、热模式变化和相变动力学的影响。在模拟过程中，考虑了 PCM 的三个不同位置，同时空气速度也发生了变化。比较了不同 PCM 位置场景下系统的热场变化和冷却性能。

发现

据观察，PCM 的安装对涡流的形成、系统内的热场变化及其性能有显着影响。PCM 的左、右和顶壁安装改变了数据中心热单元附近的热模式。PCM上壁安装的相变过程较快，而该位置不同气流之间的熔体分数动力学差异最小。PCM以最高空气速度放置在上壁的情况是储热方面的最佳配置。PCM 的使用和改变它的位置为数据中心的热管理和冷却性能提供了一个极好的工具。

原创性/价值

这项研究的结果可用于数据中心热管理冷却系统的初始设计和优化，而高性能计算的重要性对于不同技术应用中的高级模拟变得非常重要。