HealthNow - 40 Century Hill Drive
Data Center CFD Modeling
Latham, NY
Project Highlights
The purpose of this modeling was to simulate and compare the hot aisle containment and cold row containment designs and determine if the temperatures are acceptable for one, both or neither of the designs.
Cold row containment utilizes first pass cold air directed into a pressurized interior room on the inlet side of the data racks. This design helps ensure that cold air is directed into the data racks.
Hot aisle containment utilizes first pass cold air directed into the general room on the inlet side of the data racks. This design helps ensure that hot air is directed into the CRAC units.
Challenges
The main challenge in this design was to create an acceptable environment given that the client did not want underfloor airside distribution. Above rack ducting, glassed off containment areas and supply side air was used in combination with two CRAC units.
Our Conclusion
Hot row containment provided lower rack inlet temperatures than cold row containment.
The cold row containment provided adequate cooling to the inlet side of the racks, but on the discharge side of the racks, higher temperatures were experienced. This could be an issue because not all of the equipment’s intake side is in the cold row. The hot aisle design provided conditioned intake air to all of the equipment, while allowing the hot air discharge from most of the racks to be contained and cycled out through the CRAC units.
