This disclosure relates generally to the technical fields of cooling fluids, and in one example embodiment, this disclosure relates to an apparatus for transferring heat between two coolant loops.
The present invention relates to the use of fluids to cool electronic equipment. Such equipment generally includes computers, communications equipment, and data storage devices. Such equipment is typically housed within an equipment rack, the standard 19-inch rack being commonly employed. Fluids distributed to electronic equipment are typically used as a coolant for removing heat generated by the electronic circuits. The most commonly used coolant is air, but liquid coolants such as water are also employed, especially in applications where high amounts of heat are being generated in a compact space (high heat density). There is a movement in the computing industry toward increasing cooling system efficiency by close-coupling of liquid coolants, bringing the liquid coolant as close as possible to the source of the heat.
As liquid coolants are brought into proximity of electronic equipment, it is often desirable to attain fluid isolation between the primary source of coolant (facilities coolant) and the coolant being delivered to the equipment. This isolation is achieved by a heat exchanger, where the heat conducted by an equipment coolant loop is transferred to a facilities coolant loop. For equipment housed in racks, the heat exchanger is typically located outside the rack, and is sized large enough to facilitate cooling of many articles of equipment in multiple racks. Coolant is moved through the facilities coolant loop by means of remotely located facilities pumping equipment, and the heat exchanger unit provides a pump for moving fluid through the equipment coolant loop. The heat exchanger employs an electric motor which in addition to providing motive force to drive the pump, draws some amount of electrical power, generates some amount of heat, and has the potential of creating electromagnetic radiation, potentially interfering with electronic equipment. Servicing heat exchangers often requires specialized knowledge and tools related to fluid handling systems.
The current invention seeks to improve the suitability of heat exchangers for operation in proximity to electronic equipment by:
1. eliminating heat generated by electric motors
2. eliminating electromagnetic interference from motors
3. providing failsafe redundancy for heat exchanger systems
4. providing scalability for heat exchanger systems
5. enhancing serviceability of heat exchanger systems
The first two objectives are achieved by removing the electric motor usually associated with a heat exchanger pumping system, and replacing it with a turbine. The turbine is driven by the facilities coolant loop, and the turbine runner is mechanically coupled to the pump impeller on the equipment coolant loop. The remaining objectives are attained by integrating the majority of heat exchanger system components into a unified body, making the system compact and easily adapted to the standard 19-inch rack mounting system. The compact form of the module makes it possible to mount multiple heat exchangers into a rack, whereby the number included can be scaled to the heat load of the rack, plus any additional units desired to provide system redundancy. Rack-mounted heat exchangers can be quickly and easily swapped out of the rack for outside servicing by qualified personnel.
The methods, systems, and apparatuses disclosed herein may be implemented in any means for achieving various aspects of the present disclosure. Other features will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.
Example embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:
A preferred embodiment of the invention would be a heat exchanger unit for facilitating the removal of heat from an electronic equipment rack. The heat exchanger mounts into the equipment rack along with the equipment being cooled. The heat exchanger occupies a 2U rack space, and multiple heat exchanger units may be mounted in the rack, providing scalability and cooling system redundancy.
The invention has been described for use with liquid coolants on both coolant loops, but the invention may be adapted for alternate combinations of coolants. For example, the equipment coolant loop could employ air as the coolant, in which case the pump impeller would be replaced with fan blades. Other variations such as the use of a two-phase coolant may be exercised by those skilled in the art.
While the invention has been described in detail herein in accordance with certain preferred embodiments thereof, many modifications and changes therein may be effected by those skilled in the art. For example, methods and operations described herein can be in different sequences than the exemplary ones described herein, e.g., in a different order. Thus, one or more additional new operations may be inserted within the existing operations or one or more operations may be abbreviated or eliminated, according to a given application, so long as substantially the same function, way and result is obtained. Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
This application claims priority to: 1) U.S. provisional application, Ser. No. 61/356,016, filed Jun. 17, 2010, which application(s) are all also incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61356016 | Jun 2010 | US |