Numerical and Experimental Analysis of Thermal Performance in Data Center under Different Power Distribution

Abstract

With the wide application of the Internet and smart systems, data centers (DCs) have become a hot spot of global concern. The energy saving for data centers is at the core of the related works. The thermal performance of a data center directly affects its total energy consumption, as cooling consumption accounts for nearly 50% of total energy consumption. Superior power distribution is a reliable method to improve the thermal performance of DCs. Therefore, analyzing the effects of different power distribution on thermal performance is a challenge for DCs. This paper analyzes the thermal performance numerically and experimentally in DCs with different power distribution. First, it uses Fluent simulate the temperature distribution and flow field distribution in the room, taking the cloud computing room as the research object. Then, it summarizes a formula based on the computing power distribution in a certain range by the numerical and experimental analysis. Finally, it calculates an optimal cooling power by analyzing the cooling power distribution. The results shows that it reduces the maximum temperature difference between the highest temperature of the cabinet from 5-7k to within 1.2k. In addition, the cooling energy consumption is reduced by more than 5%.