Temperature monitoring and CFD analysis of data centre

This paper presents a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of airflow, temperature and pressure distribution of the data centre located at CQUniversity, Rockhampton Campus, Australia. The data centre has been modelled and analyzed using CFD code ‘Fluent’ to study the effectiveness of thermal cooling within the data centre. CoolSim- software was used for designing a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows data centre components to be positioned, sized and characterized in a plan view. The CFD model based on thermal mass and energy balance principles was used to simulate the data centre for predicting the energy consumption, pressure and temperature in a data centre. The effect of various data center parameters on the temperature distribution and the flow field was investigated. The parametric and optimization techniques were used to determine the best possible layout for cooling strategies. The simulation results predict the high temperature zone within the computer rack in the data centre, and provide a detailed 3D analysis of the movement of cold air through the data centre. The results also provide the performance analysis of computer room air conditionings (CRACs) with detailed rack-by-rack inlet and exit temperatures and 3D thermal mapping of the data centre and racks highlighting trouble areas. The model developed is capable of evaluating the airflow rates and thermal loads for optimizing and designing a new or existing data centre.