Tag Archive Air to Air Indirect Cooling System

Indirect Cooling in Data Centers

Modern data centers are remarkably technologically complex, and keeping them running safely and efficiently requires continual close monitoring and management.

Maintaining the correct temperature is among the most important tasks faced by data center managers. Should the temperature and humidity rise to excessive levels inside the data center, condensation can start forming, damaging the machines within. This can cause massive damage and disruption, so it must be avoided at all costs. Fortunately, various technologies are on hand that can help keep data center temperatures at the right level.

There are numerous ways to cool a data center. Indirect air cooling uses external air, but by including an air-to-air heat exchanger, the outside air is kept in a separate loop, providing cooling without entering the server room.

Indirect cooling methods benefit by not contaminating the inside air with outdoor air pollutants and humidity. A heat exchanger keeps both airstreams separated while transferring the heat from the inside to the outside of the data center building. Consequently, the ambient and indoor air never mix.

Dry cooling is usually sufficient if the data center is located in a consistently low-temperature area, meaning no water is involved. However, by spraying water on the ambient air side of the heat exchanger, an evaporative effect is achieved, resulting in a lower indoor air temperature. This method is called indirect evaporative cooling (IEC).

Ideally suited for warm, dry climates, IEC provides excellent cooling potential with low operational- and first-cost. Ambient temperature reductions of 6-8 °C (10-15 °F) are typical in summer conditions. IEC provides up to 28% in energy savings compared to conventional free cooling and 52% to air-cooled Free Cooling alternatives.

Evaporative cooling requires a plate heat exchanger that balances high efficiency with low pressure drop, offers solid corrosion protection, and reliable water tightness. Cross-flow heat exchangers meet all these requirements while providing outstanding cooling capacity.

Our crossflow heat exchangers, especially with evaporative cooling technology, provide an efficient, low-cost, and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional cooling methods.

Indirect Cooling in Data Centers

Wind Generator Air to Air Indirect Cooling System

Wind power system background

Wind power is a kind of clean energy, with the characteristics of renewable, pollution-free, large energy and broad prospects. The development of clean energy is the strategic choice of all countries in the world.

However, if the air is directly fed into the generator cabin for cooling, the dust and corrosive gas will be brought into the cabin (Especially wind turbines installed offshore).

Indirect cooling system solution

The indirect cooling method can make the air from inside and outside perform indirect heat exchange to achieve the effect of cooling the wind generator cabin without bringing dust and corrosive gases from outside into the cabin.

The main component of the indirect cooling system is the BXB plate heat exchanger. In the BXB plate heat exchanger, two channels are separated by aluminum foil. The air in the cabin is closed circulation, and the outside air is open circulation. The two airs are doing heat exchange. The air in the cabin transfers heat to the outside air, which reduces the temperature in the wind generator. In addition, the air inside and outside the cabin will not be mixed due to the isolation of aluminum foil, which prevents dust and corrosive gases outside the cabin from being brought into the cabin.

Cooling effect analysis

Taking a 2MW unit as an example, the motor's heat generation is 70kW, The circulating air volume in the engine room is 7000m3/h and the temperature is 85℃. The outside circulating air volume is 14000m3/h and the temperature is 40℃. Through the BXB1000-1000 plate heat exchanger, the air temperature in the cabin can be reduced to 47℃ and the heat dissipation capacity can reach 72kW. The relevant parameters are as follows:

Wind Generator Air to Air Indirect Cooling System

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