Liquid-assisted air cooling of electronic racks with modular fan and heat exchangers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10136559-B2
Application number	US-201615187539-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 20, 2016
Priority date	Jun 20, 2016
Publication date	Nov 20, 2018
Grant date	Nov 20, 2018

Abstract

An electronic rack includes a stack of one or more information technology (IT) components disposed therein to form a frontend and a backend of the electronic rack. The electronic rack further includes a fan unit detachably mounted on the backend of the electronic rack. The fan unit generates an air flow flowing from the frontend to the backend past through an air space of the stack of IT components to reduce a temperature of the IT components. The electronic rack further includes a heat exchange unit detachably mounted on the backend of the electronic rack to exchange heat generated from the IT components. The heat exchange unit includes one or more tubes forming a heat exchange screen. The one or more tubes allow a cool liquid to travel therein to exchange the heat carried by the air flow past through the heat exchange screen.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic rack, comprising:
a stack of a plurality of information technology (IT) components disposed therein to form a frontend and a backend of the electronic rack;
a fan unit detachably mounted on the backend of the electronic rack, the fan unit generating an air flow flowing from the frontend to the backend past through an air space of the stack of the IT components to reduce a temperature of the IT components; and
a heat exchange unit detachably mounted on the backend of the electronic rack to exchange heat generated from the IT components, the heat exchange unit having one or more tubes forming a heat exchange screen, the one or more tubes allow a cool liquid to travel therein to exchange the heat carried by the air flow past through the heat exchange screen,
wherein the fan unit comprises a plurality of fan modules, and the heat exchange unit comprises a plurality of heat exchange modules, each of the heat exchange modules corresponding to one or more of the fan modules,
wherein each of the heat exchange modules is mounted on a heat exchange frame,
wherein each of the fan modules includes a pair of clamps to attach each of the fan modules onto one of the heat exchange modules by clamping onto the heat exchange frame to form a cooling module, the pair of clamps includes a first clamp disposed on a first side of each of the fan modules and a second clamp disposed on a second side of each of the fan modules opposite to the first side, the first clamp extends outwardly to clamp onto a first edge of the heat exchange frame, and the second clamp extends outwardly to clamp onto a second edge of the heat exchange frame opposite to the first edge,
wherein each of the fan modules further comprises one or more springs attached thereon and extended outwardly in an identical direction of the pair of clamps associated with each of the fan modules, and
wherein the cooling module is then mounted onto the backend of the electronic rack.

2. The electronic rack of claim 1 , wherein each of the fan modules comprises a plurality of fan devices forming an array of individual fans.

3. The electronic rack of claim 1 , further comprising a first liquid supply line and a second liquid supply line, wherein the first liquid supply line is to supply the cool liquid from a chiller system into the heat exchange unit and the second liquid supply line is to transmit warm liquid carrying the exchanged heat from the heat exchange unit back to the chiller system.

4. The electronic rack of claim 3 , wherein the chiller system provides the cool liquid to a plurality of electronic racks including the electronic rack.

5. The electronic rack of claim 3 , wherein each of the heat exchange modules comprises one of the tubes arranged as a part of the heat exchange screen, the one of the tubes including an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end is configured to be coupled to the first liquid supply line to intake the cool liquid, and the outlet end is configured to be coupled to the second liquid supply line to transmit the warm liquid back to the chiller system.

6. The electronic rack of claim 5 , wherein the inlet end of the one of the tubes is coupled to the first liquid supply line via a first tube connector, and the outlet end of the one of the tubes is coupled to the second liquid supply line via a second tube connector.

7. The electronic rack of claim 5 , wherein each of the first and second liquid supply lines includes a plurality of tube connectors, each of the tube connectors corresponding to the one of the heat exchange modules via a flexible tubing mechanism connecting the one of the heat exchange modules to the first and second liquid supply lines.

8. The electronic rack of claim 5 , wherein each of the heat exchange modules is associated with a heat exchange controller to individually control a liquid flow rate of each of the heat exchange modules.

9. The electronic rack of claim 5 , wherein each of the fan modules is associated with a fan controller to individually control an airflow rate of each of the fan modules.

10. The electronic rack of claim 1 , wherein the first clamp comprises a first U-shape latch configured to latch onto the first edge of the heat exchange frame, and the second clamp comprises a second U-shape latch configured to latch onto the second edge of the heat exchange frame.

11. The electronic rack of claim 10 , wherein the first U-shape latch having a first center portion and first end terminals extending from opposing sides of the first center portion, the first end terminals of the first U-shape latch are fixedly attached to the first side of each of the fan modules, and the first center portion of the first U-shape latch is configured to latch on the first edge of the heat exchange frame.

12. The electronic rack of claim 11 , wherein the second U-shape latch having a second center portion and second end terminals extending from opposing sides of the second center portion, the second end terminals of the second U-shape latch are fixedly attached to the second side of each of the fan modules, the second center portion of the second U-shape latch is configured to latch on the second edge of the heat exchange frame.

13. The electronic rack of claim 1 , wherein when each of the fan modules is attached to the heat exchange frame of a corresponding one of the heat exchange modules, the one or more springs of each of the fan modules is pressed against a surface of the corresponding one of the heat exchange modules to provide a separation force between each of the fan modules and the corresponding one of the heat exchange modules, while the pair of clamps of the fan module latches onto the corresponding one of the heat exchange modules to provide a closing force for secure locking of each of the fan modules with the heat exchange frame of the corresponding one of the heat exchange modules.

14. A data center system, comprising:
an array of electronic racks, each of the electronic racks including:
a stack of a plurality of information technology (IT) components disposed therein to form a frontend and a backend of the electronic rack,
a fan unit detachably mounted on the backend of the electronic rack, the fan unit generating an air flow flowing from the frontend to the backend past through an air space of the stack of the IT components to reduce a temperature of the IT components, and the fan unit comprises a plurality of fan modules, and
a heat exchange unit detachably mounted on the backend of the electronic rack to exchange heat generated from the IT components, the heat exchange unit comprises a plurality of heat exchange modules, each of the heat exchange modules corresponding to one of the fan modules, each of the heat exchange modules having one or more tubes forming a heat exchange screen, the one or more tubes allow a cool liquid to travel therein to exchange the heat carried by the air flow past through the heat exchange screen, and each of the heat exchange modules is mounted on a heat exchange frame,
wherein each of the fan modules includes a pair of clamps to attach each of the fan modules onto a respective one of the heat exchange modules by clamping onto the heat exchange frame to form a cooling module, the pair of clamps includes a first clamp disposed on a first side of each of the fan modules and a second clamp disposed on a second side of each of the fan modules opposite to the first side, the first clamp extends outwardly to clamp onto a first edge of the heat exchange frame, and the second clamp extends outwardly to clamp onto a second edge of the heat exchange frame opposite to the first edge,
where

Assignees

• Baidu Usa Llc

Inventors

• Heydari Ali

Classifications

• H05K7/20836

  Thermal management, e.g. server temperature control · CPC title

• H05K7/20781

  within cabinets for removing heat from server blades · CPC title

• H05K7/20736 Primary

  within cabinets for removing heat from server blades · CPC title

• H05K7/20172

  Fan mounting or fan specifications · CPC title