Software workshops ease heat problems

Flomerics' workshops will explain how to simulate the thermal performance of an existing or planned data centre configuration using templates and libraries.

Flomerics is holding regular workshops on how to optimise the thermal performance of data centres using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation software.

The workshops will explain how to simulate the thermal performance of an existing or planned data centre configuration using templates and libraries that enable users to simply drag and drop building blocks into the model.

The three-day seminar includes two days of training while the third day is devoted to helping attendees model their own data centre.

"This new workshop will help architects, engineers and facility owners optimise cooling performance and minimise energy costs for both new and existing data centres", said Paul Rose, Principle Consultant Engineer with Flomerics.

"Interested companies can contact us and we will schedule a workshop specially for them at their convenience".

The first two days of the workshop will explain how to model data centres.

It will explain how to use templates that provide the basic structure of the layout, how to create the room layout, including walls and raised floor.

It will also cover adding floor grills from a library, adding computer room air conditioners (CRACs) either in the data centre or in a utility room and modelling cabinets containing computing and communications equipment.

Finally the course will explain how to solve the model and generate visual and numeric results, as well as how to make improvements in the design of the data centre to optimise cooling and minimise energy consumption.

The rapid increase in power density of today's computing and communications equipment has strained traditional data centre design methods to their limits.

The traditional approach involves calculating the bulk cooling and airflow requirements in the data centre and then providing a cooling system that can manage the load with plenty of room to spare.

Today, however, power densities and overall power consumption have risen to levels where this approach is no longer practical.

It has become too expensive simply to throw more computer room air conditioners (CRACs) at the problem.

Data centre designers now need to understand the local 3D airflow within the room to allocate the existing cooling capacity more efficiently and ensure that every piece of equipment is properly cooled and redundancy requirements are met.

Flovent CFD software provides a solution to this problem.

CFD predicts and graphically illustrates the complete 3D airflow patterns as well as temperature and pressure distributions within the data centre.

This makes it possible to go beyond bulk measurements and make the most efficient use of the cooling capacity by ensuring cool air is directed exactly where it is needed.

The user has the opportunity to evaluate changes in the cooling system layout or equipment configuration and optimise the design of the data centre for each change.

This results in substantially lower initial costs and operating costs for the cooling system while ensuring reliable operation of the data centre.

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