CFD Modeling of Pressure Drop through an OCP Server for Data Center Applications

Aras Dogan, Sibel Yilmaz, Mustafa Kuzay, Cagatay Yilmaz and Ender Demirel ()
Additional contact information
Aras Dogan: Design and Simulation Technologies, Inc., 26480 Eskisehir, Turkey
Sibel Yilmaz: Design and Simulation Technologies, Inc., 26480 Eskisehir, Turkey
Mustafa Kuzay: Design and Simulation Technologies, Inc., 26480 Eskisehir, Turkey
Cagatay Yilmaz: Lande Industrial Metal Products Inc. Co., Organized Industrial Zone, 20th Street, No: 14, 26110 Eskisehir, Turkey
Ender Demirel: Design and Simulation Technologies, Inc., 26480 Eskisehir, Turkey

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 17, 1-17

Abstract: Modeling IT equipment is of critical importance for the simulations of flow and thermal structures in air cooled data centers. Turbulent flow undergoes a significant pressure drop through the server due to the energy losses originating from the internal components. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a fast and an accurate method for the calculation of pressure losses inside server components for data center applications. In this study, high resolution numerical simulations were performed on an OCP (Open Compute Project) server under various inlet flow rates for inactive and active conditions. Meanwhile, one key challenge of modeling complete geometry of the server results from using an intense mesh even for a single server. To address this challenge, the server was modeled as a porous zone to mimic inertia and viscous resistance in a realistic way. Comparison of the results of porous and complete models showed that the proposed model could calculate pressure drop accurately even when the number of cells in the server was reduced to 0.3% of the complete model. Porosity coefficients were determined from the numerical simulations conducted in a broad range of air discharge for both active and inactive conditions. Errors in the calculation of pressure drop may result in a significant deviation in the prediction of the temperature rise over the server. Thus, the present model can effectively be used for the fast and accurate prediction of pressure drop inside a server component rather than solving internal flow on an intense mesh, while simulating airflow inside an air-cooled data center, which is crucial for the design safety of data centers. Finally, calculated porosity coefficients can be used for the prediction of the pressure drop in a server, while designing data centers based on numerical simulations.

Keywords: OCP server; CFD; porosity modeling; OpenFoam; data center (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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