ORCID Identifier(s)

0000-0003-2297-7413

Graduation Semester and Year

2016

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

First Advisor

Dereje Agonafer

Abstract

The Datacom facility which comprises rooms or closets used for communication, computers/servers or electronic equipment requires cooling unit which consumes 31% (23% HVAC cooling + 8% HVAC fans) of overall energy. The ASHRAE TC9.9 subcommittee, on Mission Critical Facilities, Data Centers, Technology Spaces, and Electronic Equipment, has suited the data center’s executives by permitting brief period outings of the environmental conditions outside the prescribed temperature-humidity range, into passable extents A1-A4. To comprehend the expanding server densities and the required cooling vitality costs, data center operators are falling back on cost cutting measures. For instance, they are not firmly controlling the temperature and humidity levels as per ASHRAE recommended envelope and as a rule turning to air side economizers with the related danger of bringing particulate and gaseous contaminants into their data centers. This thesis is a first attempt at addressing this challenge by studying the cumulative corrosion damage to Information Technology equipment in a real world data center. This study serves several purposes: including the correlation of equipment reliability to levels of airborne corrosive contaminants and the study of the degree of reliability degradation, when the equipment is operated, outside the recommended range, in the allowable temperature-humidity range in geographies with high levels of gaseous and particulate contamination. The study is taken place at the modular data center which uses air-side economizer located at Dallas Industrial area which falls under ISA 71.04-2013 severity level G2. Full submersion of servers in dielectric oils offers an opportunity for significant cooling energy savings and increased power densities for data centers. The enhanced thermal properties of oil can lead to considerable savings in both the upfront and operating costs over traditional air cooling methods. Despite recent findings showing the improved cooling efficiency and cost savings of oil as a cooling fluid, this technique is still not widely adopted. Many uncertainties and concerns persist regarding the non-thermal aspects of an oil immersion cooled data center. This study reviews the changes in physical and chemical properties of information technology (IT) equipment and compatibility of materials like polyvinyl chloride (PVC), printed circuit board (PCB) and switching devices with mineral oil to characterize the interconnect reliability of materials. The study proposes a testing methodology which can be adopted by all for evaluating the reliability of electronic packages and components when immersed in mineral oil. The study indicates the effect of mineral oil on IT equipment reliability and reliability enhancements for oil cooled data centers. This thesis also includes Cup Burner Experiment as per ISO 14520/NFPA 2001 standard to determine the minimum design concentration of fire extinguishing agent for the class B hazard of heavy mineral oil and the class C hazard of electronic equipment as a part of the safety concerns for oil cooled data centers.

Keywords

Air-side economizer, Contamination, Corrosion, Oil immersion cooling

Disciplines

Aerospace Engineering | Engineering | Mechanical Engineering

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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