초록 ▼

Apparatus and method are provided for facilitating cooling of an electronics rack employing a heat exchange assembly mounted to an outlet door cover hingedly affixed to an air outlet side of the rack. The heat exchange assembly includes a support frame, an air-to-liquid heat exchanger, and first and

Apparatus and method are provided for facilitating cooling of an electronics rack employing a heat exchange assembly mounted to an outlet door cover hingedly affixed to an air outlet side of the rack. The heat exchange assembly includes a support frame, an air-to-liquid heat exchanger, and first and second perforated planar surfaces covering first and second main sides, respectively, of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is supported by the support frame and includes inlet and outlet plenums disposed adjacent to the edge of the outlet door cover hingedly mounted to the rack. Each plenum is in fluid communication with a respective connect coupling, and the heat exchanger further includes multiple horizontally-oriented heat exchange tube sections each having serpentine cooling channel with an inlet and an outlet coupled to the inlet plenum and outlet plenum, respectively. Fins extend from the heat exchange tube sections.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. An apparatus for facilitating cooling of an electronics rack, the apparatus comprising: a heat exchange assembly configured to mount to an outlet door cover for an electronics rack, wherein air moves through the electronics rack from an air inlet side to an air outlet side th

What is claimed is: 1. An apparatus for facilitating cooling of an electronics rack, the apparatus comprising: a heat exchange assembly configured to mount to an outlet door cover for an electronics rack, wherein air moves through the electronics rack from an air inlet side to an air outlet side thereof and the outlet door cover is hingedly mounted along one edge to the electronics rack at the air outlet side of the electronics rack, and wherein the heat exchange assembly comprises: a support frame for facilitating mounting of the heat exchange assembly to the outlet door cover, wherein when mounted to the outlet door cover, the heat exchange assembly covers at least a portion of an opening in the outlet door cover; an air-to-liquid heat exchanger supported by the support frame, the air-to-liquid heat exchanger having an inlet plenum and an outlet plenum disposed adjacent to the edge of the outlet door cover hingedly mounted to the electronics rack when the heat exchange assembly is mounted to the outlet door cover, wherein the inlet plenum and the outlet plenum are each in fluid communication with a respective connect coupling of the heat exchange assembly, the respective connect couplings residing adjacent to the edge of the outlet door cover hingedly mounted to the electronics rack when the heat exchange assembly is mounted to the outlet door cover, and wherein the air-to-liquid heat exchanger further comprises at least one heat exchange tube section, each heat exchange tube section comprising a coolant channel having an inlet and an outlet, each coolant channel inlet being coupled to the inlet plenum and each coolant channel outlet being coupled to the outlet plenum, and wherein the air-to-liquid heat exchanger further comprises a plurality of fins extending from the at least one heat exchange tube section; at least one of a first perforated surface covering a first main side of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger or a second perforated surface covering a second main side of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger, each perforated surface containing air flow openings to allow inlet-to-outlet air flow through the electronics rack to pass through the heat exchange assembly; and wherein the air-to-liquid heat exchanger is configured and positioned to cool air exhausting from the electronics rack into a data center containing the electronics rack, and thereby reduce demand on one or more data center air-conditioning units. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each heat exchange tube section comprises a horizontally extending, serpentine coolant channel. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the heat exchange assembly fixedly mounts to the outlet door cover to reside within and pivot therewith, and cover the opening in the outlet door cover, and wherein the first perforated surface and second perforated surface comprise a first perforated metal plate and a second perforated metal plate, respectively. 4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the electronics rack further comprises multiple electronics drawers, and wherein the air-to-liquid heat exchanger comprises multiple heat exchange tube sections, each heat exchange tube section aligning to a respective electronics drawer of the multiple electronics drawers when the heat exchange assembly is mounted to the outlet door cover. 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each heat exchange tube section comprises at least one tube having a first diameter, and wherein the inlet plenum and the outlet plenum each comprise a tube having a second diameter, wherein the second diameter is greater than the first diameter, and wherein the inlet plenum and outlet plenum each extend vertically to an upper portion of the outlet door, and adjacent to the edge of the outlet door cover hingedly mounted to the electronics rack, and wherein inlet-to-outlet air flow through the electronics rack is horizontal. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the connect couplings of the heat exchange assembly are disposed within the outlet door cover when the heat exchange assembly is mounted to the outlet door cover, and are below the air-to-liquid heat exchanger of the heat exchange assembly. 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein multiple characteristics of the at least one heat exchange tube section, the plurality of fins extending from the at least one heat exchange tube section, and the first and second perforated surfaces are configured to balance air flow impedance through the heat exchange assembly with air-to-liquid heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchange assembly, and wherein the electronics rack further comprises at least one existing air moving device for moving air from the air inlet side to the air outlet side thereof and wherein air flow impedance through the heat exchange assembly is controlled so that inlet-to-outlet air flows through the heat exchange assembly when mounted to the outlet door cover, and inlet-to-outlet air flow is operationally sufficient, employing the at least one existing air moving device of the electronics rack. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the outlet door cover comprises a modified outlet door cover, and the electronics rack further comprises an existing outlet door cover lacking the heat exchange assembly, the modified door cover with the heat exchange assembly mounted thereto being configured to replace the existing outlet door cover of the electronics rack, and wherein the multiple characteristics of the at least one heat exchange tube section, the plurality of fins extending from the at least one heat exchange tube section, and the first and second perforated surfaces, are configured so that air flow impedance through the modified outlet door cover with the heat exchange assembly mounted thereto is less than or equal to air flow impedance through the existing outlet door cover. 9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the multiple characteristics comprise at least some of fin density, fin thickness, and fin depth in the direction of air flow, number and diameter of tubes of the at least one heat exchange tube section, and size, configuration and placement of air flow openings in the first and second perforated surfaces, and wherein configuring the multiple characteristics to balance air flow impedance though the heat exchange assembly with air-to-liquid heat exchange effectiveness of the heat exchange assembly results in reduced heat exchange effectiveness of the heat exchange assembly. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inlet plenum and the outlet plenum of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger are disposed along one side of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger, and wherein the heat exchange assembly further comprises a first air bleed line and a second air bleed line, the first and second air bleed lines being coupled to the inlet and outlet plenums, respectively, and having ends extending to an opposite side of the air-to-liquid heat exchange, wherein when the heat exchange assembly is mounted to the outlet door cover and the outlet door cover is pivoted open, the ends of the first and second air bleed lines extend away from electronics of the electronics racks. 11. A cooled electronics system comprising: an electronics rack, the electronics rack having: an air inlet side and an air outlet side, the air inlet and air outlet sides respectively enabling ingress and egress of external air; at least one electronics drawer; at least one air moving device, the at least one air moving device being capable of causing external air to flow from the air inlet side of the electronics rack, across the at least one electronics drawer to the air outlet side of the electronics rack; an outlet door cover hingedly mounted along one edge to the electronics rack at the air outlet side of the electronics rack, the outlet door cover having an opening therein; a heat exchange assembly mounted to the outlet door cover of the electronics rack to reside within the opening in the outlet door cover, the heat exchange assembly comprising: a support frame mounting the heat exchange assembly to the outlet door cover; an air-to-liquid heat exchanger supported by the support frame, the air-to-liquid heat exchanger having an inlet plenum and an outlet plenum disposed adjacent to the edge of the outlet door cover hingedly mounted to the electronics rack, wherein the inlet plenum and the outlet plenum are each in fluid communication with a respective connect coupling of the heat exchange assembly, the respective connect couplings residing adjacent to the edge of the outlet door cover hingedly mounted to the electronics rack, and wherein the air-to-liquid heat exchanger further comprises at least one heat exchange tube section, each heat exchange tube section comprising a serpentine coolant channel having an inlet and an outlet, each coolant channel inlet being coupled to the inlet plenum and each coolant channel outlet being coupled to the outlet plenum, and wherein the air-to-liquid heat exchanger further comprises a plurality of fins extending from the at least one heat exchange tube section; at least one of a first perforated surface covering a first main side of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger or a second perforated surface covering a second main side of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger, each perforated surface containing air flow openings to allow inlet-to-outlet air flow through the electronics rack to pass through the heat exchange assembly when the outlet door cover is closed to the electronics rack; and wherein the air-to-liquid heat exchanger is configured and positioned to cool air exhausting from the electronics rack into a data center containing the electronics rack, and thereby reduce demand on one or more data center air-conditioning units. 12. The cooled electronics system of claim 11, wherein the heat exchange assembly is mounted to the outlet door cover to reside within and pivot with the outlet door cover, and wherein the first perforated surface and the second perforated surface comprise a first perforated metal plate and a second perforated metal plate, respectively. 13. The cooled electronics system of claim 11, wherein the electronics rack further comprises multiple electronics drawers, and wherein the air-to-liquid heat exchanger comprises multiple heat exchange tube sections, each heat exchange tube section aligning to a respective electronics drawer of the multiple electronics drawers when the outlet door cover is closed to the electronics rack. 14. The cooled electronics system of claim 11, wherein each heat exchange tube section comprises at least one tube having a first diameter, and wherein the inlet plenum and the outlet plenum of the heat exchange assembly each comprise a tube having a second diameter, wherein the second diameter is greater than the first diameter, and wherein the inlet plenum and outlet plenum each extend vertically to an upper portion of the outlet door, and adjacent to the edge of the outlet door cover hingedly mounted to the electronics rack, and wherein inlet-to-outlet air flow through the electronics rack is horizontal. 15. The cooled electronics system of claim 14, wherein the connect couplings are quick connect couplings disposed within the outlet door cover and positioned below the air-to-liquid heat exchanger of the heat exchange assembly. 16. The cooled electronics system of claim 11, wherein multiple characteristics of the at least one heat exchange tube section, the plurality of fins extending from the at least one heat exchange tube section, and the first and second perforated surfaces are configured to balance air flow impedance through the heat exchange assembly with air-to-liquid heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchange assembly, and wherein the air flow impedance through the heat exchange assembly is controlled so that inlet-to-outlet air flows through the heat exchange assembly, and inlet-to-outlet air flow is operationally sufficiently, employing the at least one air moving device of the electronics rack. 17. The cooled electronics system of claim 16, wherein the multiple characteristics comprise at least some of fin density, fin thickness, and fin depth in the direction of air flow, number and diameter of tubes in the at least one heat exchange tube section, and size, configuration and placement of openings in the first and second perforated surfaces, and wherein configuring the multiple characteristics to balance air flow impedance through the heat exchange assembly with air-to-liquid heat exchange effectiveness of the heat exchange assembly results in reduced heat exchange effectiveness of the heat exchange assembly. 18. A method for facilitating cooling of an electronics rack, the method comprising: providing a heat exchange assembly configured to mount to an outlet door cover for an electronics rack, wherein air moves through the electronics rack from an air inlet side to an air outlet side thereof and the outlet door cover is hingedly mounted along one edge to the electronics rack at the air outlet side of the electronics rack, and wherein the heat exchange assembly comprises: a support frame facilitating mounting of the heat exchange assembly to the outlet door cover; an air-to-liquid heat exchanger supported by the support frame, the air-to-liquid heat exchanger having an inlet plenum and an outlet plenum disposed adjacent to the edge of the outlet door cover hingedly mounted to the electronics rack when the heat exchange assembly is mounted to the outlet door cover, wherein the inlet plenum and the outlet plenum are each in fluid communication with a respective connect coupling of the heat exchange assembly, the respective connect couplings residing adjacent to the edge of the outlet door cover hingedly mounted to the electronics rack when the heat exchange assembly is mounted to the outlet door cover, and wherein the air-to-liquid heat exchanger further comprises at least one heat exchange tube section, each heat exchange tube section comprising a serpentine coolant channel having an inlet and an outlet, each coolant channel inlet being coupled to the inlet plenum and each coolant channel outlet being coupled to the outlet plenum, and wherein the air-to-liquid heat exchanger further comprises a plurality of fins extending from the at least one heat exchange tube section; at least one of a first perforated surface covering a first main side of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger or a second perforated surface covering a second main side of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger, each perforated surface containing air flow openings to allow inlet-to-outlet air flow through the electronics rack to pass through the heat exchange assembly; mounting the heat exchange assembly to the outlet door cover by affixing the support frame to the outlet door cover, wherein the heat exchange assembly resides within the opening in the outlet door cover; and wherein when in operation, the air-to-liquid heat exchanger cools air exhausting from the electronics rack into a data center containing the electronics rack, and thereby reduces demand on one or more data center air-conditioning units. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the providing includes configuring multiple characteristics of the at least one heat exchange tube section, the plurality of fins extending from the at least one heat exchange tube section and the first and second perforated surfaces to balance air flow impedance through the heat exchange assembly with air-to-liquid heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchange assembly, and wherein the electronics rack further comprises at least one existing air moving device for moving air from the air inlet side to the air outlet side thereof and wherein air flow impedance through the heat exchange assembly is controlled so that inlet-to-outlet air flows through the heat exchange assembly, and inlet-to-outlet air flow is operationally sufficient, employing the at least one existing air moving device of the electronics rack. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the outlet door cover comprises a modified outlet door cover for the electronics rack, and the electronics rack further comprises an existing outlet door cover, and wherein the method further comprises mounting the modified outlet door cover with the heat exchange assembly mounted thereto to the electronics rack to replace the existing outlet door cover, and wherein the multiple characteristics of the at least one heat exchange tube section, the plurality of fins extending from the at least one heat exchange tube section, and the first and second perforated surfaces are configured so that air flow impedance through the modified outlet door cover with the heat exchange assembly mounted thereto is less than or equal to air flow impedance through the existing outlet door cover. 21. An apparatus for facilitating cooling of an electronics rack, the apparatus comprising: a heat exchange assembly configured to mount to an air outlet side of an electronics rack, wherein air moves through the electronics rack from an air inlet side to the air outlet side thereof, and wherein the heat exchange assembly comprises: a support frame configured to pivotally couple to the electronics rack at the air outlet side thereof, wherein when pivotally coupled to the electronics rack, and in an operative position, the support frame at least partially overlies the air outlet side of the electronics rack; an air-to-liquid heat exchanger supported by the support frame, the air-to-liquid heat exchanger having an inlet plenum and an outlet plenum, wherein the inlet plenum and the outlet plenum are each in fluid communication with a respective connect coupling of the heat exchange assembly, the respective connect couplings residing adjacent to an edge of the support frame pivotally coupled to the electronics rack, and wherein the air-to-liquid heat exchanger further comprises at least one heat exchange tube section, each heat exchange tube section comprising a coolant channel having an inlet and an outlet, each coolant channel inlet being coupled to the inlet plenum, and each coolant channel outlet being coupled to the outlet plenum; and wherein the air-to-liquid heat exchanger of the heat exchange assembly is configured to cool air egressing from the air outlet side of the electronics rack when the support frame is in the operative position adjacent to the air outlet side of the electronics rack, the air outlet side of the electronics rack being a back side of the electronics rack, thereby reducing demand on one or more air-conditioning units of a data center containing the electronics rack. 22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the inlet plenum and the outlet plenum are disposed adjacent to the edge of the support frame configured to pivotally couple to the electronics rack. 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the inlet plenum and the outlet plenum extend vertically to an upper portion of the support frame, along the edge of the support frame configured to pivotally couple to the electronics rack. 24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the heat exchange assembly further comprises at least one of a first perforated surface covering a first main side of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger or a second perforated surface covering a second main side of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger, each perforated surface containing air flow openings sized and configured to allow inlet-to-outlet air flow through the electronics rack to pass through the heat exchange assembly. 25. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein multiple characteristics of the air-to-liquid heat exchanger are configured to balance air flow impedance through the heat exchange assembly with air-to-liquid heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchange assembly, and wherein configuring the multiple characteristics to balance air flow impedance through the heat exchange assembly with air-to-liquid heat exchange effectiveness of the heat exchange assembly results in further reduced heat exchange effectiveness of the heat exchange assembly below a theoretical maximum heat exchange effectiveness thereof. 26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein heat exchange effectiveness is less than 60% of the theoretical maximum heat exchange effectiveness.