FIELD

The present disclosure relates to cooling devices, and more particularly to an air handling system well suited for air cooling operations in data centers.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Present day evaporative free-cooling (“EFC”) devices are widely used in commercial applications for managing thermal conditions in rooms, for example in data center rooms, where relatively large amounts of air need to be removed from a room, cooled and resupplied to the room. The assignee of the present disclosure, Vertiv Corporation, is a leader in the manufacture and sale of EFC devices. EFC devices rely on the evaporation of water (i.e., evaporative cooling) on one side of the device to help cool a warm airflow on the other side of the device. Water is atomized and sprayed into the non-saturated ingested air. The evaporation of the water on the outdoor ambient air stream cools the outdoor air and at the same time cools ingested warm air from the indoor room by heat transfer plates. When the external environment provides cooler air, such as during the winter months in many geographic areas, the ambient air can be used in a free-cooling mode of operation to cool the ingested warm air from the indoor room directly (dry operation mode). In the free-cooling mode the EFC device essentially operates as an air-to-air heat exchanger to cool the ingested warm air. Thus, the EFC device provides a plurality of operating modes that can be selected based on the external environment as well as the degree of cooling required.

While present day EFC devices have proven to be effective and valuable in medium and large scale cooling applications, the construction of these devices leaves room for improvement from an efficiency standpoint. For example, with one present day EFC design, the heat exchanger is constructed from 36 cross flow cubes (4×3×3). This stack design is simple from a mechanical structure perspective, but comes with two limitations. First, the stack design increases the air flow path and thus increases the air side pressure drop and the fan power required to move the ingested air through the device. Moreover, any slight mismatch of plate location between cubes can potentially cause an unexpected higher pressure loss. Secondly, the extremely large cross flow design cube will produce significant temperature stratification on exiting air. This temperature stratification during winter operation can potentially generate ice between plates at the bottom corner of a cube, and in rare instances even break the plate structure and cause large amounts of air leakage. In addition, the heat transfer capacity per heat exchanger volume decreases dramatically with the stack design of cross flow cubes. Studies have shown that when the overall dimension of the heat exchanger increases three times (volume increase will be nine times), the capacity per volume will decrease by ⅔. This decrease in capacity drives the increase in the size and weight of the heat exchanger.

Accordingly, there is still a need to improve the volume effectiveness of a heat exchanger. Improving the volume effectiveness will allow the size and weight of the heat exchanger to be reduced. Improving the volume effectiveness will also help to reduce the air side pressure drop, reduce the fan power required to move ingested air through the heat exchanger, and reduce the risk of freezing at low ambient temperatures.

SUMMARY

This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

In one aspect the present disclosure relates to an air handling system. The system may comprise a fan supply section for intaking warm air from a room environment in which the air handling system is located. The system may also include first and second indirect evaporative cooling (IDEC) subsystems spaced apart from one another to form an air plenum and a hot aisle in communication with the air plenum. The air plenum and the hot aisle are both formed between the IDEC subsystems, with the air plenum being in airflow communication with the fan supply section for receiving the warm air. The IDEC subsystems receive the warm air and cool the warm air to produce first and second cooled airflows. The system also includes spaced apart cold aisles adjacent each of the IDEC subsystems for receiving and channeling the first and second cooled airflows output from the IDEC subsystems. The system also includes an evaporator section in flow communication with the cold aisles. The evaporator section receives the first and second cooled air flows and produces a final cooled airflow which is directed out from the air handling system back into the room environment.

In another aspect the present disclosure relates to an air handling system. The system has a fan supply section for intaking warm air from a room environment in which the air handling system is located. First and second condenser sections are also included along with first and second indirect evaporative cooling (IDEC) subsystems. The IDEC subsystems are positioned adjacent the fan supply section and elevationally below the first and second condenser sections. The first and second IDEC subsystems are spaced apart from one another to form an air plenum and a hot aisle therebetween. Both of the IDEC subsystems are in communication with the air plenum and the hot aisle. The air plenum and the hot aisle are in communication with one another, and the air plenum is in airflow communication with the fan supply section for receiving the warm air. The IDEC subsystems receive the warm air from the hot aisle and cool the warm air to produce first and second cooled airflows. Spaced apart cold aisles are included which are adjacent each of the IDEC subsystems and elevationally below the condenser. The cold aisles receive and channel the first and second cooled airflows output from the IDEC subsystems. An evaporator section is included which is disposed adjacent the IDEC subsystems and in flow communication with the cold aisles. The evaporator section receives the first and second cooled air flows and produces a final cooled airflow which is directed out from the air handling system back into the room environment.

In still another aspect the present disclosure relates to a method for forming an air handing unit. The method may comprise using a fan supply section to intake the warm air from the room environment in which the air handling system is located. The method may further include arranging first and second indirect evaporative cooling (IDEC) subsystems so as to be spaced apart from one another to form an air plenum and a hot aisle between the IDEC cooling subsystems. The method may further include placing the air plenum and the hot aisle in airflow communication with one another, and placing the hot air plenum in airflow communication with the fan supply section to receive the warm air ingested from the room environment by the fan supply section. The method may further include using the IDEC subsystems to receive the warm air flowing into the air plenum and to cool the warm air to produce first and second cooled airflows. The method may further include directing the first and second cooled airflows into spaced apart cold aisles adjacent each of the IDEC subsystems, and using an evaporator section in flow communication with the cold aisles to receive the first and second cooled air flows. The evaporator may be used to output a final cooled airflow back into the room environment.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

