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Thermodynamics of information technology data centers
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by R. Schmidt
and M. Iyengar
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Information technology (IT) data centers consume a significant
amount of energy, and the rate of increase of this energy
consumption is growing faster than consumption in several other
major industries. Thus, government regulatory agencies,
academicians, and various industries have a heightened interest in
IT data centers. Because almost all the electrical energy consumed
in a data center is released in the form of heat, the energy required
for cooling the data center contributes to a major fraction of the
total data center energy consumption and is the focus of this study.
Traditional data center facilities utilize vapor-compression
refrigeration chiller plants, heat exchanger-based room air
conditioners, pumps, and evaporative cooling towers. In servers, air
cooling via heat sinks and fans is used for heat extraction and heat
rejection into the room. Holistic thermodynamic models are
developed using system and component physics to facilitate the
prediction of the energy consumption and heat-transfer
phenomenon in a data center. These models help technologists
understand the distribution of energy consumption for cooling
purposes among various components of a facility. Finally, we
provide a summary of the emerging trends in data center
thermodynamics.
 Full paper
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