Mentor Graphics, a provider of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, offers a webinar describing how the use of one of its CFD packages can improve data center cooling efficiency. The company says with its CFD system FloVent, “the layout and design of the data center can be optimized, enabling the reduction of cooling costs.”
In an article we published in August 2012, Mentor Graphics application engineering managers Paul Rose and Andy Manning explained, “You can use CFD software to create a 3D-scale model of the data center, study the 3D airflow, heat dissipation, and temperature, test various scenarios without damaging equipment, and obtain the best balance between power requirements and equipment safety. This allows you to achieve better reliability and increased efficiency, a more consistent environment, a lower cooling requirement, and a greener, more sustainable design.”
The authors added that with a CFD tool, designers “can very rapidly build an initial model of the room with predefined sets of units; you can access CRAC layouts, floor void depths, and cabinet arrangements … You can also take advantage of functionality that allows the creation of common data center elements such as CRAC units, racks, etc., using parametric input such as flow rate and cooling capacity.”
The webinar on Mentor’s website goes into specifics about the practical uses of FloVent in data center design. You can access the webinar here.
