Effect of isolating cold aisles on rack inlet temperature

Data center facilities house large number of computer servers that dissipate high power. With rapid increase in the heat flux of such systems, their thermal management has become a challenge that needs to be addressed. In this paper effect of isolating cold aisle on rack inlet temperature is studied computationally. Two raised floor data center configurations with alternating hot and cold aisle arrangement are considered to present this study. Cold aisles are isolated in three ways viz. roofs, doors and roofs & doors. Significant reduction in rack inlet temperature is seen by isolating the cold aisles. Based on the study, recommendations are presented on the ways to isolate the cold aisle and achieve better thermal management without changing the room layout or cold air supply.