Impact of a novel emergency cooling system on data center environment under long-term power failure

Nuclear power plant data centers (NPPDCs) are in charge of regulating nuclear reactors. For nuclear safety, the cooling system should provide a stable operating environment for the NPPDC. A novel emergency cooling system with ultralow-temperature heat exchangers could enhance interior radiant cooling. Liquid nitrogen (LN₂) flows into the indoor finned tube heat exchangers (FTHEs) under the pressure of the storage tank. In this paper, the impacts of the FTHE layout and connection and the LN₂ flow rate on server cooling and interior temperature distribution were explored through experiments. The results indicated that the position and quantity of the LN₂ inflow section had a major impact on the cooling effect of the cabinet. Changing the LN₂ flow rate can adjust the cooling. A massive flow of LN₂ was suitable for rapid emergency cooling while degrading the temperature stratification. In parallel, the FHTEs provided the best cooling effect and temperature uniformity. The Parallel 1 scheme cooled the interior of the cabinet 20% faster than the Parallel 2 scheme, and it had 11.3% less temperature stratification near the cabinet (Line 2).