Project

Data Center CFD Analysis — Airflow & Thermal Management Simulation

A CFD study evaluating airflow distribution and thermal performance across a data center's cold-aisle containment, power room, and server rack enclosures using ANSYS Fluent.

Building Energy & Performance Engineering Thermal Systems & Product Development

Tools Used

ANSYS Fluent

Service Category

Building Energy & Performance Engineering · Thermal Systems & Product Development

Project Type

Data center facility — CFD airflow & thermal simulation

Case Study

Challenge

The facility's IT room, power room, and server rack enclosures needed airflow and thermal performance validated before equipment was finalized — confirming supply-air delivery to IT equipment, checking for recirculation or containment leakage at the cold-aisle boundary, and verifying hot-air discharge temperatures from the UPS and CRAH units.

Approach

GreenBIMSource built a 3D CFD model of the facility in ANSYS Fluent, exported from the architectural/mechanical AutoCAD layout to capture realistic boundary conditions, then ran steady-state airflow and temperature simulations across three key spaces: the raised-floor IT room with cold-aisle containment, the power/electrical room housing the CRAH units and UPS systems, and a server room with two enclosed rack cabinets.

Result

The simulations confirmed supply-air delivery to the IT equipment, mapped hot-air discharge temperatures at the UPS and CRAH outlets, and verified cold-aisle/hot-aisle separation — directly supporting cooling-capacity validation and rack-layout decisions for the facility's mechanical design.

Deliverables

ANSYS Fluent CFD model — IT room, power room, and server room
Velocity streamline visualization (multiple viewpoints)
Temperature contour mapping on equipment and room surfaces
Cooling-capacity and rack-layout recommendations

CFD Results

Facility AutoCAD floor plan with the raised-floor IT room highlighted — Room location highlighted on the facility's AutoCAD floor plan — raised-floor IT room with cold-aisle containment.

ANSYS Fluent velocity streamlines in a data center cold aisle, viewed from above — Velocity streamlines in the cold aisle, viewed from above the room.

ANSYS Fluent temperature contour on CRAH, UPS, and MDP equipment enclosures in a data center power room — Air temperature distribution on equipment enclosure surfaces — CRAH units, UPS systems, and the main distribution panel (MDP).

ANSYS Fluent temperature contour at CRAH unit discharge outlets in a data center power room — Temperature distribution at the CRAH unit discharge outlets.

ANSYS Fluent airflow streamlines in a data center hot aisle, top-down view with in-row cooling inlets indicated — Airflow streamlines in the hot aisle, top-down view, with in-row cooling inlets indicated.

ANSYS Fluent airflow streamlines inside two enclosed server rack cabinets — Airflow streamlines inside the two enclosed rack cabinets.

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