High-Performance Computing Data Center Warm-Water Liquid Cooling

NLR's High-Performance Computing (HPC) Data Center is liquid-cooled for energy efficiency, taking advantage of the fact that liquid has approximately 1,000 times the cooling capacity of air.

Liquid cooling technologies allow for effective reuse of heat rejected by the computing equipment. Rack power densities of 60 kW per rack or more can be achieved using warm-water liquid cooling, which requires less floor space.

NLR's HPC Data Center is cooled without mechanical refrigeration, as indirect evaporative cooling takes advantage of NLR's semi-arid climate with 60°F design wet-bulb temperature. The relatively warm (up to 75°F) water used for computer cooling allows the data center to use highly efficient evaporative cooling towers.

Water circulates through heat exchangers in the HPC systems to efficiently capture waste heat. The water is heated to around 100°F by the HPC systems and used as a source of heating for laboratory and office spaces in the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF).

Key design parameters for NLR's liquid-cooled data center include cooling supply and return water for the IT load of the HPC system, as the ESIF can only produce 75°F on the hottest day of the year with cooling towers, and the building requires at least 95°F to heat the facility on the coldest day of the year.