TY - GEN
T1 - Manufacturing and Design Optimisation of an Air Amplifier for Data Centre Server Cooling Applications
AU - Salter, David W.
AU - Essink, Eoin H.Oude
AU - O'Brien, Gordon
AU - Persoons, Tim
AU - Alimohammadi, Sajad
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 IEEE.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - This paper presents an experimentally validated CFD optimisation of the cooling potential of three differing air amplifier geometries identified in the literature as part of a wider study to improve the overall efficiency of next generation data centres. This is the first combined manufacturing and design optimisation for air amplifiers in server cooling applications. The aim of this paper is to conduct a design and manufacturing optimisation workflow to ascertain the suitability of various air amplifier geometry approaches. The numerical optimisation includes numerous independent design points in ANSYS Fluent, investigating the influence of nozzle gap width and angle on the outlet flow rate for three different geometries including an air amplifier, an air knife and a Coandǎ ejector. The numerical results highlight surface plots for a Coandǎ adherence ratio as well as overall performance metric efficiency and the air amplifier results were tested experimentally. 3D printed manufacturing was utilised, along with a polycarbonate flow channel emulating the dimensions of a data centre server, to test cooling approaches on a heated foil with an IR camera placed underneath. A good, medium and poor set of numerical Coandǎ adherence ratio result points yielded average foil surface heat transfer coefficients of 164 W/m2 K, 127 W/m2 K and 116 W/m2K respectively. This demonstrates a strong agreement between the CFD and the experiments, therefore validating the numerical, design and manufacturing optimisation approaches highlighted in this work.
AB - This paper presents an experimentally validated CFD optimisation of the cooling potential of three differing air amplifier geometries identified in the literature as part of a wider study to improve the overall efficiency of next generation data centres. This is the first combined manufacturing and design optimisation for air amplifiers in server cooling applications. The aim of this paper is to conduct a design and manufacturing optimisation workflow to ascertain the suitability of various air amplifier geometry approaches. The numerical optimisation includes numerous independent design points in ANSYS Fluent, investigating the influence of nozzle gap width and angle on the outlet flow rate for three different geometries including an air amplifier, an air knife and a Coandǎ ejector. The numerical results highlight surface plots for a Coandǎ adherence ratio as well as overall performance metric efficiency and the air amplifier results were tested experimentally. 3D printed manufacturing was utilised, along with a polycarbonate flow channel emulating the dimensions of a data centre server, to test cooling approaches on a heated foil with an IR camera placed underneath. A good, medium and poor set of numerical Coandǎ adherence ratio result points yielded average foil surface heat transfer coefficients of 164 W/m2 K, 127 W/m2 K and 116 W/m2K respectively. This demonstrates a strong agreement between the CFD and the experiments, therefore validating the numerical, design and manufacturing optimisation approaches highlighted in this work.
KW - 3D printed manufacturing
KW - air cooling
KW - CFD optimisation
KW - Coandǎ effect
KW - Data centre server cooling
KW - electronics cooling
KW - heat transfer coefficient
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105023639051
U2 - 10.1109/THERMINIC65879.2025.11216950
DO - 10.1109/THERMINIC65879.2025.11216950
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:105023639051
T3 - 31st International Workshop on Thermal Investigations of ICs and Systems, THERMINIC 2025 - Proceedings
BT - 31st International Workshop on Thermal Investigations of ICs and Systems, THERMINIC 2025 - Proceedings
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 31st International Workshop on Thermal Investigations of ICs and Systems, THERMINIC 2025
Y2 - 24 September 2025 through 26 September 2025
ER -