Organic Rankine Cycle as a Waste Heat Recovery System for Data Centers: Design and Construction of a Prototype

Sebastian Araya; Gerard F. Jones; Amy S. Fleischer

doi:10.1109/ITHERM.2018.8419530

Organic Rankine Cycle as a Waste Heat Recovery System for Data Centers: Design and Construction of a Prototype

Sebastian Araya, Gerard F. Jones, Amy S. Fleischer

College of Engineering Administration

Villanova University

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Due to the increasing demand for data center utilization, many significant challenges have arisen for thermal engineers over the last few decades. Advanced cooling systems for servers are of significant interest, including technologies which can also reduce electricity usage. The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is considered a viable option for this purpose. It can both absorb the heat from a server and then transfer that heat into a power cycle to generate electricity. This study focuses on the operation of an experimental 20kW ORC prototype, which represents two common rack servers operating at full capacity. The range of server waste heat temperatures examined is between 60°C to 85°C, which is far below the normal operating range for ORCs. Thermodynamic modeling on this ultra-low-grade waste heat system predicts thermal efficiency between 2%-8%. Tests on the experimental rig showed a maximum thermal efficiency of 3.33%. However, the system is both absorbing all the heat from the data center and at the same time providing an economic benefit back to the data center in the form of electricity. Through experimental investigation, this study illustrates that the use of an ORC system is a valid solution for ultra-low-grade data center waste heat recovery.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the 17th InterSociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems, ITherm 2018
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages	850-858
Number of pages	9
ISBN (Electronic)	9781538612729
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/ITHERM.2018.8419530
State	Published - 24 Jul 2018
Event	17th InterSociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems, ITherm 2018 - San Diego, United States Duration: 29 May 2018 → 1 Jun 2018

Publication series

Name	Proceedings of the 17th InterSociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems, ITherm 2018

Conference

Conference	17th InterSociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems, ITherm 2018
Country/Territory	United States
City	San Diego
Period	29/05/18 → 1/06/18

Keywords

Organic Rankine Cycle
cooling system
data center
ultra-low-grade
waste heat recovery

Access to Document

10.1109/ITHERM.2018.8419530

Cite this

Araya, S., Jones, G. F., & Fleischer, A. S. (2018). Organic Rankine Cycle as a Waste Heat Recovery System for Data Centers: Design and Construction of a Prototype. In Proceedings of the 17th InterSociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems, ITherm 2018 (pp. 850-858). Article 8419530 (Proceedings of the 17th InterSociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems, ITherm 2018). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1109/ITHERM.2018.8419530

Araya, Sebastian ; Jones, Gerard F. ; Fleischer, Amy S. / Organic Rankine Cycle as a Waste Heat Recovery System for Data Centers : Design and Construction of a Prototype. Proceedings of the 17th InterSociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems, ITherm 2018. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2018. pp. 850-858 (Proceedings of the 17th InterSociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems, ITherm 2018).

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title = "Organic Rankine Cycle as a Waste Heat Recovery System for Data Centers: Design and Construction of a Prototype",

abstract = "Due to the increasing demand for data center utilization, many significant challenges have arisen for thermal engineers over the last few decades. Advanced cooling systems for servers are of significant interest, including technologies which can also reduce electricity usage. The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is considered a viable option for this purpose. It can both absorb the heat from a server and then transfer that heat into a power cycle to generate electricity. This study focuses on the operation of an experimental 20kW ORC prototype, which represents two common rack servers operating at full capacity. The range of server waste heat temperatures examined is between 60°C to 85°C, which is far below the normal operating range for ORCs. Thermodynamic modeling on this ultra-low-grade waste heat system predicts thermal efficiency between 2%-8%. Tests on the experimental rig showed a maximum thermal efficiency of 3.33%. However, the system is both absorbing all the heat from the data center and at the same time providing an economic benefit back to the data center in the form of electricity. Through experimental investigation, this study illustrates that the use of an ORC system is a valid solution for ultra-low-grade data center waste heat recovery.",

keywords = "Organic Rankine Cycle, cooling system, data center, ultra-low-grade, waste heat recovery",

author = "Sebastian Araya and Jones, {Gerard F.} and Fleischer, {Amy S.}",

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Araya, S, Jones, GF & Fleischer, AS 2018, Organic Rankine Cycle as a Waste Heat Recovery System for Data Centers: Design and Construction of a Prototype. in Proceedings of the 17th InterSociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems, ITherm 2018., 8419530, Proceedings of the 17th InterSociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems, ITherm 2018, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., pp. 850-858, 17th InterSociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems, ITherm 2018, San Diego, United States, 29/05/18. https://doi.org/10.1109/ITHERM.2018.8419530

Organic Rankine Cycle as a Waste Heat Recovery System for Data Centers: Design and Construction of a Prototype. / Araya, Sebastian; Jones, Gerard F.; Fleischer, Amy S.
Proceedings of the 17th InterSociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems, ITherm 2018. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2018. p. 850-858 8419530 (Proceedings of the 17th InterSociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems, ITherm 2018).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

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AU - Fleischer, Amy S.

PY - 2018/7/24

Y1 - 2018/7/24

N2 - Due to the increasing demand for data center utilization, many significant challenges have arisen for thermal engineers over the last few decades. Advanced cooling systems for servers are of significant interest, including technologies which can also reduce electricity usage. The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is considered a viable option for this purpose. It can both absorb the heat from a server and then transfer that heat into a power cycle to generate electricity. This study focuses on the operation of an experimental 20kW ORC prototype, which represents two common rack servers operating at full capacity. The range of server waste heat temperatures examined is between 60°C to 85°C, which is far below the normal operating range for ORCs. Thermodynamic modeling on this ultra-low-grade waste heat system predicts thermal efficiency between 2%-8%. Tests on the experimental rig showed a maximum thermal efficiency of 3.33%. However, the system is both absorbing all the heat from the data center and at the same time providing an economic benefit back to the data center in the form of electricity. Through experimental investigation, this study illustrates that the use of an ORC system is a valid solution for ultra-low-grade data center waste heat recovery.

AB - Due to the increasing demand for data center utilization, many significant challenges have arisen for thermal engineers over the last few decades. Advanced cooling systems for servers are of significant interest, including technologies which can also reduce electricity usage. The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is considered a viable option for this purpose. It can both absorb the heat from a server and then transfer that heat into a power cycle to generate electricity. This study focuses on the operation of an experimental 20kW ORC prototype, which represents two common rack servers operating at full capacity. The range of server waste heat temperatures examined is between 60°C to 85°C, which is far below the normal operating range for ORCs. Thermodynamic modeling on this ultra-low-grade waste heat system predicts thermal efficiency between 2%-8%. Tests on the experimental rig showed a maximum thermal efficiency of 3.33%. However, the system is both absorbing all the heat from the data center and at the same time providing an economic benefit back to the data center in the form of electricity. Through experimental investigation, this study illustrates that the use of an ORC system is a valid solution for ultra-low-grade data center waste heat recovery.

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PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.

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Araya S, Jones GF, Fleischer AS. Organic Rankine Cycle as a Waste Heat Recovery System for Data Centers: Design and Construction of a Prototype. In Proceedings of the 17th InterSociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems, ITherm 2018. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. 2018. p. 850-858. 8419530. (Proceedings of the 17th InterSociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems, ITherm 2018). doi: 10.1109/ITHERM.2018.8419530

Organic Rankine Cycle as a Waste Heat Recovery System for Data Centers: Design and Construction of a Prototype

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Keywords

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