Novel Experimental Methodology for Characterizing Fan Performance in Highly Resistive Environments

• Published in: 2020 19th IEEE Intersociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems (ITherm) pp. 1 - 7
• Main Authors: Manaserh, Yaman M., Tradat, Mohammad I., Mohsenian, Ghazal, Sammakia, Bahgat G., Ortega, Alfonso, Seymour, Mark J., Nemati, Kourosh
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01.07.2020
• Subjects: Axial-Flow Fan; Blockage; Cooling; Data acquisition; Data centers; Fan flow curve; Fans; Flow Obstructions; Instruments; IT Equipment; Packaging; Pressure Drop; Pressure measurement; Servers
• ISSN: 2577-0799
• DOI: 10.1109/ITherm45881.2020.9190308

It is well known that fans have been widely used in many applications for cooling and ventilation purposes. However, in a considerable portion of these applications, fans are being operated in highly resistive environments such as ITE (Information Technology Equipment) in which the fan will be installed in a narrow space surrounded by many obstacles. These obstructions lead to increased vibration and degradation in fan performance. As the fans' pressure-flow rate (P-Q) curve is used to indicate the fan's performance, previous studies have investigated the blockage effect on the fan's P-Q curve using a flow test chamber. However, these studies measured the pressure from a considerable distance from the fan. Hence, developing a new technique that can measure the pressure closer to the fan will help in conducting a better understanding of how fans react to the presence of obstruction. In this work, pressure readings were taken through pressure taps that were drilled in a plexiglass sheet an experimental setup was designed to study the server chassis blockage effect on the fan performance by getting a multiple pressure reading right across the fans. These measurements were compared with pressure measurements that were collected from the flow test chamber at a considerable distance from the fan.