Application Of Phase Change Material In Sustainable Cooling Of Data Centers

Abstract

The ever increasing information technology heat load and data center cooling energy are the main reasons to investigate the performance of microencapsulated phase change slurry over other heat transfer fluids. In recent years, more effort is being made on the development of a new technique to use the phase change materials as pump-able heat transfer fluid and as heat storage system.Microencapsulated phase change slurry is dispersion where the phase change material, microencapsulated by a polymeric capsule, is dispersed in water. Compared to water, these new fluids have a higher heat capacity during phase change and a possible enhancement, as a result of this phase change, in the heat transfer phenomenon. The composition of phase change material used in slurry greatly affects its efficiency, If not selected properly it can cause serious damage, e.g. agglomeration and clogging of pipes. Current available systems use microencapsulated phase change slurry with heat exchangers. The main objective of this work is to develop standalone pump-able microencapsulated phase change slurry that is able to withstand shear stresses of the pump and other course surfaces of pipe and pipe joints. In this study, experiments were performed, to determine performance of microencapsulated phase change slurry over conventional heat transfer fluids. After certain pumping cycles, scanning electron microscopy has been done to analyze the conditions of shell material of polymeric capsule. Also, testing has been done to predict durability and life cycle of microencapsulated phase change slurry.