Modern digitalization has led to massive growth in data center (DC) electricity consumption—half of which is dedicated to IT equipment cooling. This project investigated the viability of an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) for DC waste heat recovery in terms of mechanical practicality, sustainability, and economic feasibility. A liquid cooling system for capturing CPU waste heat with microchannel heat sinks was designed with COMSOL simulation software. An integrated thermodynamic, fluid, and heat exchanger analysis was developed in MATLAB to fully characterize the ORC heat recovery system. The payback period of the optimized design was under 5 years, thereby enabling the DC to reduce energy demands, as well as generate revenue from its cooling.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Au, Yu Him
• Lattanzi, Olivia L.
• Seeley, Daniel R.
• Victor, Claire A.

Subject

• Sustainability
• Energy
• Industry
• Water
• Environment
• Innovation
• Computing

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• 21941
• E-project-050421-141831

Palabra Clave

• waste heat
• sustainability
• CPU
• liquid cooling
• organic rankine cycle
• data center

Advisor

• Levey, Fiona

Year

• 2021

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
• 9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
• 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
• 13 - Climate Action

Date created

• 2021-05-04

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Mechanical Engineering

Rights statement

• In Copyright