[Beowulf] {Disarmed} Re: A Cooler Cloud: A Clever Conduit Cuts Data Centers? Cooling Needs by 90 Percent

Douglas Eadline deadline at eadline.org
Mon Jan 28 11:51:27 PST 2019 


>
> Which law of thermodynamics says there's no such thing as a free lunch?

That would be rule 2

The rules:

0. Everyone plays
1. Nobody can win
2. You can't break even
3. Well, you can break even on a really really really cold day
3a. It never gets that cold.


--
Doug



>
> Prentice
>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, 25 Jan 2019 at 16:33, Prentice Bisbal via Beowulf
>> <beowulf at beowulf.org <mailto:beowulf at beowulf.org>> wrote:
>>
>>     You all know how much I like talking about heat transfer and
>>     server cooling, so I decided to do some research on this product:
>>
>>     Here's their website:
>>
>>     https://forcedphysics.com
>>
>>     and here's their YouTube channel with 5 videos:
>>
>>     https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClwWeahYGuNl0THWVz1Hyow/videos
>>
>>     This is really nothing more than an air-cooled heatsink. I'm
>>     afraid I'm going to have to call BS on this technology for the
>>     following reasons:
>>
>>     1. It still uses air as the primary cooling medium. I just don't
>>     think air has adequate thermal conductivity or thermal capacity to
>>     serve modern processor, no matter what you do to it.
>>
>>     2. In the videos, they present highly idealized tests with no
>>     control to use for comparison. How do I know I wouldn't get the
>>     same results doing the same experiment but using a similar duct
>>     fashioned out of sheet metal.
>>
>>     3. Using this technology means a complete redesign of your server
>>     hardware and possibly your racks.
>>
>>     4. None of the information in the videos or on their website
>>     really explains how this technology works, and what really
>>     differentiates it from any other air-cooled heat sink. Most people
>>     with a good invention are usually excited to tell you how it
>>     works. Since they brag about 30 international patents for this,
>>     there's no need to try to protect a trade secret.
>>
>>     5. This statement:
>>
>>>     The fins work like teeth in a comb, neatly orienting air
>>>     molecules to point in the same direction and arranging them into
>>>     columns.
>>
>>     Based on my education, this statement seems to be completely
>>     devoid of science.
>>
>>     This statement seems to defy the laws of physics. Last time I
>>     checked, unless an atom or molecule is at absolute zero, it has
>>     movement, whether it's spinning or vibrating, or both, so how can
>>     they get air molecules to line up all in neat little rows, where
>>     the molecules are all pointing the same way?
>>
>>     This also implies very laminar flow.  As fluid velocity increases
>>     that the diameter of the channel decreases, the Reynolds Number
>>     increases. As the Reynold's number goes up, turbulence increases,
>>     so mathematically, I would expect this flow to be tubulent, and
>>     not laminar. From my classes on heat transfer, turbulent flow
>>     around the heat transfer surface increases heat transfer, so
>>     laminar flow in this case wouldn't be a good thing.
>>
>>     Until they can provide better comparisons with real servers in
>>     real data center environments, I'm going to classify this as
>>     "snake oil"
>>
>>     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_oil
>>
>>     Prentice
>>
>>     On 1/24/19 3:54 PM, Chuck_Petras at selinc.com
>>     <mailto:Chuck_Petras at selinc.com> wrote:
>>>     Well, this is interesting.
>>>
>>>     "According to Forced Physics’ <https://forcedphysics.com/
>>>     [forcedphysics.com]
>>>     <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__forcedphysics.com_&d=DwMFAw&c=-_uRSsrpJskZgEkGwdW-sXvhn_FXVaEGsm0EI46qilk&r=fawF3TRTwCqlaBkoLcxYCr4F4NRwCc64hmEgi9rHPpE&m=zr6lAlVphGxOQTXSElww9hGpqb9IZPik0_MN2v8Fqjs&s=lb4Hi9X8NKIYWe_e1RU3Cw4gr9Uz_B7n5pnCNY0ss3U&e=>>
>>>     chief technology officer, David Binger, the company’s conductor
>>>     can help a typical data center eliminate its need for water or
>>>     refrigerants and shrink its 22-MW load by 7.72 MW, which
>>>     translates to an annual reduction of 67.6 million kWh. That data
>>>     center could also save a total of US $45 million a year on
>>>     infrastructure, operating, and energy costs with the new system,
>>>     according to Binger. “We are solving the problem that electrons
>>>     create,” he said."
>>>
>>>     A Cooler Cloud: A Clever Conduit Cuts Data Centers’ Cooling Needs
>>>     by 90 Percent
>>>     https://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/environment/a-cooler-cloud-a-clever-conduit-cuts-data-centers-cooling-needs-by-90-percent
>>>     [spectrum.ieee.org]
>>>     <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__spectrum.ieee.org_energy_environment_a-2Dcooler-2Dcloud-2Da-2Dclever-2Dconduit-2Dcuts-2Ddata-2Dcenters-2Dcooling-2Dneeds-2Dby-2D90-2Dpercent&d=DwMFAw&c=-_uRSsrpJskZgEkGwdW-sXvhn_FXVaEGsm0EI46qilk&r=fawF3TRTwCqlaBkoLcxYCr4F4NRwCc64hmEgi9rHPpE&m=zr6lAlVphGxOQTXSElww9hGpqb9IZPik0_MN2v8Fqjs&s=VuDTSuinKPMpF6NCztFZkSGOVo3LD7MLjroIj_sn0ao&e=>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>     Chuck Petras, PE**
>>>     Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc
>>>     Pullman, WA  99163  USA
>>>     http://www.selinc.com <http://www.selinc.com/>
>>>
>>>     SEL Synchrophasors - A New View of the Power System
>>>     <http://synchrophasor.selinc.com
>>> <http://synchrophasor.selinc.com/>>
>>>
>>>     Making Electric Power Safer, More Reliable, and More Economical (R)
>>>
>>>     ** Registered in Oregon.
>>>
>>>     _______________________________________________
>>>     Beowulf mailing list,Beowulf at beowulf.org
>>> <mailto:Beowulf at beowulf.org>  sponsored by Penguin Computing
>>>     To change your subscription (digest mode or unsubscribe)
>>> visithttp://www.beowulf.org/mailman/listinfo/beowulf
>>     _______________________________________________
>>     Beowulf mailing list, Beowulf at beowulf.org
>>     <mailto:Beowulf at beowulf.org> sponsored by Penguin Computing
>>     To change your subscription (digest mode or unsubscribe) visit
>>     http://www.beowulf.org/mailman/listinfo/beowulf
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Beowulf mailing list, Beowulf at beowulf.org sponsored by Penguin Computing
>> To change your subscription (digest mode or unsubscribe) visit
>> http://www.beowulf.org/mailman/listinfo/beowulf
> _______________________________________________
> Beowulf mailing list, Beowulf at beowulf.org sponsored by Penguin Computing
> To change your subscription (digest mode or unsubscribe) visit
> http://www.beowulf.org/mailman/listinfo/beowulf
>


-- 
Doug

More information about the Beowulf mailing list