A white paper available from Chatsworth Products Inc. discusses the impact of cabinet perforation on airflow in the data center. "According to ANSI/BICSI 002-2011 Data Center Design and Implementation Best Practices, the magic number for minimum required cabinet door perforation is 63 percent," Chatsworth explains. "However, there's a debate that the higher your cabinet door perforation percentage, the better your airflow, and in turn, your cooling capability. This has helped push the envelope towards 80 percent perforation in some cabinet models. But is it true?"
The white paper, etntitled "Understanding How Cabinet Perforation Really Impacts Airflow" and authored by Chatsworth thermal design manager Travis North, aims to answer that question.
Chatsworth says that key points in the paper include the following.
- Go beyond the BICSI standard to discover total airflow associated through perforation, how it relates to the velocity of airflow, size and type of perforation, and determining pressure loss through the door.
- Unlock the definitive answer to this debate by using a flow bench to determine impedance among perforation samples ranging from 40 to 80 percent.
- Using IBM's Blade Center Power Configuration tool, explore the effect of different door sizes, airflow, perforation options and power consumption that leads to one example of extreme cabinet load.
The paper can be downloaded for free to anyone who provides their contact information. You can download the white paper here.
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