数据中心冷却节能研究进展

数据中心是信息行业的核心基础设施,其能耗巨大,我国数据中心电能使用效率（power usage effectiveness, PUE）远高于发达国家,开展数据中心节能研究具有重要的科学意义。本文从数据中心冷却节能中的核心问题出发,从自然冷却、气流组织优化、蓄冷三个方面对近年来国内外数据中心冷却节能的研究进展进行了阐述,提出自然冷却技术应因地制宜地采用,并应针对自然冷源条件差的地区开展更深入的研究;气流组织优化应在现有气流控制方式基础上针对高功率密度机柜开展机柜级气流组织优化研究;蓄冷技术能为数据中心运营商带来巨大的经济效益,也能给发电和电网输配效率带来巨大提升,现有蓄冷技术蓄冷密度有待提升,针对数据中心应用场景的蓄冷控制策略优化研究应当引起重视。     

Multi-stack coupled energy management strategy of a PEMFC based-CCHP system applied to data centers

Aiming at the power fluctuation and mismatch of the combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system based on proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and adsorption chiller, this study proposes a multi-stack coupled power supply strategy. The PEMFC stacks are divided into types Ⅰ, Ⅱ, and Ⅲ to meet the electric load and cooling load of the data center, and the heat requirements of the system. Meanwhile, economic analysis is conducted on the single-stack energy supply strategy and the multi-stack coupled energy supply strategy. The results show that with the multi-stack coupling power supply strategy, the cooling power and electric power almost completely match the load of the data center, without power fluctuations and overshoot. By smoothing the PID control results of the current of the stacks-Ⅲ, the heating power fluctuation is significantly reduced, and the maximum overshoot does not exceed 0.5 kW. Therefore, the strategy is conducive to the stable operation of the PEMFC stack and improves the lifetime of the system. Considering investment costs, maintenance costs, hydrogen costs, and electricity benefits, the multi-stack coupled energy supply strategy can save about 6.1 × 10⁵ $ per year. In summary, the multi-stack coupled energy supply strategy has advantages in system lifetime, operational stability, and economy.     

Simulation to analyze operation strategy of combined cooling and power system using a high-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell for data centers

With the development of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry, the energy consumption of data centers is continuously increasing. High-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells (HT-PEFC) have a high operating temperature of 120 °C or higher; thus, the heat generated from fuel cells stack is effectively used as a heat source for a absorption refrigerator (AR) to generate cooling. The combined cooling and power (CCP) system is proposed to satisfy the energy demand of data centers that require both power and cooling. The CCP system comprises an HT-PEFC and a double-effect AR that recovers the wasted heat of the fuel cell stack. As a result of analyzing the electrical and cooling efficiency of the CCP system according to the fuel cell operating conditions, the overall efficiency increased to 95%, which was significantly higher than the existing system. Based on the simulation of the developed model, coefficient of performance (COP) and cooling capacity depending on the temperature changes of chilled water and cooling water were calculated within the stack temperature range of 150–180 °C, and the COP changed from 1.1 to 1.58 depending on the conditions. The developed CCP system model can be used to plan strategies for flexible fuel cell operation according to the power and cooling demands required in the data center.     

The effect of an energy storage unit on the performance micro CCHP systems

分布式冷热电联供系统作为传统分布式供能系统的延伸,在继承传统系统能量分级利用优点的同时,其供能效率和经济性都有很大的提升。为保证系统冷、热、电负荷按照既定的规律变化,维持能量的输出与负荷需求相匹配,确保较高的运行效率,创新地加入储能子系统。本文通过定性分析的方法,针对储能子系统在分布式冷热电联供系统中的作用展开讨论,结合微型冷热电联供系统的模拟结果,对储能子系统进行初步的设计和计算,证明储能子系统的加入对分布式冷热电联供系统的效率和稳定性均有提升。     

联合太阳能沼气的冷热电供能系统的集成及经济性分析

冷热电联供是一种先进、高效的能源系统,目前在我国应用的主要问题是天然气成本高,导致系统经济性差。太阳能和沼气是非常清洁的可再生能源,在我国来源广泛且廉价。将冷热电联供系统与太阳能、沼气完美地结合起来,集成为联合太阳能沼气的冷热电供能系统。该系统较为合理的组合方式是采用太阳能沼气池作为燃料提供装置,采用微型燃气轮机、余热锅炉、溴化锂吸收式制冷机、蒸汽换热器等作为供电、供冷和供热机组,采用太阳能集热器、换热器等装置为沼气池加热,太阳能不足时采用尾气加热。该系统能够实现能量的梯级利用,提高一次能源利用率,达到综合用能的目的,同时可有效治理环境。以某酒店作为该系统的用户对象,分析其经济性并与常规模式进行对比。结果表明,该系统一次能源利用率为74.8%,而常规模式为62.3%;综合能源价格为0.3398元/(k W·h),而现阶段电网电价约为0.6元/(k W·h);环境与减排评价指标也具有明显优势。     

Energetic and exergetic analysis of a biomass-fueled CCHP system integrated with proton exchange membrane fuel cell

As a high-efficiency and eco-friendly way of energy conversion, fuel cell has received much attention in recent years. A novel residential combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) system, consisting of a biomass gasifier, a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack, an absorption chiller and auxiliary equipment, is proposed. Based on the established thermodynamic models, the effects of operating parameters, biomass materials type and moisture content on the system performance are closely investigated. Overall system performance is then compared under four different operating modes. From the viewpoints of energy utilization and CO₂ emissions, the CCHP mode has the best performance with corresponding energy efficiency of 57.41% and CO₂ emission index of 0.516 ton/MWh. Exergy analysis results suggest that the optimization and transformation on the gasifier and PEMFC stack should be encouraged. Energy and exergy assessments in this research provide pragmatic guidance to the performance improvement of the integrated CCHP systems with PEMFC. This research also achieves a reasonable combination of efficient cogeneration, green hydrogen production and full recovery of low grade waste heat.     

System analysis in a European perspective of new industrial cooling supply in a CHP system

In the municipality of Södertälje two large industries use much of the electricity, district heating (DH) and chilled water in the area. The Södertälje energy system is not isolated, however, but is connected to the DH systems of southern and central Stockholm, and a change in the Södertälje energy system will also influence the connected energy systems in Stockholm. The cooling demand in Södertälje is currently covered by lake water cooling and compression chillers, but in order to reduce the use of electricity, conversion to absorption cooling or increased lake water cooling can be considered. The large combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Södertälje is not used to its full potential today, but investment in absorption cooling and/or a cold condenser unit integrated with the CHP plant could increase the plant’s operation hours. In this paper the system effects of introducing new industrial cooling supply in Södertälje has been investigated through optimizations of a model including both the industries and the district heating supply in Södertälje and Stockholm. The results show that, independently of whether condensing power production is feasible in the CHP plant or not, investments in both increased lake water cooling and absorption cooling are profitable. A sensitivity analysis of how energy market prices affect the results shows that even though the system cost will change depending on energy market prices, the optimum cooling technology mix will remain the same. However, a sensitivity analysis of the transfer DH capacity between the Södertälje and Stockholm energy systems shows that if the transfer DH capacity is increased, absorption cooling will be less profitable since more heat can be sold from Södertälje to Stockholm while at the same time reducing the use of fuel resources.     

Optimization of PEMFC system operating conditions based on neural network and PSO to achieve the best system performance

PEMFC system is a complex new clean power system. Based on MATLAB/Simulink, this paper develops a system-level dynamic model of PEMFC, including the gas supply system, hydrogen supply system, hydrothermal management system, and electric stack. The neural network fits the electric stack model to the simulation data. The effects of different operating conditions on the PEMFC stack power and system efficiency are analyzed. Combining the power of the reactor and the system efficiency to define the integrated performance index, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is introduced to optimize the power density and system efficiency of the PEMFC with multiple objectives. The final optimal operating point increases the power density and system efficiency by 1.33% and 12.8%, respectively, which maximizes the output performance and reduces the parasitic power.     

DES/CCHP系统和区域能源利用效率计算方法及影响因素分析

天然气分布式冷热电联供(DES/CCHP)是中国“十二五”期间提高能效、保障经济发展的重要战略举措,其评价指标是能源利用效率、经济效益、碳排放.DES/CCHP实现高效的技术关键包括:把所有终端用能集成为一个“总能源系统”;科学用能,核心是尽可能减小每一级用能的(火用)损耗;尽可能安排多个冷、热、电、汽终端用户时空分布的最优组合;需要较大的系统规模.新区DES/CCHP系统能效是决定区域总能效的最主要因素,两者的区别在于交通用能、其他用能和外来电力,可在取得相应数据基础上计算得出.计算能源利用效率的一般公式是:能效=终端耗用各种能源总量之和/耗用的一次能源总量,CCHP能效计算的分子必须是全部终端用能,必须按照8650h/a不同负荷逐时累加求和计算,不能取设计工况数据;分母必须全部折算成一次能源.在计算出区域规划的能效、总能耗和一次能源构成后,便可按照规划目标年度的GDP数据,推算出能源强度、碳强度和二氧化碳排放量等低碳发展指标.影响区域能源利用效率的因素包括外部因素——天然气价格与上网电价,客观因素——产业格局、气候条件和实际进展与规划格局的差异,以及主观因素等,其中外部、客观因素是决定能效的硬性约束.     

Thermodynamic analysis and assessment of novel ORC- DEC integrated PEMFC system for liquid hydrogen fueled ship application

Proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and liquid hydrogen are gaining attention as a power generation system and alternative fuel of ship. This study proposes a novel PEMFC system, integrated with the organic Rankine cycle–direct expansion cycle (ORC-DEC), which exploits cold exergy from liquid hydrogen and low temperature waste heat generated by the PEMFC for application in a liquid hydrogen fueled ship. A thermodynamic model of each subsystem was established and analyzed from the economic, energy, and exergy viewpoints. Moreover, parametric analysis was performed to identify the effects of certain key parameters, such as the working fluid in the ORC, pressure exerted by the fuel pump, cooling water temperature of the PEMFC, and the stack current density on the system performance. The results showed that the proposed system could generate 221 kW of additional power. The overall system achieved an exergy and energy efficiency of 43.52 and 40.45%, respectively. The PEMFC system had the largest exergy destruction, followed by the cryogenic heat exchanger. Propane showed the best performance among the several investigated ORC working fluids and the system performance improved with the increase in the cooling water temperature of the PEMFC. The economic analysis showed that the average payback time of ORC-DEC was 11.2 years and the average net present value (NPV) was $295,268 at liquid hydrogen costing $3 to $7, showing the potential viability of the system.     

Harvesting of PEM fuel cell heat energy for a thermal engine in an underwater glider

The heat generated by a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is generally removed from the cell by a cooling system. Combining heat energy and electricity in a PEMFC is highly desirable to achieve higher fuel efficiency. This paper describes the design of a new power system that combines the heat energy and electricity in a miniature PEMFC to improve the overall power efficiency in an underwater glider. The system makes use of the available heat energy for navigational power of the underwater glider while the electricity generated by the miniature PEMFC is used for the glider's sensors and control system. Experimental results show that the performance of the thermal engine can be obviously improved due to the high quality heat from the PEMFC compared with the ocean environmental thermal energy. Moreover, the overall fuel efficiency can be increased from 17 to 25% at different electric power levels by harvesting the PEMFC heat energy for an integrated fuel cell and thermal engine system in the underwater glider.     

The impact of climate change on the European energy system

Climate change can affect the economy via many different channels in many different sectors. The POLES global energy model has been modified to widen the coverage of climate change impacts on the European energy system. The impacts considered are changes in heating and cooling demand in the residential and services sector, changes in the efficiency of thermal power plants, and changes in hydro, wind (both on- and off-shore) and solar PV electricity output. Results of the impacts of six scenarios on the European energy system are presented, and the implications for European energy security and energy imports are presented.Main findings include: demand side impacts (heating and cooling in the residential and services sector) are larger than supply side impacts; power generation from fossil-fuel and nuclear sources decreases and renewable energy increases; and impacts are larger in Southern Europe than in Northern Europe.There remain many more climate change impacts on the energy sector that cannot currently be captured due to a variety of issues including: lack of climate data, difficulties translating climate data into energy-system-relevant data, lack of detail in energy system models where climate impacts act. This paper does not attempt to provide an exhaustive analysis of climate change impacts in the energy sector, it is rather another step towards an increasing coverage of possible impacts.     

分布式冷热电联供能源系统与经济发展的关系

“十二五”期间中国15.7万亿元的增量经济大部分将在新规划的新区实现,但从各地正在规划和建设的新区情况来看,缺少从一次能源到终端需求的冷、热、电、汽全过程高效联供的分布式供能规划.据推算,若“十二五”期间新区能效不变,工业和建筑物燃料需求将增加3×108t标煤/a,而这显然是不可能的.新规划区域能源模式创新、提高能效是“十二五”中国经济发展的关键,采用天然气分布式冷热电联供能源系统(DES/CCHP),可使能源终端供应能效成倍提高.“十二五”期间中国必须从区域经济发展的能源保障高度来规划分布式冷热电联供,规划决策中要按照具体情况,以经济性、能效和碳排放指标是否最优为判据.CCHP可以调峰换取电价,实现互利双赢.制订区域DES/CCHP规划时应注意区域能源规划先行,摆脱热电联产的思维定势,树立冷热电联供的科学理念,不可忽视向居民供应生活热水起到的提高能效的作用,以及如何确定电力负荷、装机容量和节能减排指标等问题.     

Simulation analysis of hydrogen recirculation rates of fuel cells and the efficiency of combined heat and power

The objective of this study was to simulate a proton-electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system, namely a PEMFC stack, an anode gas supply subsystem, an anode gas-recovery subsystem, a cathode gas supply subsystem, and a tail gas exhaustion subsystem. In addition, this paper presents an analysis of the efficiency of combined heat and power (CHP) systems. MATLAB and Simulink were employed for dynamic simulation and statistical analysis. The rates of active and the passive anode hydrogen recirculation were considered to elucidate the mechanism of hydrogen circulation. When recovery involved diverse recovery mechanisms, the recirculation rate was affected by the pressure at the hydrogen outlet of the PEMFC system. The greater the pressure was at that outlet, the higher the recovery rate was. In the hydrogen recovery system, when the temperature of the hydrogen supply end remained the same, increasing the temperature of the gas supply end increased the efficiency of the fuel cells; fixing the flow of the hydrogen supply end and increasing the temperature of the hydrogen supply end increased the efficiency of the PEMFC system. A calculation of the efficiency of the recovery system indicated that the thermal efficiency of the fuel cells exceeded 35%, the power generation efficiency exceeded 45%, and the efficiency of the CHP system exceeded 80%.     

基于CO2热泵的产消型数据中心能效联动优化

  目的  随着数字经济的发展,数据中心的“规模”将不断扩大,“算力”不断提高,随之带来的“能耗”及“运行成本”也将不断攀升。为实现数据中心余热的有效利用,并实现能效的联动优化,构建了一种基于CO₂热泵的产消型数据中心能源系统。  方法  将数据中心视为产消者,耗电的同时将制冷系统的余热回收,用于住宅供暖。产消型数据中心能源系统采用空气直接冷却、直膨式地埋管冷却和建筑供暖末端冷却三种方式实现数据中心全年的冷却,最大程度利用自然冷却,降低系统电耗。CO₂作为余热回收用热泵的工作介质,能够提高系统紧凑性与环境友好性。  结果  本系统可有效削减冷负荷,进而在平均占用率较低时,实现制冷电耗的降低。当平均占用率为0.6时,与常规房间级风冷空调机组相比,本系统可降低全年冷负荷108 MWh,节约电耗制冷电耗167 MWh,为建筑供热290 MWh,获得年收益4.23万元。  结论  本系统可实现数据中心余热回收用于建筑供暖,实现了数据中心非供暖期余热的有效利用。并通过地源热泵系统实现了数据中心余热与建筑热负荷的协调,为产消型数据中心的能效联动优化提供了借鉴。     

Proposal and thermodynamic performance study of a novel LNG-fueled SOFC-HAT-CCHP system with near-zero CO2 emissions

The cold energy in many liquefied natural gas (LNG) satellite stations is directly carried away by air or seawater. This causes cold energy waste and environmental cold pollution. To solve this problem, a combined power, heating and cooling system (CCHP) driven by LNG is established based on solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and humid air turbine (HAT), namely SOFC-HAT-CCHP system, in which, not only can the waste cold energy cool compressor inlet air to decrease power consumption, but supply cold energy for the cold storage and CO₂ recovery. Based on FORTRAN and Aspen Plus, the thermodynamic performance calculation models and the simulation work of the new system are carried out, such as the exergy and energy analysis, as well as the effects of the selected important variables. The results indicate that total exergy efficiency and total power efficiency are 64.7% and 54.4%, and the total thermal efficiency is 79.1%. Besides, the capture rate and purity of the CO₂ are 98.7% and 98.9% respectively. The novel system is environmental protective, energy-saving and efficient, which may provide a new direction to reasonably utilize the waste cold energy in LNG satellite stations.     

Assessment and optimization of an integrated energy system with electrolysis and fuel cells for electricity,cooling and hydrogen production using various optimization techniques

In this research study, a novel integrated solar based combined, cooling, heating and, power (CCHP) is proposed consisting of Parabolic trough solar collectors (PTSC) field, a dual-tank molten salt heat storage, an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), a Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), a Proton exchange membrane electrolyzer (PEME), and a single effect Li/Br water absorption chiller. Thermodynamics and economic relations are used to analyze the proposed CCHP system. The mean of Tehran solar radiation as well as each portion of solar radiation during 24 h in winter is obtained from TRNSYS software to be used in PTSC calculations. A dynamic model of the thermal storage unit is assessed for proposed CCHP system under three different conditions (i.e., without thermal energy storage (TES), with TES and with TES + PEMFC). The results demonstrate that PEMFC has the ability to improve the power output by 10% during the night and 3% at sunny hours while by using TES alone, the overnight power generation is 86% of the power generation during the sunny hours. The optimum operating condition is determined via the NSGA-II algorithm with regards to exergy efficiency and total cost rate as objective functions where the optimum values are 0.058 ($/s) and 80%, respectively. The result of single objective optimization is 0.044 ($/s) for the economic objective in which the exergy efficiency is at its lowest value (57.7%). In addition, results indicate that the amount of single objective optimization based on exergetic objective is 88% in which the total cost rate is at its highest value (0.086 $/s). The scattered distribution of design parameters and the decision variables trend are investigated. In the next step, five different evolutionary algorithms namely NSGA-II, GDE3, IBEA, SMPSO, and SPEA2 are applied, and their Pareto frontiers are compared with each other.     

高铁客运站分布式多能源系统供能协同优化策略研究

为解决传统高铁客运站供能系统中能源利用率较低的问题,以日运行购气费用和购电费用最优为优化目标,以系统运行过程中实时能量平衡为约束条件,以可再生能源出力和吸收式制冷占比为优化变量,建立多能源协同供能的分布式能源系统,并将该模型应用于北方某高铁客运站,分析可再生能源的利用率、制冷系统中可再生能源电出力的电制冷占比以及电网出力的节电率。仿真计算结果表明,分布式能源系统的使用提高了可再生能源的利用率,其中风电机组出力占其出力极限的96.5%,光伏机组出力94.7%;相比于参比系统,分布式能源系统的成本节约率为12.5%;电制冷占比为13%;电网的节电率为53.9%。     

A methodology to assess suitability of a site for small scale wet and dry CSP systems

This study presents a methodology to assess suitability of a site for small scale concentrated solar power (CSP) systems for its energy conversion efficiency and make‐up water requirement. Energy conversion efficiency of CSPs relies not only on the level of direct solar radiation but also on the performance of the cooling system. Regions with high solar potential have to deal with heat rejection at elevated temperatures which causes reduced energy conversion efficiencies due to high condenser temperatures. It is desirable to utilize wet cooling systems as they can achieve temperatures lower than the dry bulb temperature by evaporative cooling. On the other hand, such regions usually lack water resources which deteriorate the sustainable nature of CSP applications. This study combines various available models for both solar resource estimation and cooling systems' performance considering (i) the influence of ambient temperatures, and (ii) the influence of humidity levels. These models are integrated together to analyze the use of dry or wet cooling systems in terms of overall energy output and water consumption at a selected site in northern Cyprus. The model inputs consist of only annual hourly surface weather data and the location of the site of interest. The results show that dry cooling unit at northern Cyprus is capable of saving water about 18.7 ton/MWh while it produces 27% less energy compared to the wet cooling alternative for the representative annual weather data. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic characteristics and economic analysis of PEMFC-based CCHP systems with different dehumidification solutions

For data centers with high humidity requirements, a novel combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) system with dehumidification is proposed, which can provide cooling, heating, electricity and dehumidification simultaneously. The dynamic responses and economic characteristics of three different dehumidification methods with integrated dehumidification wheel, desiccant or parabolic trough solar collector (PTSC) as an auxiliary heat source are analyzed. The results show that the use of desiccant instead of the dehumidification wheel is beneficial to the stability of system power and temperature, and reduces the installed capacity of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stacks by about 78%, thereby reducing the cost of the stacks and hydrogen. With the assistance of PTSC as an auxiliary heat source, the PEMFC stacks can reduce about 110 kW of electricity and save about 62 kg of hydrogen per day. Taking the average annual cost as an economic evaluation index, when hydrogen price is higher than $0.16 kg^?1, using PTSC to assist the PEMFC stacks to provide the heat source is a better choice than using the PEMFC stacks alone.