Seasonal Free Cooling for University Data Center

The design and implementation of a free cooling system to chill water for the UI campus, during the winter months, is the main goal of this project. By considering system economics, environmental impact, and  overall optimization, among other factors, the designed system will provide an efficient, cost-saving method of cooling water through the use of cold ambient air.

Problem Definition
Currently, to chill water for campus, the University uses vapor-compression chillers throughout the entire year. While this process is able to handle the load, this type of system experiences problems during the winter time. The main issue is with the evaporative cooling towers, which are prone to ice build-up. The reason for this is that the cooling water is directly exposed to the freezing conditions. When this build-up happens, damage may occur to the system, so ice must be manually removed from the cooling towers. There are a few methods for ice removal, but none of them are very efficient and all require human intervention into an otherwise automated system. Other than freezing, which interrupts system operation and is hard on equipment, other issues include working fluids freezing within pipes and flash freezing of humid exhaust air.

Background
Free cooling, also known as enterprise cooling, involves utilizing relatively low temperature ambient air to cool a working fluid within a system. Conversely, a conventional method for completing the same task would be to use a vapor-compression chiller. However, free cooling is enticing for a few reasons. First, air is a working fluid within the system that does not have an associated monetary cost, hence the name "free" cooling. Secondly, operational costs for a free cooling system are generally lower, due to the fact that pumps and fans are the only main components that must be powered. In a conventional system, compressors and cooling towers, along with pumps, produce a much higher power demand while operating. Finally, a free cooling system can be a completely enclosed system, protecting it from the environment and eliminating the need for make-up water and continuous chemical treatment of the system.

Deliverables
For this project, the final product will be a complete design and analysis, with supporting calculations, of a free cooling system to chill water for the UI campus during the winter season. Included in this design will be justifications of all design decisions, along with a collection of simple if-then statements for the end user of our system to follow during operation. Once our design has been approved, the University will purchase and install the components outlined in our design to create a full scale, operational free cooling system.

Project Design
The following information provides evidence and reasoning for the decisions that we made during the design of our system. Additionally, both of the designs that we produced for the system are presented. Above is a comparison of two potential heat exchangers for use in our system, along with a table of important values from a hypothetical test system.

Off the Shelf Design
For this design, we decided to use completely new parts and components throughout the system. This design is also a representation of a worst case scenario that provides a maximum for the total cost if we decide to construct the entire system from scratch.

Repurposed Design
This design involves the integration of components owned by the University that we are able to repurpose for use within our system. By salvaging these old units, we will save a large sum of money over a new purchase. The two main components that will be reused in this design are the plate and frame heat exchanger and the dry cooler, which happen to be the most expensive components to buy new. Pictures of the recycled components of this design are shown below. It is important to note that, for the designs above, pumps, valves, and piping will have to be purchased. Also, pipe size and pump sizes are exactly the same for both.

Final Design
The following information provides justification for design choices and finalized schematics for our system. Below are two schematics of our system, the first being a general system outline that shows all of the main components and the second being a floor plan of the actual installation location with options for placement of our system.