Week 6 Fuel Cell Data Center

aschellerup 2015-2016, 2015-2016 Fuel Cell Data Center, Project Achievements, Project Learning

We successfully submitted our UROP proposal in hopes of obtaining funding for our project. Due to a roadblock in our project, we needed to meet with our professional engineer for some consulting on the project. Mr. Hack, our mechanical professional engineer, had a meeting with us on 11/4/2015, to discuss where the solar panels will be placed, recommendations on our coolant system, where our test stand will be placed, and any parts he could possibly donate to us. We also wanted our adviser to be there so we could solidify any plans. Unfortunately, he was busy with a PhD. dissertation, so he could not come to the meeting. The consequence of this was that even though a lot of great advice was given, we could not finalize any plans concerning the logistics of the project due to our adviser having the final say in everything. However, in the meeting, Mr. Hack was given a holistic view of our project, something he never received before. After fully understanding our project, he told us that he highly recommends that we keep our project in the room that it is currently in. This decision will allow us to place the solar panels much closer to the data server rack than before. It was estimated that if the data center is kept in its current room, we would save about $2,500-$3,000, depending on costs of the wire and other electrical equipment. The main reason we were about to move the stand in the first place was to utilize a laser coolant system for our data servers that is already in place and hence cut down on costs. However, the heat dissipation is currently unknown on the system since the system was built for diminishing relatively low heat output. Considering that the lasers usually put out around 500-1000 W of heat, it could be concluded that the laser cooling system would not be adequate for our 6 kW of heat. Mr. Hack mentioned we could use one of his radiators for a coolant system, and all we need is a pump and the tubing necessary to hook it all up to make a closed loop system. We also redesigned our support system for our solar panels. Mr. Hack brought up that we should base our support system around the nine pillars that hold up the awning to ensure the structure is stable. According to our timeline, we are on track to accomplishing all deadlines on time. However obstacles in the exhaust system may appear soon.