Figure 14 description

Figure 14 depicts a side-by-side comparison diagram illustrating the impact of using blanking panels in server cabinets to manage airflow and reduce heat recirculation. Each cabinet has two sets of server blades, stacked vertically, and separated by a space between each set. The cabinet on the left has no blanking panels in the space between the sets of server blades, while the one on the right has blanking panels in this space.

General flow for each cabinet. There are two air flows depicted:

• A cold air flow, exiting from the floor on the left side of each cabinet, flowing upward, and entering each cabinet from the left.
• A hot air flow, exiting to the right of each cabinet, and continuing to flow upward.

The difference between the two cabinets is in how the air flows through them:

• In the left cabinet, because it has no blanking panels, some of the hot air exiting to its right is drawn back into the space between the sets of server blades and exits to its left side, thereby mixing with the incoming cold air flow. This results in the upward flowing cold air being heated before it reaches the top of the cabinet, so that it enters the top set of server blades as hot air. The net effect is that only the bottom set of server blades is cooled.
• In the right cabinet, the blanking panels in the space between the top and bottom set of server blades prevent the hot air exiting to the right from being drawn back to the left side. This allows the upward flowing cold air on the left to reach the top set of server blades without being heated, so that both top and bottom sets of server blades are cooled.