Development of a low-profile acoustical door for use on racks and cabinets for the Information Technology industry

摘要

This paper presents the design of a 19 inch rack acoustical door. The design balances acousticalattenuation, airflow impedance and distribution in a short depth by combining air foil technologywith acoustic baffle design. Design optimization was done utilizing fluid flow analyticalmodeling and verified with an air flow bench and an acoustical rack door test fixture. Higherheat loads in rack mounted computer equipment drive higher cooling requirements. In order toprovide air cooling solutions, higher volumetric air flow is required resulting in increasedacoustical noise. This noise can result in levels that are unacceptable to the customer.Acoustical doors lower noise levels but are prone to high flow impedance, uneven flowdistribution and large physical depth. Increased impedances require higher air moving devicespeeds to offset the lost volumetric air flow. This decreases the effective acoustical attenuation.Various rack modules have different inlet and outlet air flow locations making the distribution ofthe air from the door (front) or into the door (rear) important. Solutions to these problems usuallyrequire large depths in order to provide blockage of line of site and gradual air flow lines to keepimpedance low and provide even distribution of the air.