Davide Ziviani, PhD
Abstract Title
Impact of Degradation Phenomena on Reliability and Energy Efficiency of Data Centers
Data centers are facing an increasing demand for computational resources. High power electronics generate extreme heat fluxes that need to be dissipated, and advanced thermal management systems (TMS) are needed to maximize efficiency, minimize water consumption, and to reduce costs compared to traditional air-cooling systems. The reliability of traditional air-cooling systems is well known due to their wide adoption in industry. However, more advanced TMSs for data centers are less characterized, and data center companies are still resistant to rushing implementation due to concerns around long-term reliability. Therefore, a clear gap is present, to not only shows the efficacy of novel cooling solutions, but also provide compelling evidence of their reliability. In this context, this talk will cover the results from the ARPA-E COOLECHIPS project “EXTRACT” on oscillating heat pipes (OHPs) and how degradation phenomena can be incorporated to investigate operating performance and reliability metrics. A nodal framework, previously used for decision-making and exploring design spaces, has been developed and is based on directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) to represent causal relationships between model variables. Using a state-space representation, systems are transitioned through time and degradation modes are applied stochastically based on user-defined probability density function (PDFs). Lond-term studies are simulated for the data center TMS with representative degradation severities and frequencies and system uptime availability is computed. To explore the effects of degradation and system configuration on uptime availability, a series of parametric sensitivity studies are simulated while varying degradation frequency and component redundancy. The talk will conclude with some perspectives on research directions on the nexus among energy efficiency, reliability and resiliency to degradation modes.
Biography
Dr. Davide Ziviani, is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue and the Co-Director of the Center for High Performance Buildings (CHPB). Dr. Ziviani’s research activities focus on advanced heat pump and thermal management systems for different applications including buldings, space habitats, data centers, and military applications. Dr. Ziviani is part of the Cooling Technologies Research Center (CTRC) as well as the Co-I of the Resilient Extra-Terrestrial Habitats Institute (RETHi) at Purdue. Dr. Ziviani is actively involved with ASHRAE and the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR). Dr. Ziviani is an ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer, RAC member, and received the ASHRAE Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Ziviani is Treasurer of of UNSC/IIR and is Commission Member B2 “Refrigerating Equipment” for the U.S. At Purdue, Dr. Ziviani is a member of the Military Programs Committee (MPC) that oversees all the ROTC educational activities.
Dr. Ziviani has been recognized for his academic excellence. He received the 2021-22 Teaching for Tomorrow Fellowship Award from Purdue University and was nominated to the list of “Outstanding Engineering Teachers” during Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2023, and 2024. Moreover, he is the recipient of the 2023 ASHRAE New Investigator Award and the 2023-2025 ACORN Seed for Success Award from Purdue (recognizing a research award greater or equal than $1M).
Contact
dziviani@purdue.edu