OIL & GAS

On September 29, eight days after the arrival of 14 new IBM Cluster 1600 servers, the computer room received a new air handler. This unit provides high-volume cooling for the air heated by the bluesky frames. It pulls in hot air from above, transfers it through a chilled-water heat exchanger, then pumps cool air under the computer room floor where it is released in front of the intake side of the supercomputers. Massive cooling is required to control the temperature in the computer room. Currently, the room has 15 strategically placed air handlers. The new unit has a 20-ton cooling capacity (240,000 BTU hours with an air flow rate of 8,000 cubic feet per minute). It will mitigate the extra heat load from the 14 new servers, and it will perform more efficiently than the unit being replaced. That unit was more than 10 years old, and it was near the end of its service life. The timing of this unit's installation is well planned. It sets against a wall behind bluesky, and when the new server frames are moved into position during the bluesky power down on October 11-19, moving the air handler around the longer row of bluesky frames will be more difficult. The air handler will provide its cooling service for longer than the expected life of the supercomputer. A crane is required because the air handler is so large that it will only fit into the building through the computer room access shaft. Its 1,500-pound weight did not require a crane as large as the one used. However, NCAR's Atmospheric Technology Division refurbished the crane in the photo for use with NCAR aircraft and radar equipment, and their service is fast, inexpensive, and top quality. SCD often benefits from their ability to support the computing facility. The outgoing air handler (white box at right) has been loaded onto a flatbed trailer. Gary New (SCD; in sunlight below crane boom) and Jose Rivas (ATD; in shadow across from Gary) stand on opposite sides of the Mesa Lab computer room access shaft. The crane operator is Jeff Bobka (ATD). Jose Rivas (right) watches the hook inside the computer room access shaft and signals positioning information to Jeff Bobka in the crane cab. Gary New and Stan McLaughlin (SCD) are inside the access shaft to manipulate the cables and straps that carry the new air handler. Photos: Brian Bevirt, NCAR/SCD SCD Computing Facility Engineer Gary New has his own hardhat. When he moves or installs large equipment, he wears proper safety gear such as this hat and steel-toed shoes.