Optimization of airflow in air-conditioned Base Telecommunication Station

conference paper

English

Base telecommunication stations transmit telecommunication signals and must work continuously. The thermal comfort is a fundamental requirement for the station and any increase of the temperature can damage the system and results in a shut down. The stations are mostly built in a modular way, i.e. the width and height are uniform whereas the length is set according to the installation requirements. The BTS cell is equipped with different kinds of electronics ranging from battery unit to several low voltage devices that are cooled either naturally or mechanically. The devices are placed along the walls of the station and each of the devices generates different thermal load so the heat sources are unevenly distributed. The A/C unit must ensure that all devices are cooled down and their temperature is kept within the prescribed range. The investigated BTS cell was equipped with a standard wall mounted split type A/C unit placed above the door and the cold air coming out from the unit is directed along the longer side of the BTS in the upper part of the room. The A/C unit is equipped with vanes moving automatically in both vertical and horizontal directions. The goal is to flood the entire BTS space with cold air. The transient velocity and temperature fields in the BTS were modelled numerically using CFD code StarCD. Results show that the reach of the cold plume from the wall mounted A/C unit is too short and the most distant part of the BTS is insufficiently cooled down. The reason is the steady frequency of the moving vanes that doesn’t allow the cold air penetrate into more distant area. Different settings of the A/C unit were modeled that consists in different frequency of movement of A/C vanes and in different penetration angle of the cold plume coming out from the A/C unit.

thermal comfort, optimization of airflow,

KATOLICKÝ, J., JÍCHA, M.

2004

5. 8. 2003

Sapporo

615

621

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