Title
CFD4DC: Automated CFD framework for heat transfer analysis of data centers
Authors
[ 1 ] Wydział Inżynierii Mechanicznej, Politechnika Poznańska | [ 2 ] Poznańskie Centrum Superkomputerowo-Sieciowe | [ 3 ] Instytut Mechaniki Stosowanej, Wydział Inżynierii Mechanicznej, Politechnika Poznańska | [ 4 ] Instytut Inżynierii Środowiska i Instalacji Budowlanych, Wydział Inżynierii Środowiska i Energetyki, Politechnika Poznańska | [ SzD ] doctoral school student | [ P ] employee
Scientific discipline (Law 2.0)
[2.9] Mechanical engineering[2.10] Environmental engineering, mining and energy
Year of publication
2026
Published in
Article type
scientific article
Publication language
english
Keywords
EN
- Heat transfer
- CFD
- Data center
- Validation
- Automation
- OpenFOAM
- CFD4DC
Abstract
EN Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is increasingly applied to the thermal analysis of air-cooled data centers, particularly for retrofitting and cooling optimization. While CFD provides detailed insights into airflow and heat transfer, its use remains time-consuming and labor-intensive. This study introduces CFD4DC (Computational Fluid Dynamics for Data Centers), an in-house framework that automates the preparation and execution of CFD simulations for data center thermal management. The automation substantially reduces and simplifies required input data, offering advantages for both scientific studies and industrial applications. The framework is validated in a two-rack micro data center against experimental measurements, achieving a mean absolute error of 0.63 °C in the inlet temperatures of servers and air conditioners. These results demonstrate that the automated workflow can deliver accurate and reproducible predictions even for non-standard and heterogeneous setups, confirming that robustness and accuracy can be maintained simultaneously. The study highlights the potential of CFD4DC to support wider adoption of CFD in data center research and practice and to serve as a foundation for future scientific investigations.
Date of online publication
05.11.2025
Pages (from - to)
128982-1 - 128982-15
Comments
Article Number: 128982
License type
CC BY (attribution alone)
Open Access Mode
czasopismo hybrydowe
Open Access Text Version
final published version
Date of Open Access to the publication
in press
Full text of article
Access level to full text
public
Ministry points / journal
140
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