DATA CENTERS AND THERMOPLASTICS ARE INCREASING IN AI-DRIVEN DEMANDS
Recently, the data center industry has had a surging demand, as AI intelligence for computing power, cloud storage reliability, and an overall need to keep up with the increase of data consumption is a primary driver. Due to the massive size of data centers, a large land supply is needed, existing infrastructure, and a priority for economic need is crucial for these expansions to support AI workloads.
A growing chunk of that investment is going to thermoplastics, which are becoming more common in chip and facility design as AI changes the power and thermal profiles of the data center. Thermoplastics such as polycarbonate, PVC and CPVC are replacing perforated metal and other materials because they perform as well or better than legacy materials and have other advantages. More specifically, materials like Multiwall PC, Monolithic PC, Acrylic, HDPE, and PP are also designed for places where metal can’t be used and corrosion or flame resistance is required.
Applications where these thermoplastics are best suited are:
- Airflow and containment systems
- Door and panel glazing
- Rack doors and side panels
- Plenum partitions and ceiling tiles
- Cable management and power distribution
Specifically, the benefits of thermoplastics are:
- Durable and impact resistant
- Lightweight
- Flame-resistant (meeting UL, FM and other flammability ratings)
- Chemical-resistant (depending on the material and the chemicals)
- Corrosion-resistant
- Highly available
- Cost-effective
As you can see, some high-performance thermoplastics are popular for semiconductor use due to holding up well in extreme environments, including the high temperatures produced in servers, and provide excellent dielectric properties to prevent electrical interference and short circuits. They’re also a good fit for chip manufacturing equipment, because they stand up well to hydrochloric and nitric acid, as well as other strong acids used at various stages of the manufacturing process.
Stepping back from the chip, thermoplastics play an increasingly prominent role that will only grow in the AI-focused data centers of the future. The same general properties that make thermoplastics appealing in countless other applications are suddenly in demand in data centers that get hotter with every ChatGPT query and where every square foot is at a premium.
Segregating Hot and Cold Air
Hot aisle/cold aisle configurations have been the default option in the data center for decades, but as energy efficiency became increasingly important designers went a step further. By fully enclosing either the hot aisle or the cold aisle (there are advocates for both approaches), hot and cold air is further segregated, keeping hot air expelled by servers from finding its way into the server’s cold air intake. This aisle containment strategy improves server performance and reduces the energy required to cool the air reaching the servers.
Most of these aisle containment systems use thermoplastics – polycarbonate, most commonly – to enclose the area between two aisles of racks in such a way that either the cold air or the hot air is captured and reused appropriately. Polycarbonate is a popular choice because it provides the durability, transparency, and heat resistance needed for the job. It’s also relatively inexpensive and lightweight, especially when compared to pre-existing substrates – the latter an important factor in the raised floor environments common to air-cooled data centers.
Ceilings and Doors
The same drivers are pushing data centers to use Multiwall Polycarbonate in ceiling tiles. That space in the ceiling is used to run critical infrastructure systems throughout the facility. These include power distribution, warm air return ductwork, and plumbing to support air, liquid and hybrid cooling systems. Multiwall Polycarbonate is a sturdy, lightweight solution that can be fabricated to meet the needs of any data center.
In both applications – raised floor and ceiling – polycarbonate can provide an added benefit metal can’t match: transparency. Clear polycarbonate in floor and ceiling tiles allows data center managers to see cables, ductwork, plumbing and conduit and physically inspect its condition without removing the tiles.
Some rack manufacturers are beginning to use Multiwall Polycarbonate on the front and rear doors of their racks to reduce the overall weight of the rack without compromising heat resistance or ease of fabrication. And, just like the floor and ceiling tiles, clear polycarbonate doors can make it easier to see what’s inside compared to the more common perforated steel. Some rack doors are made with tempered glass inserts, but that adds weight and polycarbonate delivers all the benefits of glass at a lower weight and price.
The Bottom Line
Today’s data centers are filled with thermoplastics that offer all the performance characteristics of legacy materials – and more – but are lighter, less expensive and readily available. Thermoplastics such as multiwall polycarbonate are becoming preferred choices for aisle containment solutions, raised floor and ceiling tiles, rack doors and more, often replacing and outperforming steel and other materials.