Data Center Engineering Handbook

Modern data centers depend on far more than computing equipment. Behind every reliable facility is a carefully engineered mechanical infrastructure responsible for cooling, thermal management, and operational performance.
Data center mechanical engineering involves managing concentrated heat loads, controlling airflow, circulating cooling fluids, maintaining environmental conditions, and balancing energy consumption with operational reliability.
As computing infrastructure develops, engineers and facility operators must understand how different cooling technologies interact with mechanical equipment, facility layouts, and thermal performance requirements.
Data Center Engineering Handbook presents a structured approach to the mechanical systems and engineering principles that support modern data center operations.
The book is designed to connect fundamental engineering concepts with the technical considerations involved in HVAC design, cooling infrastructure, heat transfer, airflow distribution, and facility management.
Inside this textbook, readers will explore:

1. Data center thermal management: Understand how equipment heat loads influence cooling-system requirements and thermal performance.
2. HVAC design and cooling infrastructure: Examine the roles of air-conditioning equipment, chilled-water systems, and supporting mechanical components.
3. Liquid cooling technologies: Explore cooling-fluid circulation, heat exchangers, coolant distribution, and liquid-based heat removal.
4. Airflow optimization: Understand airflow organization, containment strategies, return-air pathways, and methods for reducing hot spots.
5. Mechanical equipment and infrastructure: Study the relationships between pumps, heat exchangers, piping networks, and cooling-system arrangements.
6. Operational reliability: Examine the importance of redundancy, maintainability, monitoring, and coordinated mechanical operations.
7. Energy efficiency: Explore how thermal performance, cooling strategies, and mechanical-system choices influence facility energy consumption.