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. 2015 May 20;15(5):11685-700.
doi: 10.3390/s150511685.

Optimal Self-Tuning PID Controller Based on Low Power Consumption for a Server Fan Cooling System

Chengming Lee  1 , Rongshun Chen  2
Affiliations

Optimal Self-Tuning PID Controller Based on Low Power Consumption for a Server Fan Cooling System

Chengming Lee et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

Recently, saving the cooling power in servers by controlling the fan speed has attracted considerable attention because of the increasing demand for high-density servers. This paper presents an optimal self-tuning proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller, combining a PID neural network (PIDNN) with fan-power-based optimization in the transient-state temperature response in the time domain, for a server fan cooling system. Because the thermal model of the cooling system is nonlinear and complex, a server mockup system simulating a 1U rack server was constructed and a fan power model was created using a third-order nonlinear curve fit to determine the cooling power consumption by the fan speed control. PIDNN with a time domain criterion is used to tune all online and optimized PID gains. The proposed controller was validated through experiments of step response when the server operated from the low to high power state. The results show that up to 14% of a server's fan cooling power can be saved if the fan control permits a slight temperature response overshoot in the electronic components, which may provide a time-saving strategy for tuning the PID controller to control the server fan speed during low fan power consumption.

Keywords: PID neural network; fan power model; optimal self-tuning; server fan cooling system.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Server mockup system.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Fan power model.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The block diagram of the self-tuning proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control system.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Structure of PIDNN for executing an online self-tuning PID controller for a server.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) Configuration of the server fan control system. Add a descriptive label of the figure here; (b) Server mockup system.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The flow chart of PID self-tuning.
Figure 7
Figure 7
The result of PID self-tuning. (a) The process of P gain; (b) The process of I gain; (c) The process of D gain.
Figure 7
Figure 7
The result of PID self-tuning. (a) The process of P gain; (b) The process of I gain; (c) The process of D gain.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Control results of various PID controllers for CPU1. (a) The temperature responses of CPU1 by the PID controller; (b) The control efforts of Fans 3 and 4 by the PID controller.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Control results of PID controllers with an overshoot. (a) The temperature responses of the electronic components by the PID controllers; (b) The control efforts of the fans by the PID controllers.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Control results of PID controllers without an overshoot. (a) The temperature responses of the electronic components by the PID controllers; (b) The control efforts of the fans by the PID controllers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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