Most legacy computer rooms and data centers are equipped with raised
floors to accommodate data and power cables and to distribute cold air
supply to the IT equipment. As data centers become larger, on-slab
designs that use Hot Aisle Containment become a more popular choice. The
reasons are numerous and include: reduced ducting, flexible airflow
management, IT equipment weight supported directly on slab, cost
avoidance of raised flooring, reduced maintenance cost, and more robust
seismic performance on slab versus raised floor. Good containment
systems, which include aisle containment enclosures and overhead
ceilings, become critical.
Figure 1: Hot Aisle Containment enclosures with gasketed, low leakage rate structural ceiling system. Ceiling panels form a low-leakage return air plenum for the hot aisle. Suspension grid supports infrastructure and eliminates leak-causing rod penetrations through the ceiling.