The purpose of this article is to determine whether gravity plays a role in the data center environment and examine the phenomenon by analyzing what we call "gravity-assisted' air mixing using Computational Fluid dynamics (CFd) modeling and a metric called the rack Cooling index (rCi). We compare a bottomup system widely used in data centers, and alternative modular top-down system, and a hybrid system. the rCi is used to gauge how effectively the equipment racks are cooled and maintained within thermal guidelines or standards.

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