Applied Math Modeling launched the fourth release of its predictive-modeling tool for data center cooling systems CoolSim 4.

The tool uses computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling method to predict how changes in cooling equipment and airflow-control configurations will impact different areas of the computer room. The software analyzes data from a variety of possible data sources and generates a three-dimensional model of the server room and air temperatures inside it.

Applied Math offers CoolSim 4 as a service, meaning a customer can access the tool through the Internet (or in the Cloud). The processing is done in the Cloud as well, so the user does not need to dedicate their own server capacity to modeling.

Paul Bemis, CEO of Applied Math, said the latest CoolSim version’s Software-as-a-Service delivery model meant users no longer had to pay annual licensing fees or spend money on servers to use a CFD modeling tool.

“With CoolSim 4, users can leverage the same technology used in the aerospace and automotive markets at a fraction of the cost of ‘local processing only’ solutions.”

The fourth version features a new object-oriented database-driven modeling environment with higherarchical XML data structures. This feature, Applied Math explained, allows its component library to scale without performance degradation.

The tool can be used to design a new cooling system or to optimize an existing one. A user can, for example, predict what effect a cooling-unit failure will have or how much energy they will save if they implement hot-aisle/cold-aisle containment, to name a few possible use scenarios.

CoolSim 4 can generate a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) figure, Return Temperature Index (RTI) or Rack Cooling Index (RTI).

The software can be integrated into existing data center software systems, as all of its data can be searched and replaced by external programs using XML transforms.

Applied Math is a spin-out of Ansys, which originally created CoolSim in 2005.