Findings Overview — Data Center Exterior CFD Survey · Resolved Analytics

← Survey overview · Findings · Updated June 2026

Findings overview

Patterns observed across the cohort, anonymized.

CFD thermal plume isosurfaces above a generator yard during emergency operation, with vertical exhaust columns coalescing downwind and lifting toward roof level
Representative result: thermal plume isosurfaces above a generator yard during emergency operation. Vertical exhaust columns from individual units coalesce downwind and lift toward roof level under low-to-moderate wind. (Figure from a representative facility.)

Status

Findings are added to this page as each facility model in the cohort is completed. Representative, anonymized per-facility results are published as individual case studies; the full figure sets, complete wind-case matrices, and quantitative summaries are shared on request with the owner, developer, or design team of record for each facility.

What we look at

Each facility is evaluated for four exterior thermal phenomena under the same set of wind and operating cases:

  1. Interaction between generator radiator plumes and adjacent generator-unit intakes inside the yard.
  2. Entrainment of generator stack and radiator plumes into rooftop heat-rejection equipment intakes.
  3. Re-ingestion of rooftop discharge into adjacent rooftop equipment under low-wind, buoyancy-dominated conditions.
  4. Outside-air-handler intake exposure to either plume family.
CFD visualization of rooftop heat-rejection plumes lofting off a multi-row data center under moderate cross-wind, with plume tilt and re-entrainment depending on wind direction relative to the building's long axis
Representative result: rooftop heat-rejection plumes lofting off a multi-row data center under moderate cross-wind. Plume tilt and re-entrainment depend on wind direction relative to the long axis of the building.

Emerging patterns

As the cohort progresses, patterns are summarized here in anonymized form — for example, how generator-yard orientation relative to the prevailing summer wind correlates with rooftop intake exposure, or how rooftop equipment density correlates with self-re-ingestion under calm conditions. The intent is to surface descriptive observations across the population, not to evaluate any individual design.

Is your facility in the cohort? If a facility you own, develop, or engineer is represented here — or you'd like one like it screened — the full figure set, complete wind-case matrix, and a one-paragraph quantitative summary are available on request to the owner, developer, or design team of record. We're also glad to run an exterior screening on a facility still in design. Contact stewart@resolvedanalytics.com.
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About the author Stewart Bible, Principal, Resolved Analytics. Resolved Analytics is a Computational Fluid Dynamics consulting practice and authorized Siemens STAR-CCM+ reseller, with a long-standing service line in mission-critical facility exterior analysis. Contact: stewart@resolvedanalytics.com.

Disclosure. This is independent research conducted by Resolved Analytics without engagement, sponsorship, or input from any firm or building owner. All inputs are derived from cited public sources; no proprietary drawings, specifications, or operational data are used. Facilities are described by type and configuration only and are not identified. Results represent idealized exterior conditions and do not represent the actual as-built performance of any facility. No claims are made regarding life-safety, code compliance, or operational performance. This material is not engineering services rendered to any party.