Are Your Whiskers Giving Your Data Center Problems?

Unlike the harmless “whiskers” on our furry friends, these zinc whiskers can pose problems to your data center. You may be asking yourself, what are zinc whiskers and why do I need to be worried about them? The term describes the tiny crystals which form on steel electroplated (galvanized) surfaces with zinc in order to prevent rust from forming. Over time the molecular stress from the galvanization causes the zinc to expand outward creating filaments—hence the term whisker. Data Centers need to take action to prevent these whiskers from forming and detaching which could potentially cause system downtime due to short circuits or server failure. The post below explains how to prevent your data center from harmful repercussions of these infamous “zinc whiskers.”

Post originally appeared on Chatsworth Products, Inc. Blog.

Not to be confused with the five o’clock shadow one might sport after pulling an all-nighter updating servers, “zinc whiskers” actually refer to tiny surface crystals that form on steel surfaces that have been electroplated (galvanized) with zinc to prevent rust.

While the zinc overlay prevents corrosion, the molecular stress created by this electroplating process causes the zinc to sometimes expand outward, and in the process, create filaments commonly referred to as zinc whiskers (as seen above in this microscopic image).

In the data center, these zinc whiskers can form on items such as raised floor tiles and other infrastructural support such as cable runway and tray that have a zinc-electroplated coating.

In the event that zinc whiskers physically detach from their surfaces and enter a data center’s airflow (before ever being detected or impeded by air filters), these electro-charged particles can cause short circuits and other equipment failure.

Faced with this knowledge, here are a few ways you can prevent the threat of equipment failure due to the formation and airflow contamination of zinc whiskers:

• Consider using raised floor tiles that don’t rely on zinc coating
• Consider products that offer a hot-dip galvanized zinc coating – the hot-dip includes an extra layer of coating that puts the zinc under much less pressure than that of electroplating
• Consider products such as cable tray that uses a powder-coating (instead of zinc) to prevent corrosion

At CPI, we take the issue of zinc whiskers in the data center seriously, and with our most recent product release, the OnTrac® Shaped Tray for cable pathway applications (seen here), we offer both a pre-galvanized and black powder-coated finish to prevent zinc whiskers. Learn more about the OnTrac Shaped Tray at our website and as always, feel free to call Technical Support at 800-834-4969 with any questions regarding zinc whiskers or otherwise.