| Title |
Adaptability Evaluation and Policy Tasks for Modular Approaches in the Transformation of AI Data Center Delivery Systems |
| Authors |
Byungyun Bae ; Woo-jong Kim |
| DOI |
https://dx.doi.org/10.6106/KJCEM.2026.27.5.048 |
| Keywords |
AI Data Center; Modular Construction; Adaptability; AHP?IPA; Off-Site Construction (OSC); Policy Framework |
| Abstract |
This study proposes a six-dimension adaptability evaluation framework for modular AI data centers and derives policy improvement directions to support its domestic application. AI workloads place new demands on power capacity, cooling technology, and time-to-market, which the sequential delivery process of conventional reinforcedconcrete (RC) data centers struggles to accommodate. Modular data centers enable parallel factory fabrication and site preparation as well as phased addition of power, cooling, and IT modules, but their diffusion depends not only on technical performance but also on permitting, certification, and supply-chain conditions. We structured adaptability into six dimensions?power response, cooling and technology-transition response, space and equipment flexibility, phased scalability, schedule and market responsiveness, and institutional and supply-chain suitability?and applied an integrated AHP?IPA analysis to a panel of 15 experts in data center planning, design, MEP, and operations. Power response (0.235) and cooling and technology-transition response (0.215) emerged as the most critical dimensions, followed by schedule responsiveness (0.195) and phased scalability (0.165). The IPA analysis identified institutional and supply-chain suitability as a latent regulatory bottleneck, despite its lower relative weight, because permitting and grid approval function as threshold conditions for project execution. The principal contribution of this study is twofold: (1) it integrates data center engineering with OSC/DfMA research to formalise the concept of modular data center adaptability and (2) it links analytical results directly to five concrete policy instruments?factory certification, standard-module pre-certification, an integrated fast-track review, phased power approval, and green modular data center certification. |