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Reversible axial fans are used to achieve air (gas) flow in both directions. An axial fan only has an impeller that can achieve the reverse flow by changing the direction of the impeller rotation. In order to obtain the same performance for both directions, the profiles of the impeller blades should be completely symmetrical, in the shape of the ellipse. This paper presents the design and performance for a reversible axial fan with blades that have a slightly doubly curved profile. The shape of the profile, whose design is shown here, was previously obtained on the basis of the numerical simulation in the profile cascade. For the experimental tests, an axial reversible fan model with double curved profiles of the blades was made. Fan performance was obtained by testing a fan for three blade positions on a standard test installation. The performance curves were compared with the performance of the reversible axial fan blades with straight profiles. The fan with doubly curved profile blades achieved a greater increase in pressure and flow than the fan with straight profiles, with approximately the same efficiency. Low pressure axial reversible fans are used in drying chambers for wood and such a design can achieve higher drying efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the fabrication and performance characterization of miniature axial fans that are developed using 2D blade profiles. 12 prototypes, with an outer diameter of 5 mm, having different blade angles and blade profiles were fabricated using UV photolithography with SU-8 as photoresist. Tests were conducted at 3 different speeds to examine the applicability of similarity laws. The results show that cambered profiles generated much higher pressure and flow rate as compared to a flat plate profile. For flat plate profiles, a maximum pressure of 0.55 Pa and a flow rate of 9.9 cm/s are generated with a blade angle of 42° when the fan is operating at 20,000 rpm. This is much lower than that obtained by cambered profiles where a maximum pressure of 1.15 Pa and a flow rate of 14.6 cm/s are generated with a blade angle of 60°. The effects of increasing blade number and blade angle have a positive effect on the flow rate delivered and pressure generated but the effects of increasing blade number is more effective in enhancing fan performance. The results also show that dynamic similarity is observed for rotational speeds of 15,000 and 20,000 rpm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the performance improvement of an in-line centrifugal fan obtained by utilizing outlet guide vanes is presented. For this purpose, numerical solutions were sought for Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations using a commercial finite-volume-based solver assuming three-dimensional, steady, viscous, and incompressible flow. Computational modeling was first verified by experiments that comply with the fan performance testing International Organization for Standardization Standard BS EN ISO 5801. Streamlines at the outlet revealed the necessity of guide vanes to eliminate the high circumferential velocity component and to recover static pressure rise. For this purpose, manufacturers employ flat plates welded on the fan chassis that carry the motor and the impeller. In the experiments, maximum fan efficiency was 17% without any flow straightener, whereas the flat plates increased the efficiency to 31%. Using the guide vanes designed in this study, the swirl at the outlet was almost completely eliminated, and the maximum efficiency was found to be 38%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A parametric study on the geometry of an impeller in a forward-curved blades centrifugal fan for residential ventilation has been carried out in this work. Numerical analysis of a forward-curved blades centrifugal fan was carried out by solving three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the shear stress transport turbulence model. A validation of numerical results was conducted by comparison with experimental data for the pressure and efficiency. The impeller separated by an annular plate was employed, and the annular plate height and the angle between the upper and lower impellers were selected as the geometric parameters to investigate their effects on the efficiency of the forward-curved blades centrifugal fan. Additionally, the impeller geometry having the highest efficiency was tested with the number and exit angle of blades. The results show that the impeller with properly installed annular plate improves the aerodynamic performance of the forward-curved blades centrifugal fan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An overview is given on the research maintained by the author about the design aspects ' of three-dimensional blade passage flow in low-speed axial flow industrial fan rotors, affected by spanwise changing design blade circulation due to controlled vortex design (CVD), blade forward sweep (FSW), and their combination. It was pointed out that, comparing the CVD method to the free vortex design, the fluid in the blade suction side boundary layer has an increased inclination to migrate radially outward, increasing the near-tip blockage and loss. It was concluded that the benefit of FSW, in terms of moderating loss near the tip, can be better utilized for the rotors of the CVD, in comparison to the free vortex design. Compared to the free vortex design, the FSW applied to the blades of the CVD was found to also be especially beneficial in loss reduction away from the end-walls, via shortening the flow paths on the suction side--in any case being elongated by the radially outward flow due to CVD--and thus, reducing the effect of wall skin friction. The necessity of correcting the swept blades was pointed out for matching with the prescribed CVD circulation distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-pressure axial fan impellers designed according to the principle of equal specific work of all elementary stages have blades whose profile near the fan hub is under a significantly larger inclination angle than at the impeller periphery. In order to minimize the spatial curvature of the fan blades and the fan hub length, impeller blades of low-pressure axial fans can be designed with different specific work of elementary stages, so that the specific work of elementary stages is smaller at the hub than at the periphery. This paper presents the operating characteristics of a low-pressure reversible axial fan with straight blade profiles, de-signed with different specific work of elementary stages. The fan was tested on a standard test rig, with air intake loading on the suction side of the fan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Induced draft fans extract coal fired boiler combustion products, including particles of un-burnt coal and ash. As a consequence of the particles, the axial fan blades' leading edges are subject to erosion. Erosion results in the loss of the blade leading edge aerodynamic profile and a reduction of blade chord and effective camber that together degrade aerodynamic performance. An experimental study demonstrated that while the degradation of aerodynamic performance begins gradually, it collapses as blade erosion reaches a critical limit. This paper presents a numerical study on the evolution of blade leading edge erosion patterns in an axial induced draft fan. The authors calculated particle trajectories using an in-house computational fluid dynamic (CFD) solver coupled with a trajectory predicting solver based on an original finite element interpolation scheme. The numerical study clarifies the influence of flow structure, initial blade geometry, particle size, and concentration on erosion pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obtaining the right pitch in turbomachinery blading is crucial to efficient and successful operations. Engineers adjust the rotor's pitch angle to control the production or absorption of power. Even for low speed fans this is a promising tool. This paper focuses on the inception and the evolution of the flow instabilities in the tip region which drive the stall onset in low speed axial fans. The authors conducted an experimental study to investigate the inception patterns of rotating stall evolution at different rotor blade stagger-angle settings with the aim of speculating on stable operating margin. The authors drove the fan to stall at the design stagger-angle setting and then operated the variable pitch mechanism in order to recover the unstable operation. They measured pressure fluctuations in the tip region of the low-speed axial-flow fan fitted with a variable pitch in motion mechanism, with flush mounted probes. The authors studied the flow mechanisms for spike and modal stall inceptions in this low-speed axial-flow fan which showed relatively small tip clearance. The authors cross-correlated the pressure fluctuations and analyzed the cross-spectra in order to clarify blade pitch, end wall flow, and tip-leakage flow influences on stall inception during the transient at the rotor blades' different stagger-angle settings. The authors observed a rotating instability near the maximum pressure-rise point at both design and low stagger-angle settings. The stall inception patterns were a spike type at the design stagger-angle setting as a result of the interaction between the incoming flow, tip-leakage flow and end wall backflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes research involving an in-service failure of a "variable pitch in motion" fan's blade bearing. Variable pitch in motion fans rotate at a constant speed, with the changing blade angle varying the load. A pitch-change mechanism facilitates the change in blade angle. A blade bearing supports each blade enabling it to rotate. The author observed that as the fan aerodynamic stage loading progressively increased, so did the rate of blade-bearing wear. The reported research addressed two separate, but linked, needs. First, the ongoing need to increase fan pressure development capability required an increase in fan loading. This increase was within the context of an erosive operating regime which systematically reduced fan pressure development capability. The second need was to identify the root cause of blade-bearing failures. The author addressed the linked needs using a computational analysis, improving the rotor inflow aerodynamic characteristics through an analysis of the inlet box and design of inlet guide vanes to control flow nonuniformities at the fan inlet. The results of the improvement facilitated both an increase in fan-pressure-developing capability and identification of the root cause of the blade-bearing failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Fatigue failure of holding U-bolt of a cooling fan blade is analyzed. Fractography of the fracture surface reveals the characteristics of a fatigue fracture. Finite element modeling is used for stress analyzing. Analysis of the loading conditions indicates that the bolts are under multiaxial fatigue. Effective alternating and mean stresses are obtained based on the multiaxial fatigue criteria. By using the modified Goodman approach and considering the notch effect, effective stress amplitude, is obtained for all nodes. The highest stress amplitude is obtained at six critical nodes. Fatigue life for the most critical node is determined as 3.63 million cycles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Low-noise centrifugal fans are developed by modifying the linear trailing edge lines of the fan blades into inclined S-shaped lines. The noise reductions achieved by using the inclined S-shaped trailing edges in the existing fans are confirmed by comparing the predicted BPF noise components of the developed fans with those of the existing fan. In addition, the turbulent kinetic energy of the fluid for the inclined S-shaped fans is predicted to be less than that for the existing fan. Finally, experiments using four prototype fans show that the levels of broadband noise from the newly developed fans are less than those of noise from existing fans. An additional experiment performed by using a selected low-noise fan installed in a household refrigerator show that the overall noise from the new fan is reduced by approximately 2.2dB in comparison with that from the existing fan in the refrigerator. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present work was carried out to investigate the failure mechanism of a power plant forced draft fan (FDF) blade made of 2014-T6 Al alloy, using visual examination, microstructural characterizations, study of the fracture surface and hardness testing. Based on the obtained results, surface defects including corrosion pits due to the existence of Cl ion and also erosion pits due to mechanical action of particles in the air entering from the filtration system and abrading on the fan blades surfaces, increased the probability of surface crack initiation. Cyclic loading and stress concentration on these surface defects influenced the fatigue life of the blade due to elevating the mean stress and resulted in fatigue failure of the investigated FDF component. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The purpose of this work is to study the effects of blade thickness on the performances of an axial-flow fan. Two fans that differ only in the thickness of their blades were studied. The first fan was designed to be part of the cooling system of an automotive vehicle power unit and has very thin blades. The second fan has much thicker blades compatible with the rotomoulding conception process. The overall performances of the fans were measured in a test bench designed according to the ISO-5801 standard. The curve of aerodynamics characteristics (pressure head versus flow-rate) is slightly steeper for the fan with thick blades, and the nominal point is shifted towards lower flow-rates. The efficiency of the thick blades fan is lower than the efficiency of the fan with thin blades but remains high on a wider flow-rate range. The mean velocity fields downstream of the rotors are very similar at nominal points with less centrifugation for the thick blades fan. Moreover, the thick blades fan maintains an axial exit-flow on a wider range of flow-rates. The main differences concern local properties of the flow: phase-averaged velocities and wall pressure fluctuations strongly differ at the nominal flow-rates. The total level of fluctuations is lower for the thick blades fan that for the thin blades fan and the spectral decomposition of the wall fluctuations and velocity signals reveal more harmonics for the thick blades fan, with less correlation between the different signals. For this kind of turbomachinery, the use of thick blades could lead to a good compromise between aerodynamic and acoustic performances, on a wider operating range. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper studies the effects of blades' forward-swept amount in the rotation direction and forward-inclined amount in the intake direction on the flow around the fan blades of a large open-type motor. The authors have previously clarified this flow separation on the blade surface under high ventilation resistance from flow analysis and visualization experiments. To prevent flow separation, they proposed forward-swept and inclined blades, together with reduction of the air path's ventilation resistance. In this study, numerical fluid analyses were performed on the flow around forward-swept and inclined blades of axial fans for large open-type motors. Several combinations of forward-swept and inclined amounts were studied. The relationship between forward-swept and inclined amounts and flow was evaluated quantitatively, and an ideal combination was obtained. The study revealed that an axial fan with this combination showed much higher flow rate than a conventional fan without forward-swept and inclined blades. Furthermore, it significantly decreased fluid noise and axis power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of the pitch of the blades in an axial fan with an UK-2M impeller 2.8 m in diameter on the characteristics of a horizontal three-section air cooler (AC), the six-tier heat-exchange sections of which consist of bimetallic finned tubes with rolled aluminum fins (tube-finning factor of 20.4; medium cooled – gasoline) is analytically investigated. It is found that for the same power consumed by the fan drive, the pitch of the fan blades in the interval from 15 to 25° will not affect the thermal flux of the AC. Recommendations are given for selection of energy-expedient pitches of the blades during AC operation, and also for thermal analyses of units under design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study presents an experimental work concerning the thermal performance of piezoelectric fans. A total of six piezoelectric fans with various blade geometries are made and tested. The influence of geometric parameters, including the horizontal/vertical arrangement, and location of the piezofan, on the performance of piezofans is examined. It is found that the heat transfer augmentation of the piezofan comes from the entrained airflow during each oscillation cycle and the jet-like air stream at the fan tip, yet these two modes are of the same order of magnitude. The heat transfer performance for vertical arrangement shows a symmetrical distribution and peaks at the center region whereas the horizontal arrangement possesses an asymmetrical distribution and shows an early peak at x/L =0.25. It is also found that the heat transfer performance for horizontal arrangement is not necessarily lower than that of vertical one. Based on the dimensionless analysis to the test results for the all six fans, a correlation applicable for x/L =0 is proposed. The mean deviation is 4.8% that can well describe the influence of geometrical parameters. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents the acoustic performance of a novel approach for the passive adaptive control of tonal noise radiated from subsonic fans. Tonal noise originates from non-uniform flow that causes circumferentially varying blade forces and gives rise to a considerably larger radiated dipolar sound at the blade passage frequency (BPF) and its harmonics compared to the tonal noise generated by a uniform flow. The approach presented in this paper uses obstructions in the flow to destructively interfere with the primary tonal noise arising from various flow conditions. The acoustic radiation of the obstructions is first demonstrated experimentally. Indirect on-axis acoustic measurements are used to validate the analytical prediction of the circumferential spectrum of the blade unsteady lift and related indicators generated by the trapezoidal and sinusoidal obstructions presented in Ref. [A. Gérard, A. Berry, P. Masson, Y. Gervais, Modelling of tonal noise control from subsonic axial fans using flow control obstructions, Journal of Sound and Vibration (2008), this issue, doi:10.1016/j.jsv.2008.09.027.] and also by cylindrical obstructions used in the literature. The directivity and sound power attenuation are then given in free field for the control of the BPF tone generated by rotor/outlet guide vane (OGV) interaction and the control of an amplified BPF tone generated by the rotor/OGV interaction with an added triangular obstruction between two outlet guide vanes to enhance the primary non-uniform flow. Global control was demonstrated in free field, attenuation up to 8.4dB of the acoustic power at BPF has been measured. Finally, the aerodynamic performances of the automotive fan used in this study are almost not affected by the presence of the control obstruction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper investigates the analytical calculation of blade unsteady lift spectrum when interacting with a neighboring obstruction, designed to control tonal noise. The approach used in this paper is to add a secondary unsteady lift mode, of equal intensity but opposite in phase with the primary unsteady lift mode which radiates most of tonal noise, so that the resultant of both primary and secondary modes is null. To control one unsteady lift mode (consequently an acoustic tone) without affecting the harmonics of the controlled mode (consequently the harmonics of the acoustic tone to be controlled), it is important for the secondary unsteady lift to be harmonically selective. We have therefore evaluated the harmonic content of the blade unsteady lift generated by the proposed control obstructions. To this purpose, an original equation is derived using the infinitesimal radial strips theory coupled with the one-dimensional Sears gust analysis. The spectrum of the blade unsteady lift is then analyzed for three types of obstructions: a series of -trapezoidal obstructions, a -periodic sinusoidal obstruction and a series of -rectangular obstructions (where is the number of blades). The use of salient obstructions leads to a large unsteady lift harmonic content. An optimized wake width of the trapezoidal obstruction leads to a low harmonic content rate of . A Gaussian approximation of the measured inflow velocity profile generated by a sinusoidal obstruction leads to a relatively low harmonic content rate of , which indicates that most of the energy is contained in the fundamental mode of the blade unsteady lift. Finally, a rotor/rectangular interaction shows that the use of small-width rectangular obstructions leads to a higher harmonic content rate of . [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The failure analysis of a generator rotor fan blade was investigated by mechanical analysis and metallurgical examination of fracture surface. Fracture took place at the airfoil root, surface examination showed that the blade had cracked by a high cycle fatigue mechanism. However, there was no evidence of material defect. A series of analytical, finite element and experimental analysis was utilized to determine the steady-state stresses and dynamic characteristic of the blade. Possibly the failure was due to aerodynamical disturbances that resulted in a state of resonant condition of vibration. The simulation of blade with final crack showed the stress intensity factor (SIF) under these condition exceed the critical SIF and final fracture could be occurred under analyzed stresses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this work a simple method is developed to evaluate the design parameters of a horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT). The method applies the available data of an axial fan to a HAWT for the same arc profile blade in both machines. The method is illustrated by a numerical example with a complete design procedure in which the pitch angle and the chord of the blade are calculated. These calculated results agree with the measured data of a commercial HAWT blade. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of the entrance parameters and their interactions on the noise reduction, static head, mass flow rate, rotational speed, and efficiency of a backward-curved centrifugal fan have been studied experimentally. Design of Experiment (DoE) method has been performed to analyze the results and their effects. Three different levels for the entrance curvature and two levels for the shape of blades passage, shroud, number of blades, and inlet bell position have been selected to design and construct different fans for the aero-acoustic experimental measurements. The results analysis shows that to have a lower noise and higher efficiency, higher entrance curvature, hyperbolic profile for the shape of shroud, and inlet bell position 1 (no radial clearance) must be selected. However, based on the priority of the noise reduction or efficiency increase, constant deceleration for the blade passage or a logarithmic profile for the blades passage should be chosen. The interactions of these selections have a positive effect on noise reduction as well as on efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initially in this research, effects of blade inlet and outlet angles on the performance were considered by measuring performances. Twelve impellers with various blade angles were used for the measurements. The most suitable inlet and outlet angles and the inclination angle were acquired. Then, measurements on the inlet and outlet flows and their axial and circumferential distributions were taken for various operating conditions at the various measuring positions. The turning angles through the blade were calculated from these measured results. The inlet and outlet flows of the sirocco fan are not uniform around the circumference. The distributions of the flow have some relations with the development of flow in the inlet part and in the casing. Discussions were made on the flow to have a improved performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the proposed method that attempts to quantify the acoustically radiating modes of the blade unsteady lift and inflow velocity in the circumferential spectral domain. The method is based on the inversion of the Blake model for tonal noise from subsonic fans. It cites the need for one experimental case to demonstrate the capability of the inverse model to qualitatively reconstruct the blade loading and inflow velocity variations of an automotive engine cooling fan.

In this paper, a ring silencer design for reducing the noise of axial fans is presented. The noise sources on axial fans are usually caused by the fluctuating pressure distribution on the surface of fan blade. Most of the sources are near the trailing edge of blades or boundary region of blades. The ideation of proposed design is based on the principle of Helmholtz resonator for reducing the noise around the fan. The electro-acoustic analogy of this design is presented and simply discussed. Experimental measurement is carried out to evaluate the proposed design for reducing the axial fan noise. The result of experiment indicated that the ring silencer achieved 17 dB in blade passing frequency and 10 dB in other broadband frequency of power spectrum level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]