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STALL AND PARALLEL OPERATION

Grönwoldt-Hesse, Henning
1
WITT & SOHN AG, Germany

ABSTRACT
As for aircrafts stall is a fundamental problem for the operation of axial flow fans. Unstable
aerodynamic conditions lead to high vibrations of the impeller blades and as a consequence
leading to severe failures on fan units in the long-term.
It is discussed which conditions lead to stall operation on axial flow fans and which measures
could prevent stall and its negative consequences on fans and performance of the ventilation
system.
Keywords: Stall, parallel operation of axial flow fans, anti-stall device

1. DEFINITION OF STALL ON AXIAL FLOW FANS

Stall on axial flow fans means a status of non uniform flow through the impeller of the fans.
Most axial flow fans have unstable fan curves with a peak point as an indication for Stall.
During stall condition the flow separates from the blade shape. Eddies occur downstream
close to the impeller hub and upstream close to the impeller tip. The size of the eddies varies
during stall conditions. The maximum size is reached for zero volume flow. The air flow
through the impeller becomes more and more radial when the size of the eddies enlarge,
which is the reason why the maximum pressure is mostly reached for zero volume flow (Eck,
2003), [1].

a
c
d

Figure 1: Flow conditions for an axial flow fan

Axial flow fans should not be operated for longer periods under stall conditions. The unstable
aerodynamic conditions lead to poor efficiency, high noise levels and high vibrations on the
impellers blades. Severe failures on fan units could be the consequence.

2. STALL SCENARIOS
2.1. Stall for operation of single fans
Axial flow fans should only operate on the part of the performance curve, which is steadily
rising from maximum volume at free delivery.

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Stall Operation range

Stall

Operation range

Figure 2: Stall and operation range for an axial flow fan

It has to be assured that plant resistance curve crosses the fan performance curve within that
area. In order to cover uncertainties of the pressure drop calculation on one hand and
manufacturing tolerance of the fan on the other hand adequate safety margins to the beginning
of the Stall area have to be taken into account.
It has to be noticed that the plant layout is not only influencing the plant resistance curves but
also the fan performance curve. Performance curves of fans refer to standardized test condi-
tions, which assure proper aerodynamic conditions. Poor plant layout reduces the fan perfor-
mance compared to the results obtained by standardized test conditions (Bohl, 1983), [2].

Reduced performance
curve by poor installation

Figure 3: Changes of the fan performance curve due to poor installation

As a consequence the volume flow in the plant would be below the designed values although
fan selection and pressure drop calculation itself had been conducted correctly. In worst case
the fan operation point in the plant would be within the Stall area.
Therefore it is essential for the design of ventilation system to follow the guidelines for the
installation of axial flow fans.
2.2. Temporary Stall by Piston effects
For some applications the plant resistance curves are fluctuating temporarily which is caused
by pressure waves passing the ventilation system. As a consequence of these fluctuations the
fan operation point is moving on the performance curve to larger or lower volume flow.
The most common application is the ventilation of Metro systems. In order to select the fans
correctly, the size of the pressure fluctuations has to be known. It has to be assured that the
fan operation point would not shift to the stall zone. Fan failures by fatigue due to high cycle
load changes have to be excluded.

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100% speed

Stall

50% speed

Figure 4: Fluctuation of the plant resistance curve by piston effect

This is most important point for fans used all day for comfort mode. Most critical issues are
operations with partial load at reduced speed. Fans, which cover the piston effect easily at full
speed may run in stall at 50% speed, since the fan pressure would be reduced to 25% of the
full speed values while the piston effect generated by passing train stays constant. Please refer
to figure 4.
It is therefore recommended to use relative small fans with high dynamics for Metro
applications. Such kinds of fans do operate on the right side of the fan performance curve and
provide the maximum safety between fan operation point and stall area.
It has also to be noted that depending on the characteristics even jet fans may run into stall by
pressure fluctuations caused by the piston effect.

2.3. Stall by parallel operation

Mostly axial flow fans have unstable performance curves. In practice, there is some
uncertainty about the parallel operation of axial flow fans. Even some literature about axial
flow fans do not clarify the situation totally (Bohl, 1983) and just recommend to use axial
flow fans with variable pitch in motion, in order to start-up the fans with low blade angle and
steadily rising curves .These kind of fans do offer some advantages to adjust the fans towards
the plant characteristics as already discussed on the 4th international conference ‘Tunnel
Safety and Ventilation’ (Schiller, 2008), [3] but there is no automatism to use that kind of
complex and cost intensive technology for each application with parallel operation.
Also axial flow fans with variable pitch at standstill could be operated in parallel. It is
essential to know the complete performance curve of the axial flow fans from zero volume
flow until free delivery including the Stall area. Critical areas could be excluded knowing that
the total performance curve could be calculated as shown in figure 5.

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Max. plant resistance curve

unstable

C+C stable

A B C Total performance curve

Single performance curve

Figure 5: Parallel operation of fans with unstable performance curves

For pressure values close to the peak point three different volume flows (A, B and C) are
possible. As a consequence the total performance curves have a characteristic with a loop
(Eck, 2003), [1].
The maximum plant resistance curve for operation in parallel is defined by that loop. A
crossing of the loop by the plant resistance curve has to excluded, since one fan may operate
in stall conditions in case of parallel duty. For the selection of fans an adequate safety margin
towards the maximum plant resistance curve has to be considered.
It has to be pointed out that this kind of investigation requires the knowledge of the complete
fan performance curve including the stall area. Unfortunately not all fan manufacturers supply
that kind of information. Based on such kind of information, conclusions about the suitability
for parallel duty are doable.

3. MEASURES TO PREVENT STALL OPERATON

3.1. Stall sensors
Axial flow fans can be equipped with Petermann probes in order to detect stall. A change of
pressure conditions caused by eddies on the blade tips is used for that. That kind of sensors
react with a certain delay, since stall starts with eddies downstream close to the impeller hub.
These turbulences are not detected by common stall sensors.
If the fan characteristic curve is known in detail, stall could be indirectly detected by the
measurement of volume flow and speed. A critical flow speed ratio including some safety
margin could be defined to avoid operation under stall conditions.
In any case stall detections help to prevent consequential damages by the detection of a
problem but they do not solve the problem itself.
3.2. Design of plant and fan selection
The risk of stall could be also controlled if both issues are done correctly. Fan manufacturer
have to select fans in a correct way. Pressure fluctuations by piston effects and parallel
operation of two or several fans have to be taken into account.
On the other side it is up to the system designer to evaluate the size of piston effects correctly
and to assure a proper fan station layout. It has to be assured that fan characteristic curves are
not changed by poor aerodynamic conditions to unknown characteristics.

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3.3. Use of fans with steadily rising performance curves

The use of fans with steadily rising performance curves is the easiest way to exclude stall
problems.
Either pressure waves by piston effects or also parallel duty can be handled easily without
complex control regime.

100% speed

50% speed

Figure 6: Influence of piston effects on fans with stable performance curves

For parallel operation the start up of any additional fan is no problem at all, since the risk that
the fan may stuck in unstable aerodynamic conditions does not exist.

Figure 7: Parallel operation of fans with stable performance curves

Another issue has to be taken into account: In practice, several of fan rooms are not 100%
symmetrical and the aerodynamic conditions are not similar for each fan running in parallel.
This could become a problem for fans with unstable performance curves, while fans with
stable operation curves would compensate such kind of differences.
Steadily rising performance curves on axial flow fans could be achieved by two measures. It
is possible to select fans with low blade angles only or to stabilise the fans characteristics with
increased blade angles by anti-stall devices.
Fans with low blade angle mostly provide anti-stall characteristics. Such kind of fans are used
for several applications although the delivered volume flow and pressure rise is relatively
small for the given fan size.
Anti-Stall devices extend the range of steadily rising curves for larger volume flow and higher
pressures.

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4. PRINCIPLE OF ANTI-STALL DEVICES

The intent of anti-stall devices is to limit eddies upstream near to the blade tip. Backwards
flow is concentrated and returned towards the impeller with the main airflow. As a
consequence the blockage of the main air flow is reduced.

Figure 8: Principle function of anti-stall devices

Anti-stall devices are available for unidirectional but also for reversible axial flow fans. For
reversible flow fans anti-stall devices have to be considered for both directions of operation.
Most important point for the function of an anti-stall device is the axial distance towards the
impeller tip. The positioning has to be done for a certain blade pitch angle.
Anti stall device cause a slight decrease of aerodynamic fan efficiency and a slight increase of
the fan noise levels. This could be of interest for large fans operating long periods with high
power consumption but for fans operated in emergency case only or for fans with low power
consumption the impact is economically mostly negligible.

5. CONCLUSION
Stall on axial flow fans is a severe problem to be considered for the ventilation of road and
railway tunnels. The use of fans with steadily rising performance curves is the safest way to
exclude negative impacts by stall. Compared to other strategies being in use today such kind
of fans provide a higher level of reliability by the reduction of the fan complexity in
combination with reduced investment cost and maintenance efforts.

REFERENCES
[1] Eck, B., (2003) Ventilatoren pp. 315-316 + 380-381 Springer, Berlin
[2] Bohl, W., (1983) Ventilatoren pp.89-99 +1114,Vogel Würzburg
[3] Schiller, F, (2008) Design Criteria and operational limits for axial flow fans operated in
parallel mode, 4thInternational Conference ‘Tunnel Safety and Ventilation’ 2008, Graz

6thInternational Conference ‘Tunnel Safety and Ventilation’ 2012, Graz