FANS AND FLOW DEVICES

Prepared by: SHIRLY VERTUDAZO

Outline
 Overview on Mine Fans and its relevance to Mine Ventilation
 Learning Objectives
 Definition of Terms
 Parts of Fan
 Types of Main Fans
 Classification of Fans According to the Direction of the Flow
 Fan Pressures
 Fan Losses
 Affinity Laws in Fans
 Fan Characteristics Curve
 Flow Control Strategies
 Power-flow and Pressure Flow Curves for Axial and Centrifugal Fans
 Characteristics Curve for Series and Parallel Connection of Fans
 Fans Operation
 Questions
 Conclusions
OVERVIEW ON MINE FANS AND ITS
RELEVANCE TO MINE VENTILATION

 A fan is a type of turbomachine, which continuously expels air and

increases its kinetic energy and pressure. In the past, the volumetric
machines (operating by strokes) were common, but at present, their
use is null for mine ventilation purposes, being reserved for the
production of compressed air for mining equipment actuation.

 The main purpose of a fan is to generate a high air quantity at a

pressure higher than the atmospheric, but not much higher. This
makes it possible to consider the air as incompressible which means
that their compression ratio is <1.15. Fans differ from compressors, as
the latter generate much smaller flow rates but at a much higher
pressure.
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this presentation you will be able to:

 Understand the Mine Fans and its relevance to Mine

Ventilation;
 Know the different types of fans and control devices;
 Learn the Power-flow and Pressure Flow Curves for Axial
and Centrifugal Fans, and Fans Operation; and
 Understand the Characteristics Curve for Series and
Parallel Connection of Fans
 DEFINITION OF TERMS
1. Auxiliary fan – a small, portable fan used to supplement the ventilation of
an individual working place.
2. Auxiliary ventilation – portion of main ventilating current directed to face of
dead end entry by means of an auxiliary fan and tubing.
3. Auxiliary fan – a small, portable fan used to supplement the ventilation of
an individual working place.
4. Axial flow fan - A fan that produces pressure by imparting a tangential
acceleration to air as it proceeds through the fan impeller.
5. Blower system - is one in which the energy source is located at the inlet and
raises the head of the mine or duct air above atmospheric.
6. Booster fan - A term applied to a fan that handles the entire flow in an
airway and this serves to increase the quantity of air in circulation.
7. Centrifugal fan - type of impeller designed to cope with high pressures.
8. Diffusers - are small fans used to provide fresh air and mixing at the
working face.
9. Diffuser fan – a fan mounted on a continuous miner to assist and direct air
delivery from the machine to the face.
11. Fan – is an air pump, a machine that creates a pressure difference in a duct or
airway and thus causes airflow. Fan characteristic curve - This shows the
relationship between the loads imposed upon a fan and the fan's output in
terms of the volume delivered per unit time.
12. Fan impeller – it consists of a number of blades mounted at a pitch angle and
assembled on, or integral with, a hub mounted on a driven shaft.
13. Fan operation point - It is the intersection of the fan curve and the duct curve in
a fan characteristic curve.
14. Fan rating - is the head, quantity, power, and efficiency to be expected when a
fan is operating at peak efficiency.
15. Fan static efficiency - is the measure of the airstream's potential, or optimal
energy consumption, as determined by the ratio of power output to the power
supplied.
 PARTS OF FAN
The fans consist of the following parts:

Housing or casing • Impeller – Rotating part that

communicates pressure and movement to
the air. It consists of the blades, which may
or may not be adjustable, and their
support– normally a shaft.

• Housing or casing – The stationary part,

protects the impeller and guides the air in
its route.

• Diffusers and/or evasés – These are the

elements of gradually increasing area, which
Impeller when coupled to the discharge of the fan
transform part of the dynamic pressure at
Diffusers the outlet into static pressure.
Fig. 1
 Types of main fan

1. CENTRIFUGAL FANS – These fans look like "squirrel cages" that draw air
into the centre of the fan and exhaust it at a 90-
degree angle.
– They can operate against a high resistance and are
typically used in local exhaust ventilation systems.

2. AXIAL FANS – These fans look like propellers and draw air straight
through the fan. The basic characteristics of these fans include that they:
can move large amounts of air if there is little resistance, and are not
suited for local exhaust ventilation because they do not provide enough
suction to draw air through the system.
Classification of Fans According to the
Direction of the Flow
1. CENTRIFUGAL FANS - deliver low quantities at high
pressures
Centrifugal fan blade types:
 Radial – it operates at high
speeds, can generate high
pressures and are capable of
self-cleaning
 Forward-curved - it tends to
operate at lower speed and are
smaller
 Backward-curved – it usually
offer high performances, their
power curve is significantly
elastic and are the least noisy.

Fig. 2
2. AXIAL FANS - provide higher flow rates at lower
pressures
Types of Axial Fans:

Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5

Propellers – are used if Tubeaxials – are used if the Vaneaxials – these are similar to
housing is longer in the flow the tubeaxial but incorporate
the housing is short in the downstream guide vanes to reduce
flow direction direction the rotation of the air.
3. MIXED FLOW FANS

A mixed flow fan is similar to an axial

fan. However, in the first, the impeller is modified
incorporating blades with axial and radial
elements that deflect the airflow from its straight
path to a diagonal angle of about 45° relative to
the shaft. This effect is obtained by employing a
conical impeller that draws the air through
expanding channels. Then, the spiral flow created
by the impeller is usually transformed into
straight using straightening vanes located in the
casing, thus increasing the static pressure. Mixed
flow fans combine some advantages of axial (high Fig. 6
airflow rates) and centrifugal fans (high
pressure).
Fan pressure

In Fig. 7, it can be seen how starting

from a zero pressure at the
beginning of the inlet duct, the fan
delivers static and dynamic
pressure to the air mass. The total
pressure increase is the sum of the
highest generated depression (fan
inlet) and the maximum
overpressure (fan outlet). Both
inlet and outlet ducts are affected
Fig. 7
by the consequent friction pressure
losses.
Fan Total Pressure (FTP)
It represents the total energy per unit volume communicated to
the fluid (Cermak and Murphy 2011). This parameter is defined as:
FTP = TPi − TPo
where TPi and TPo are the total inlet (i) and outlet (o) pressures,
respectively.

Then,
FTP = (SPo + VPo) − (SPi + VPi)
where SP and VP represent the static velocity pressures
at the inlet (i) and outlet (o), respectively.
If the size of the fan inlet and outlet section match, then the
velocities are also the same and with them the VP. In such a case:
FTP = (SPo) − (SPi)

All static pressure at the outlet of the fan duct is lost due to the
expansion of the airflow until atmospheric pressure is reached.

There are two possibilities for converting this static pressure into
dynamic pressure at the outlet: the nozzle and the grille. The idea
in both cases is to reduce the duct section so that a greater
amount of static pressure is transformed into velocity pressure. In
addition, both give the airflow the desired exit direction.
 Fan losses
To calculate for the overall performance of the fan system which accumulates
a series of operating losses, we can use:

where:
𝑛𝑡 = total efficiency
𝑛𝑜 = organic efficiency (first parenthesis)
𝑛𝑣 = volumetric efficiency (second parenthesis)
𝑛𝑓 = friction efficiency (third parenthesis)
In other words,
 Affinity laws in fans
The following laws are used to express the relationship between
variables involved in fan performance and power.

 Rotation speed variation – used for speeds which varies from

varies from 𝑁𝑜 to N.
 Diameter variation – are used for two dynamically similar
fans of diameter 𝐷𝑜 and D rotating at the same speed.

Flow rate (Q):

3
𝐷
𝑄 = 𝑄0
𝐷0

Pressure (P):
2
𝐷
𝑃 = 𝑃0
Fig. 8 𝐷0

Power (Pw):
5
𝐷
𝑃𝑤 = 𝑃𝑤0
𝐷0
 Simultaneous variation of several parameters – are used for
two similar fans of diameter 𝐷𝑜 and D rotating at speeds
𝑁𝑜 and N, respectively.

Fig. 9
Fan characteristics curve
The fan characteristic curves are the graphical representation of the
interrelation between a number of parameters, namely, airflow rate, static or
total pressure, fan speed, efficiency and power requirements of a fan.

Fig. 10. Experimental procedure for Fig. 11. The obtaining of the
obtaining the fan characteristic curve at operating point from the system
constant rotational speed in a test rig. characteristic curve and the total
Modified from ASHRAE (2008) pressure supplied by the fan
Fig. 12. Fan stall region and Fif. 13. Effect of natural ventilation
recommended operation zone on the fan characteristic curve
 Fan characteristic curves can be obtained for
the static pressure giving rise to the fan static
efficiency (𝑛𝑠 ) using:
Fig. 14. Use of fan curve to determine
power consumption
 Flow control strategies
The regulation of the flow supplied by a fan can be carried out
using the following fundamental mechanisms:
1. Rotation speed variation is
achieved by utilizing variable
frequency drives16 acting on the
electric motor, although in the
past pulleys mechanism was
frequent

Fig. 15. Effect of increased

rotation speed on the airflow
rate and power of a fan
2. Inlet guide vanes deliver a pre-whirl
to the airflow which improves the fan
performance curve hence, the airflow
rates and pressures delivered by the
fan decrease.

Fig. 16. Effect of free section

variation utilizing inlet guide vanes
3. Variable-pitch control is possible for axial fans with adjustable propeller
blades by which the airflow rate can be controlled by varying the angle of the
impeller blades so that if the angle of attack increases, the flow rate
increases.

4. Blade pitch variation provides infinite airflow rate ranges, has relatively
high efficiency and can move air backward employing negative pitch angles.
The greatest drawbacks of this system are its high cost and very high risk of
stall if the pitch angle adjustment is not correct

5. Bypass control acts by lowering down the system impedance curve while
maintaining the fan curve. The system is only used in fans with steep fan
curves, such as centrifugal backward-curved and axial fans. The method is not
used as it creates high losses.
Power-flow and pressure flow curves
for axial and centrifugal fans
• The shape of the characteristic curves of the fans differs
depending on whether they are axial or centrifugal. The
prototypical shape of the pressure and power curves of axial
and centrifugal fans is shown in Fig. 17.

Fig. 17
• The typical shape of the same curves for radial, forward-curved or
backward-curved centrifugal fans is shown in Fig. 18a.
• The most obvious characteristic of both axial and backward-curved fans is
that of non-overloading (Fig. 18b). This results in power curves peaking
and then dropping off. As a result, a motor, already selected to support the
peak power, is not overloaded as long as the speed of rotation remains
constant despite variations in the resistance of the system.

Fig. 18
Characteristics Curve for Series and
Parallel Connection of Fans

• In a series arrangement of identical fans without mutual

interference, the total pressure is equal to the sum of the
individual total pressures provided by each one of them (Fig.
19 a,b).

Fig. 19
• In this type of connection, if one of the fans is weaker than
the other is, it can act by slowing down the most powerful
one (tandem effect).
• Moreover, in a parallel system of fans, the total airflow rate is
equal to the sum of the individual flows provided by each of
them (Fig. 20 a, b).

Fig. 20
 Fans operation
 When a three-phase motor is started with a direct-on-line motor starter, a
peak of current consumption takes place. This peak can reach 4–10 times
higher than the motor running current and may cause a voltage dips in the
grid. For this reason, the following starting systems are usually adopted,
namely:
o Star-delta starter
o Auto-transformer starter
o Soft starter

 The manufacturer determines the type that best suits the motor for each
model of starter.
As far as maintenance is concerned, modern fans have electronic
devices to protect the motor. This includes thermistors to control temperatures,
accelerometers to control vibrations and Petermann probes to detect the stall
effect.
 In addition, the following recommendations are established:
• In order to avoid bearing failure, the alignment between the
motor and fan shafts must be checked at least once every six
months.
• The oil tanks should be checked at the frequency indicated by
the manufacturer. The same applies to the greasing of the fan
parts.
• The blades must be checked annually to avoid material deposits
and wear. A complete overhaul of the bearings is recommended
every year.
• In general, action should be taken on the fan if it shows:
abnormal vibrations, excessive noise, high-energy consumption
or low performance.
 References
 Fig. 1 – https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Centrifugal-Fan-with-Scroll-
Enclosure-6-5_fig4_332606723
 Fig. 2 – https://www.scy-fan.com/types-centrifugal-fanaxial-fans-and-
common-blower/
 Fig. 3 – https://www.directindustry.com/industrial-manufacturer/axial-
fan-73235.html
 Fig. 4 – https://www.cincinnatifan.com/tube-axial-fans.htm
 Fig. 5 – https://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/vane-axial-fans-
11158011948.html
 Fig. 6 – https://www.tcf-azen.com/products/mixed-flow-fans/
 Figs. 7-20 – Sierra, C. (2020). Mine Ventilation: A Concise Guide for
Students.
 QUESTIONS

1. The type of main fan that looks like "squirrel cages"

that draw air into the center of the fan and exhaust it at
a 90-degree angle.

a. Axial Fan
b. Auxiliary Fan
c. Booster Fan
d. Centrifugal Fan
2. These fans look like propellers and draw air straight
through the fan.

a. Axial Fan
b. Auxiliary Fan
c. Booster Fan
d. Centrifugal Fan
3. Rotating part that communicates pressure and
movement to the air. It consists of the blades, which
may or may not be adjustable, and their support–
normally a shaft.

a. Impeller
b. Housing or Casing
c. Diffusers and/or evasés
d. Propeller
4. These are the elements of gradually increasing area,
which when coupled to the discharge of the fan
transform part of the dynamic pressure at the outlet
into static pressure.

a. Impeller
b. Housing or Casing
c. Diffusers and/or evasés
d. Propeller
5. The stationary part, protects the impeller and guides
the air in its route.

a. Impeller
b. Housing or Casing
c. Diffusers and/or evasés
d. Propeller
6. A type of Centrifugal Fan that usually offers high
performances, their power curve is significantly elastic
and are the least noisy.

a. Straight radial
b. Forward-curved
c. Backward-curved
d. Tubeaxial
7. A type of Centrifugal Fan that tends to operate at
lower speed and are smaller.

a. Straight radial
b. Forward-curved
c. Backward-curved
d. Tubeaxial
8. A type of Centrifugal Fan that operates at high
speeds, can generate high pressures and are capable of
self-cleaning

a. Straight radial
b. Forward-curved
c. Backward-curved
d. Tubeaxial
9. The type of ventilation that utilizes the application of
fans, vents, tubings and baggings.

a. Natural ventilation
b. lime dusting
c. Natural draft
d. Mechanical ventilation
10. An electronic device used to control vibrations.

a. Thermistor
b. Accelerometer
c. Petermann probe
d. None of the above
 ANSWER key
1. D. Centrifugal Fan
2. A. Axial Fan
3. A. Impeller
4. C. Diffuser and/or evasés
5. B. Housing or casing
6. C. Backward-curved
7. B. Forward-curved
8. A. Straight radial
9. D. Mechanical ventilation
10. B. Accelometer
CONCLUSIONs/Takeaways
• A fan has three main parts – impeller, housing, and diffusers.
• Main fan has two types – centrifugal and axial fans.
• Centrifugal fan has three blade types – radial, forward-curved, and
backward-curved.
• Propellers, tubeaxials, and vaneaxials are the three types of axial fans.
• Fan Total Pressure (FTP) represents the total energy per unit volume
communicated to the fluid.
• Fluid friction is one factor that affects fan efficiency.
• Rotation speed variation, diameter variation, and simultaneous variation
of several parameters are some of the laws used to express the
relationship between variables involved in fan performance and power.
• Fan characteristic curves are the graphical representation of the
interrelation between a number of parameters, namely, airflow rate, static
or total pressure, fan speed, efficiency and power requirements of a fan.
• Flow control strategies are associated with the fundamental mechanisms
of rotation speed variation, inlet guide vanes, variable-pitch control, blade
pitch variation, and bypass control.
• The shape of the characteristic curves of the fans differs depending on
whether they are axial or centrifugal.
• In a series arrangement of identical fans without mutual interference, the
total pressure is equal to the sum of the individual total pressures
provided by each fan.
• And it is worth noting that the recommendations in fan operation must be
put into practice.
ARIGATOUGOZAIMASU!
＼( ^▽^ )／