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Optimization design of axial fan blade

Yujing Wu & Diangui Huang

To cite this article: Yujing Wu & Diangui Huang (2019) Optimization design of
axial fan blade, Journal of the Chinese Institute of Engineers, 42:6, 473-478, DOI:
10.1080/02533839.2019.1611478

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Published online: 22 May 2019.

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JOURNAL OF THE CHINESE INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERS
2019, VOL. 42, NO. 6, 473–478
https://doi.org/10.1080/02533839.2019.1611478

Optimization design of axial fan blade

Yujing Wua,b and Diangui Huanga,b
a
School of Energy and Power Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China; bShanghai Key Laboratory of
Power Energy in Multiphase Flow and Heat Transfer, Shanghai, China

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

A series airfoil was obtained through optimization design which aimed to promote lift–drag ratio, and Received 10 September 2018
the new airfoil series was used to construct a blade. The chord length and installation angle of the Accepted 29 March 2019
blade along the blade height were optimized by using orthogonal optimization. Three design options KEYWORDS
(straight blades, C-type blades and forward swept blades) are examined in this paper. Taking an axial Axial fan; forward swept
fan as the research object, the whole 3D numerical simulation was conducted by using Ansys-CFX. Axial blade; C-type blade;
fans with three kinds of blades are discussed and compared under design and off-design conditions. optimization; three-
The present results show that: under design conditions, the total pressure efficiency of the axial flow fan dimensional design
with the forward swept blade is the highest, and the C-type blade has slightly lower efficiency while the
straight blade has the lowest efficiency. Under off-design conditions, the aerodynamic performance of
the forward-swept blade and C-type blade fans are better than that of the straight-blade fans.

1. Introduction flow field of an axial flow fan with swept-curved blades under
experimental conditions and numerical simulation, respectively,
As a typical piece of rotating machinery, a fan can transform
the results indicate that fan efficiency can be improved by using
mechanical energy into fluid kinetic energy. The axial fan is
swept-curved blades. Yang et al. (2003) conducted CFD simula-
a widely used bit of equipment. At present, there are many
tion and experimental research on a fan. The results show that
shortcomings of axial fans in our country compared to the
the metro axial fan with swept-curved blades has better perfor-
developed countries (Niu 2013). In recent years, with the rapid
mance. Through experimental research on low-pressure axial
development of computation, many Chinese scholars have car-
fans, Hurault et al. (2010) proposed that the forward-swept
ried out a large amount of research on the optimal design of axial
blades improve the total pressure and aerodynamic performance
fans. Cao, Zou, and Liu (2014) analyzed the three-dimensional
of the fan, and the noise is also reduced by 7 dB. Li (2013)
flow field of the fan and proposed an optimized scheme by CFD
completed simulation and experiments on axial fans with swept-
simulation, and the results showed that not only did the air
curved blades. The results show that the performance of the fans
volume increase by 11%, but, also, the noise could be reduced
is greatly improved, and the noise is lower than that of the
by 2 dB when the air volume stayed the same. Xi et al. (2000)
original fans.
designed an airfoil using the CFD method. The wind tunnel tests
The three-dimensional optimization design of an axial fan is
showed that a fan with the new airfoil had high efficiency and
studied in this paper. According to the three-dimensional
effective noise reduction compared to fans currently used in the
Reynolds average Navier-Stokes equation applied to an axial
industry. Huang and Zhang (2011) presented an optimization of
fan (Huang and Xu 1998), the viscous flow in the fan is simulated
blade installation angle distribution along the blade height by
by Ansys-CFX software. The torsion angle, installation angle, and
using an orthogonal design based on the three-dimensional
chord length of the fan are optimized by using the Orthogonal
Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations, which proved the
optimization method (Peking University 1976) for the fan chan-
feasibility of the optimization method.
nel. Straight blades, C-type blades and forward-swept blades
Fan noise is mainly composed of electromagnetic noise, vibra-
were analyzed under design and off-design conditions to get
tion noise, and aerodynamic noise. While the electromagnetic
the most suitable blade for this fan. The stator blade is applied at
and vibration noise can be reduced by physical methods, aero-
the outlet of the rotor blades to change the direction of the
dynamic noise can be greatly reduced through reasonable blade
airflow and reduce the outlet flow angle.
geometry parameters and good aerodynamic performance (Wei
and Yang 2011). Xie, Qin, and Li (2012) proposed two design
schemes of straight blade and curved blade, and conducted 2. The optimization of airfoil and blade parameter
numerical simulation and experimental research on these two
2.1. Airfoil optimization process
fans. The results show that the efficiency of a swept-curved blade
fan is higher than that of a fan with straight blades at design The airfoil optimization design process for an axial fan can be
conditions. Beiler and Carolus (1999) investigated the internal divided into several steps. Firstly, a laminar airfoil with good

CONTACT Diangui Huang dghuang@usst.edu.cn School of Energy and Power Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai,
China
© 2019 The Chinese Institute of Engineers
474 Y. WU AND D. HUANG

aerodynamic performance is used as the initial airfoil, the initial 2.3. Optimization of blade parameters
airfoil (NACA65512) is optimized by changing a limited number of
Given the number of blades and rotation speed, the chord
control parameters through using the Hicks-Henne function (Hicks
length and installation angle of each section are the two main
and Henne 1978). Secondly, use the Xfoil software to get aerody-
factors affecting the total pressure efficiency. In this paper,
namic parameters of the new airfoil. Aerodynamic characteristics
eight cross-sections are taken along the blade height direc-
such as the lift coefficient, drag coefficient, and lift–drag ratio are
tion, the stream speed and the circumferential velocity at
calculated. Thirdly, fine the value of the objective function, which is
different blade heights can be calculated according to the
obtained through post-processing, to determine whether the
inlet flow rate and the rotational speed. Then, the initial tor-
design goals and constraints are met. If not, we repeat the whole
sion angles at different blade heights can be attained by using
process by generating another new airfoil until the generated new
the cosine theorem. The initial chord of the airfoil on each
airfoil satisfies our demand. This new airfoil is the result of the
section was given empirically.
whole optimization. Finally, the obtained airfoil is simulated by
The installation angle and chord length were optimized
a FLUENT Transition SST model to verify whether the airfoil meets
under different installation angles and chord lengths which
the design requirements. With a good aerodynamic performance
affect the efficiency of a fan. The values of these two factors
of the new airfoil formed by these processes, we can finally be sure
were spaced into seven levels in the optional range of values.
that the optimization is successful and the aerodynamic perfor-
In this paper, 5,764,801 tests would be required if all the
mance of the new airfoil attains the designer’s demand. The
combinations of the levels of each factor were combined.
optimization design process is shown in Figure 1.
But only 49 tests are needed to find the optimal combination
of parameters by using the L49(78) orthogonal table. After the
2.2. Airfoil design results first optimization of the installation angle, some of the factors
still lie on the boundary (the lowest level or the highest level).
Using the optimization design method, the USST series airfoils,
According to the first optimization results, the installation
consisting of eight airfoils with the maximum relative thickness
angle that meets the actual needs was obtained by
ranging from 5%c to 12%c which are suitable for axial fan blades
the second optimization. The chord length was also orthogon-
are obtained. Relative thickness is the ratio of thickness to chord
ally optimized by using the above method, and the optimal
length of airfoil.
solution was obtained after two optimizations. The obtained
The USST means the University of Shanghai for Science and
installation angle and chord length of each blade section are
Technology, and the XX means the maximum relative thickness
listed in Table 2.
of the designed airfoil. For example, USST12 represents the airfoil
with a maximum thickness of 12%c. Figures 2–5 show the geo-
metric shape of airfoil with the maximum relative thickness of 5%
3. Straight blade, forward-swept blade, C-type
c ~ 12%c, where %c is chord length percent ratio.
blade, and stationary blade
Table 1 lists the geometrical parameters of the USST series
airfoils which includes the maximum relative thickness Tm, the 3.1. Straight blade
maximum thickness position xtm, the maximum camber cam,
The straight blade is commonly used in the traditional fan.
and the maximum camber position xcam. Each parameter is
Therefore, the USST series airfoils, optimum installation angle,
a dimensionless value relative to the airfoil chord length. The
and chord are applied to straight blades in an axial flow fan in
maximum relative thickness ranged from 5%c to 12%c and the
our work in this paper. The 3D modeling of such a fan is
maximum thickness located at 34.2%c and 35%c of the leading
shown in Figure 6.
edge and the maximum camber was between 5.6%c and 5.9%c.

Figure 1. Optimization design flow chart.

 JOURNAL OF THE CHINESE INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERS 475

Table 2. Each blade section of the installation angle and chord length of the
optimization results.
Blade section/mm 360 440 520 600 680 760 840 900
Installation angle b/ (°) 51.9 51.9 54.6 59.5 62.7 64.9 66.8 67.5
Chord length C/mm 26.8 27.4 28.2 29 29.8 30.6 31.4 32.2

Figure 2. USST05 and USST09 airfoil geometric shape.

Figure 3. USST06 and USST10 airfoil geometric shape.

Figure 6. Straight blade fan 3D modeling.

is called forward swept, Tilt along the flow direction is

called backswept. The forward-swept blades shorten the
distance between the leading edge and the trailing edge
of the laminar flow in the fan channel. That reduces the
Figure 4. USST07 and USST11 airfoil geometric shape. intermittent vortex noise and the vortex shedding noise
caused by the turbulence boundary layer, so that the fan
noise can be reduced.
A forward-swept blade was used in the designed fan. In gen-
eral, the best performing range of the forward-swept blade
angle for a fan is 15°–25°. The full three-dimensional simula-
tion on fans with different forward-swept angles under the
design conditions were conducted in this paper by using CFX.
When the blade forward-swept angle is 16°, the fan has the
highest total pressure efficiency and the best aerodynamic
performance, therefore, a blade with forward-swept angle of
Figure 5. USST08 and USST12 airfoil geometric shape. 16° was chosen to study the fan off-design performance.
Figure 7 shows the 3D modeling of fan with a 16° forward-
Table 1. Geometrical parameters of the USST series airfoils. sweep blade. Equation (1) is the total pressure efficiency
Airfoil Tm xtm cam xcam formula.
USST05 5.0%c 34.2%c 5.64%c 35.9%c η ¼ ðpTout  PTin Þ=Pw (1)
USST06 6.0%c 33.7%c 5.84%c 35.4%c
USST07 7.0%c 33.1%c 5.84%c 35.6%c Where PTout and PTin are total pressure in outlet and inlet. η is
USST08 8.0%c 33.1%c 5.86%c 35.2%c
USST09 9.0%c 33.3%c 5.85%c 35.5%c total pressure efficiency. Pw is Shaft power.
USST10 10.0%c 33.3%c 5.85%c 35.5%c
USST11 11.0%c 33.3%c 5.85%c 35.5%c
USST12 12.0%c 33.1%c 5.86%c 35.2%c 3.3. C-type blade
The blade of the fan is back-swept at the root of the blade,
3.2. Forward-swept which can not only ensure the fan blades’ strength but also
improve the aerodynamic performance and reduce the noise
In this paper, forward-swept means that the blade is of the fan. According to the design experience of forward-
inclined with respect to the incoming flow and the swept blades, this paper designed the C-type blades shown in
sweep angle is denoted as θ. Tilt against the flow direction Figure 8.
476 Y. WU AND D. HUANG
Figure 7. Fan with a 16° forward-sweep blade 3D modeling.
Figure 8. C-type blade fan 3D modeling.
4. Fan numerical simulation results analysis
By using the USST series airfoils, the optimized chord
length and installation angle on each section of the
blade, the fan blades were designed according to three
blade designs. The three of blades were used in axial flow
fans, while the three-dimensional Reynolds average Navier-
Stokes equation was used to simulate the viscous flow in
the fan flow channel. The whole 3D numerical simulation
of fans with three kinds of blades under design and off-
design conditions were conducted by Ansys-CFX. The
1000,000 mesh size was adopted for calculation. The tur-
bulence model was the k-ε model, the inlet boundary
conditions were set as mass flow rate 60 kg/s and the
pressure at outlet is 1 atm. The ideal gas was employed
as the working fluid at the temperature of 25°C. In order to
ensure y+ is less than 60, the thickness of the first layer of
the grid on the wall is 1e-4m. Figure 9 shows the grid near
the blade surface at 50% Span. The main parameters of
Fan are shown in Table 3.
4.1. Design condition
In order to underscore the advantages of three kinds of
blades, fan blades are designed by using the same grid,
boundary conditions, airfoil, mounting angle, torsion angle,
and chord on each section.
Simulation results are listed in Table 4, which indicates that
the total pressure efficiency of forward-swept blade fan
reaches 94.8116% under the design conditions which is the
highest of the three schemes, and the efficiency of the C-type
blade fan is slightly lower, while straight blades fan has the
lowest total pressure efficiency. Forward-sweep blade fans
have the largest pressure rise, and straight blades’ is slightly
lower, while C-type blade has the lowest pressure rise.
Figure 10 shows the pressure distribution on the blade
surface at 50% span of the straight blade fan and the
forward-sweep blade fan. It can be seen that the pressure
distributions on the blade surface of the two kinds of airfoils
are similar, the workforce of the leading edge part is the
best, the work function weakens gradually with the increas-
ing chord length. The forward-sweep blade fans have stron-
ger work ability, therefore, the total pressure efficiency of
the forward-sweep blade fan is higher than a fan with
straight blades.
4.2. Off-design condition
The fan operates under off-design conditions most of the
time. Therefore, we must consider the fan’s performance
under off-design conditions in the process of design.
Numerical simulations on fans that operated under the
variable speed and mass flow rate were conducted for this
paper. Figures 11 and 12 respectively present the total
pressure efficiency of three fans against different mass
flow rates and speeds.
As can be seen in Figure 11, the efficiency increases first
and then decreases with the increasing mass flow rate, and
the fan efficiency is the highest at design conditions. When
the mass flow rates are higher than 50 kg/s, fans with
forward-swept blades are more efficient than the other
two. When the mass flow rates are below 65 kg/s, the
C-type blade fan has higher total pressure efficiency than
straight blade fan, however it has lower efficiency than
straight-blade fans at high flow rates. Figure 12 presents
the total pressure efficiency curves of three fans under
different speeds. It is shown that the efficiency increases
first and then decreases with the increasing speed, and the
fan efficiency is the best at design conditions. In all cases,
the efficiency of fan with forward-swept and C-type blades
is greater than that of the straight-blade fan, and the swept-
forward fan is most efficient.
5. Stationary blade of the fan
The fan consists of a single rotor and a stationary blade (R + S),
the fan stationary blade is installed after the rotor in the
 JOURNAL OF THE CHINESE INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERS 477

Figure 9. Grid graph on the blade surface at 50% span.

Table 3. Fan main parameters.

Value Value
Cylinder diameter(mm) 1800 Hub ratio 0.4
Impeller diameter(mm) 1796 Mass flow rate(kg/s) 60
Rotational speed(r/min) 985 Number of rotors 8

Table 4. Three kinds of blades fan simulation results.

Straight Forward-sweep C-type
blade blade blade Units
Speed 985 985 985 [r min−1]
Volume flow rate 50.9628 50.6329 51.1943 [m3 s−1]
Pressure rise 1496.05 1520.47 1405.6 [Pa]
Total pressure 93.5621 94.8116 94.0066 [%]
efficiency

Figure 11. Different mass flow rates using three kinds of fan total pressure
efficiency curve.

was optimized, and selected as suitable for forward-sweep

angle for the fan.

7. Conclusions
(1) The airfoil optimized design method is used to design
the USST series airfoils for axial fans. Orthogonal opti-
mization is applied to optimize the installation angle
and chord length of the fan blades.
(2) We provided the fans with straight blades, C-type
blades and forward swept blade. The fan blades for-
Figure 10. The pressure distribution on the blade surface at 50% span of the
straight blade fan and the forward-sweep blade fan. ward-sweep angle was optimized, and selected as sui-
table for forward-sweep angle for the fan.
(3) Numerical simulations of three kinds of fans with the
downstream fan flow path. Stationary blades are airfoils with three kinds of blades under the same blade number,
8 mm flat airfoil, stationary blade number is 7. The fluid flows same airfoil, same thickness, same installation angle,
into the fans axially because there is no guide vane in fan inlet. same torsion angle, and same chord length, were con-
ducted by using CFX in this paper. Results show that:
under design conditions, total pressure efficiency of the
6. Core of the paper
forward-swept blade fan is the highest of the three
We provide the fans with straight blades, C-type blades and schemes, C-type blade fan slightly lower, the straight
forward swept blade. The fan blades forward-sweep angle blades fan has the lowest total pressure efficiency.
478 Y. WU AND D. HUANG

Funding
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China
[Grant Nos. 51536006] and supported by Shanghai Science and
Technology Committee with Grant No.[17060502300].

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