FANS

FROM THE “FAN HAND BOOK” BY FRANK

P.BLEIER
MAHENDRA PRABHU SUBRAMANI
R O TAT I N G E Q U I P M E N T E N G I N E E R
 CHAPTER 1
B A S I C S O F S TAT I O N A R Y A N D M O V I N G A I R
 BASICS OF STATIONARY AND MOVING
AIR
• Water vapor present in air reduces air density.
• Air density decreases with altitude .
• Positive and negative static pressure exist in moving air as well as
stationary air.
• A fan blowing into a system (including such resistances as ducts, filters,
dampers and heating or cooling coils) Produces positive static pressure.
• A fan exhausting from a duct system produces negative static pressure.
• Velocity pressure is the pressure we can feel when we hold our hand in
the air stream. It represents kinetic energy.
• Various degrees of turbulence – Slightly turbulent, Very Turbulent,
Extremely turbulent
• In Fans design Slightly turbulent and Very Turbulent are acceptable.
 CONT.….

• Total pressure is TP defined as the sum of static pressure SP and Velocity

pressure VP;
• TP = SP + VP
• VP is always positive : TP and SP may be positive or negative.
• Air horse power (AHP) =
Q – Flowrate , TP – Total Pressure
• Mechanical Efficiency (ME) or Total Efficiency (TE) =
• AHP - Air Horse Power (hp)
• BHP - Brake horse power (hp)
• SE - Static efficiency
• EE - Electrical efficiency
• SE - Set efficiency –
 CONT.….

• Air flowing through a converging cone reduces the velocity

pressure and increase the static pressure.
• The air velocity increases the static pressure will decrease.
• Air flowing through a diverging cone reduces the static
pressure and increase the velocity pressure. It is called static
regain.
 CHAPTER 2
A I R F O I L S A N D S I N G L E T H I C K N E S S S H E E T M E TA L P R O F I L E S
SHAPE OF TYPICAL AIRFOIL

Shape of typical airfoil

 CONT..

• Positive pressure on the lower surface of airfoil

• Negative pressure on the upper surface of airfoil
• Combination of positive and negative pressure results in a
force F.
• Lift force L – Perpendicular to relative air velocity
• Drag force D – Parallel to relative air velocity
 TYPES OF AIRFOIL

• Axial flow fans

• Concave side of airfoil is the
pressure side
• This is a normal condition
E.G Air plane wing
 TYPE OF AIR FOIL

• Centrifugal fan with backwardly

curved planes
• Convex side of the airfoil is the
pressure side
• Helps broaden the range of good
efficiencies.
 TYPE OF AIRFOIL

• Centrifugal fan with Radial tip

blades
• Concave side is the pressure side
• This configuration is rarely used
• High cost, handling dust laden
air , single thick blades
 CHATER 3
T Y P E S O F FA N S , T E R M I N O L O G Y A N D M E C H A N I C A L C O N S T R U C T I O N
 AXIAL FLOW FANS

• Listed in the order of Increasing static pressure

1. Propeller fans
2. Tube Axial Fans
3. Vane Axial Fans
4. Two stage axial flow fans
 PROPELLER FANS

• Also called as Panel fan

• Used to exhaust hot or contaminated air or corrosive gas from
factories, welding shops, foundries, furnace rooms,
laboratories, laundries or residential attics or windows.
 TUBE AXIAL FANS

• Exhausting from Inlet duct

• Has cylindrical housing and fan wheel with a 33% hub tip
ratio and with 10 blades
• Blades may are may not have airfoil cross section
• Venturi inlet is required at inlet
 VANE AXIAL FANS

• It has blades as well as guide vanes

• Used in blowing (outlet duct) and exhausting (inlet duct)
• Venturi inlet duct is required (due to air spin)
 TWO STAGE AXIAL FANS

• Two fans in series

• Easy solution when higher static pressure are needed
 CENTRIFUGAL FANS

• Listed in the order of decreasing efficiency

1. Centrifugal fans with airfoil blades
2. Centrifugal fans with backward curved blades
3. Centrifugal fans with backward inclined blades
4. Centrifugal fans with radial tip blades
5. Centrifugal fans with forward curved blades
6. Centrifugal fans with radial blades
CENTRIFUGAL FANS WITH AF BLADES

• Best mechanical efficiency and noise level (for comparable tip

speeds)
CENTRIFUGAL FANS WITH BACKWARD
CURVED BLADES
• Single thickness blades similar to AF blades
• Can handle contaminated air streams
CENTRIFUGAL FANS WITH BI BLADES

• Most economical in production

• Lower in structural strength and efficiency
 CENTRIFUGAL FANS WITH RADIAL TIP
BLADES
• Only the blade tips are radial
• Used in high temperature and light concentration of
Solids.
 CENTRIFUGAL FANS WITH FORWARD
CURVED BLADES
• Curved in the direction of rotation
• These fans are used in small furnaces, air conditioners and
electronic equipment whenever compact ness is more
important than efficiency.
 CENTRIFUGAL FANS WITH RADIAL
BLADES
• Radial blades are rugged and self cleaning
• Handle corrosive fumes and abrasive materials
 CONCLUSION

• Operating principle – Deflection of air flow and centrifugal

force.
• Axial fans – Deflection of air flow
• Centrifugal fans – Air flow deflection and Centrifugal force
• Centrifugal fans produce more static pressure than axial flow
fans
• Centrifugal fans the airfoil lift contributes only a small portion
of pressure produced
CHAPTER 4
A X I A L F L O W FA N S
 NOMENCLATURE

• Axial flow fan indicates that the air flows through the fan
approximately axial direction.
• Centrifugal fans (sometimes called radial flow fans) where the
air flows through the fan wheel approximately in a radially
outward direction.
 BLADE TWIST AND VELOCITY
DISTRIBUTION
• For good efficiency, axial air velocity should be same from
hub to tip
 VANE AXIAL FAN DESIGN

• = (19,000/rpm)* (sp)0.5

D
min – Minimum hub diameter

Sp – Static
pressure in wc (inches)

SP
= 3.43 *10-9 * rpm * Zb* CL * l * W
Zb – Number of Blades
CL – Lift co-efficient
l – blade width at this radius
W – air velocity relative to the rotating blade
 CONT.….

• Wheel Diameter
• Inlet Bell will boost the flow rate by 10 to 15% and increase the
fan efficiency and reduce noise level

• Guide
Vanes are used to eliminate the air spin past the blades.
• Out
let guide vanes are preferred in most applications.
PROS AND CONS OF GUIDE VANES

• Vane axial fans to be used for higher pressure requirements

and higher efficiency
• The other disadvantages of inlet guide vanes
1) The shape of inlet vane is more critical for fan performance
2) Noise level is high
3) Produces inlet turbulence
4) Deflection of air spin at inlet only in one point on
performance curve
5) Outlet vanes will provide more static regain
 PERFORMANCE OF AXIAL FLOW FANS
(PRESSURE CURVE)
• Air movement and control association, Inc (AMCA)
• American Society of Heating , Refrigeration and Air
Conditioning Engineers, Inc (ASHRAE)

The depth of the stalling dip is

minor if the hup-tip ratio and the
blade angles are small. For large
hup-tip ratios and larger blade
angles, the stalling dip becomes
deeper.
PERFORMANCE CURVE
 PRESSURE SAFETY MARGIN

• The maximum operating pressure of the selected unit (i.e the

peak pressure of the operating range) 30 to 50% higher than
the pressure required for the application to avoid stalling
• If pressure safety margin is high it will increase the horse
power of the motor
 INFLUENCE OF VARIOUS DESIGN
PARAMETERS
• Higher hup-tip ratio will increase static pressure produced by
Fan.
• Wider blade tip will increase static pressure of fan.
• Vane axial fans with larger hup-tip ratios have deeper stalling
dips.
• As the blade angle increases the volume flow increases, Static
pressure and stalling tip.
 CONTINUATION

Affect of Increase in Tip Clearance on below parameters

Air Volume

Brake Horse power

Static pressure

Mechanical Efficiency
COMPARISON OF PERFORMANCE CURVE
 FACTORS PRODUCING NOISE

1. Operating in Stalling range

2. High tip speed
3. Lack of an inlet bell if installed without an inlet duct
4. Obstruction in the air stream ahead of and close to the blades
(Support arms, bel housing, conduit pipes)
5. Elbows in the duct work ahead and close to the fan inlet
6. Inlet guide vanes as opposed to the outlet guide vanes
7. Obstruction in the air stream past and close to the fan blades
8. Vibration due to poor balance or due to a resonance condition
9. Single thickness blades as opposed to airfoil blades
10. Many narrow blades as opposed to fewer and wider blades
OVER LAPPING PERFORMANCE RANGES

• Static pressure is less than ¾” in WC – Propeller fan or tube

axial fan
• ½” to 3” in WC and should exhaust from duct – Tube axial fan
• 1 ½” in WC and good efficiency is required – Vane Axial fan
• Static pressure more than 6” WC – Two stage axial flow fan
(For better efficiency – Centrifugal fan)
 COMPARISON BETWEEN VANE AXIAL
FAN VS CENTRIFUGAL FANS
Vane Axial Fan
1. Greater Compactness
2. Lower First Cost
3. Straight-line Installation, Resulting in
a lower installation cost
4. Lower Sound Level at the same tip
speed
Centrifugal Fan
1.Natural adaptability to installations
requiring a 90° turn of the air stream
2.Better accessibility of the motor
compared with direct drive vane axial fans
3.Better protection of the motor against
hot or contaminated gases than for a vane
axial fan with direct drive
4.Greater assurance for operation in the
efficient and quiet performance range,
particularly for systems with fluctuating
flow resistance
CHAPTER 5
FA N L AW S
 VARIATION IN FAN SPEED

• The air volume (cfm) varies directly with speed:

cfm2 / cfm1 = rpm2/rpm1
• The pressure vary as the square of the speed:
SP2/SP1 =(rpm2/rpm1)2
• The brake horse power varies as the cube of the speed:
bhp2/bhp1 =(rpm2/rpm1)3

• The Noise level is increased by 50 times the logarithm of the

speed ratio:
N2- N1= 50 log10 (rpm2/rpm1)
 VARIATION IN FAN SIZE

• It is applicable for the fans with geometric proportionality

• Geometric proportionality means
1. Both fans have made same number of blades
2. Both fans have the same blade angle and any other angles on
the fan wheel and fan housing
3. If the diameters of the two fan wheels are D1 and D2, for a
size ratio D2/D1 , all other corresponding dimensions of
wheel and housing have the same ratio
 CONT.….

• The air volume varies as the cube of the size:

cfm2 / cfm1 = (D2/D1 )3

• The pressure vary as the square of the size:

SP2/SP1 = (D2/D1)2

• The brake horse power varies as the cube of the speed:

bhp2/bhp1 =(D2/D1)5

• The Noise level is increased by 50 times the logarithm of the speed ratio:
N2- N1= 50 log10 (D2/D1)
 VARIATION IN DENSITY

• This law applies in following conditions

1. Fan operates at high altitude
2. Hot or cold air (density inversely proportional to the absolute
temperature)
3. Fan operates other than air
The air volume remains constant:
cfm2/ cfm1 =1
The pressures and brake horse power vary directly as the density ρ:
SP2/SP1 = ρ2/ ρ1 = bhp2/bhp1
The efficiency and noise level remains constant
 CHAPTER 6
S Y S T E M R E S I S TA N C E
SYSTEM RESISTANCE (BUBBLE POOL)
SYSTEM RESISTANCE (FILTER BAGS)
SYSTEM RESISTANCE (GRAIN BIN)
SYSTEM RESISTANCE (VENTILATING
SYSTEM)
SYSTEM RESISTANCE (VENTILATING
SYSTEM)
CONT.…
CONT.
CONT.
CONT.
CONT.
CONT.