Design of a Single Stage Variable Pitch Axial Fan

Abstract

The European Union imposed minimum industrial fan efficiency levels in 2013 and then increased them in 2015. In the USA, the Department of Energy (DoE) is also developing regulations aimed at eliminating inefficient industrial fans from the market by 2023. A consequence of this regulatory activity is a need to apply design methods originally developed within the aerospace community to the design of high efficiency industrial fans. In this paper, we present a process used to design, numerically verify and experimentally test a high-pressure single-stage axial fan. The goal was a fan design capable of working over a range of blade angles in combination with a single fixed cambered plate stator. We present the process used when selecting blade airfoil sections and the vortex distribution along the blade span. The selected methodology is based on a coupling between the aerodynamic response of each blade profile and the chosen vortex distribution, creating a direct link between the load distribution and the aerodynamic capability of the blade profile section. This link is used to develop radial distributions of blade twist and chord for the selected blade profiles that result in the required radial work distribution. The design method has been enhanced through intermediate verifications using two different numerical methodologies. The methodologies are based on different approaches, in so doing providing confidence in the verification process. The final blade design has been analyzed using a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) code. Results of the CFD analysis indicate that performance of the final blade design is consistent with the design specifications. The paper concludes with a comparison between predicted and experimentally measured performance. The need is clarified for balance between computational and empirical approaches. When used together the development effort results in a lower cost and higher efficiency design than would have been possible using either approach in isolation.

CFD Methodology for an Underhood Analysis towards the Optimum Fan Position in a Compact Off-Road Machine

“…Energies 2023, 16, 4369 19 of 20 component, but for the entire system. These considerations are applicable to many off-road vehicles, where there is a need to generate high power under heavy load conditions.…”

“…CFD applied to fans has been largely studied, and [15] presented a comparison between commercial and open-source codes, in which their numerical results were compared with an ISO 5801 Type A experimental test. Moreover, some studies have analyzed the influence of the pitch blade angle [16] and of the tip leakage [17] on the fan design. As for the tip clearances, they affect the fan noise [18,19], as well as the fan performance [20].…”

Exploration of Axial Fan Design Space with Data-Driven Approach

“…The possible variations of all the input parameters are summarized in Table 3. The performance of each fan was calculated using AxLab, an in-house axis-symmetric code [8]. All the information was stored inside a MySQL database and then processed through an in-house Python tool.…”

“…In these charts, correlations between some of the design parameters are presented and summarized into different coefficients and correction factors that can enrich the classic design space given by Euler work analysis. Starting from the work of Balje, Lieblein, and Howell [4][5][6], many scholars derived correlations and corrections to account for different design parameters to improve the performance of turbomachinery [8]. Still today most of the works are limited to linear regression approaches, and often limited to specific classes of fans [9].…”