LECTURE 2

THE CONTENTS OF THIS LECTURE ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1.0 INTRODUCTION
2.0 DERIVATION OF THEORETICAL HEAD DEVELOPED BY
CENTRIFUGAL FANS
REFERENCES

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1.0 INTRODUCTION
Historically, mine ventilation systems have undergone massive changes and a
transition has been seen from the exclusive use of Natural Ventilation to a hybrid
of Mechanical Ventilation aided by Natural Ventilation. As mines have become
bigger, more complex and are situated deeper underground than in the past, it
is extremely impractical to rely only on Natural Ventilation mechanisms to satisfy
all the ventilation needs of a mine. This has made way for the advent of
Mechanical Ventilation in underground mines.
The commonly used designs of fans for mechanical ventilation in underground
mines are centrifugal and axial-flow fans, with the axial-flow type being more
preferred (The constructional features of both these fans have already discussed
in Lecture 1 of this module).
In mines, fans may be installed at the entrance or exit of ventilated air, i.e., the
downcast or upcast shaft. If the fans are located at the entrance, it is known as
forcing system of ventilation and if the fans are installed at the upcast shaft, it is
termed as exhaust system of ventilation.
2.0 DERIVATION OF THEORETICAL HEAD DEVELOPED BY CENTRIFUGAL
FANS
The underlying principle behind the working of a centrifugal fan is as follows:
An impeller, consisting of several outward facing, curved blades, mounted on a
main driving shaft rotates to suck in air through the axis of the fan and
discharges the air through its periphery into the volute casing.
Fig. 1 illustrates the impeller of a centrifugal fan with the notations having the
following meanings:
U Peripheral velocity of impeller (m/s)
V Absolute velocity of flow of air (m/s)
W Relative velocity of flow (m/s) i.e., velocity of air relative to that of the
impeller so that V is the resultant of W and U (i.e., W = V - U or V = W + U)
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VR Radial component of V i.e., absolute velocity of flow (m/s)

VU Tangential component of V i.e., absolute velocity of flow (m/s)
r1 radius of impeller inlet (m)
r2 radius of impeller outlet (m)

Fig. 1Centrifugal fan for derivation of theoretical head (after, Misra,

1986)

Let,
Q Quantity of air passing through the impeller in unit time (m3/s)
Density of flowing air (kg/m3)
Note: 1 and 2 as subscript indicate the above parameters at impeller inlet and
outlet respectively
The mass flow of air passing through the impeller in unit time is Q (kg/s). This
mass is responsible for rotating the impeller about its axis C.
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The torque

responsible for this rotation is equal to the rate of change of

angular momentum from the inlet of the impeller to the impeller outlet.
Now,
Moment of momentum of air at the impeller inlet = Q Vu1r1
Moment of momentum of air at the impeller outlet = Q Vu2r2
It is to be noted that only the tangential component is effective. The radial
component doesnt have any moment about the axis C.

= Angular momentum at outlet Angular momentum at inlet

= Q (Vu2r2 Vu1r1)

Joules

Now, the power required for causing this motion is given as

P=

Where
= Angular velocity of the impeller (rad/s)
P = Power input to the impeller vanes (Watts)

P = Q (V

u2r2

Vu1r1) (Watts)

But peripheral velocity of impeller, U = r

P = Q (V

u2U2

Vu1U1) (Watts)

We know that,
Pressure,
H=

p = gH

p
g

Multiplying the numerator and denominator by Q in the above equation we get

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H=

pQ
gQ

pQ is nothing but the power P required to cause motion

The theoretical pressure head generated by the impeller is thus given by the
equation
H=

H=

P
gQ

, g being the acceleration due to gravity (m/s2)

Vu2 U2 Vu1 U1
g

(metres)

------------------------------(1)

Equation (1) is popularly known as Eulers Equation.

Fig. 2 Velocity triangle

Let

be the angle between the directions of the absolute velocity of flow V

and the tangential velocity U.

We also have the following relations from Fig. 2, i.e., the velocity triangle,
Vu2 = V2 Cos2 and Vu1 = V1 Cos1
W2 = U2 +V2 - 2UV Cos

U V Cos

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, which implies

U2 + V2 W2
2

Using relations obtained above,

H=

V2 U2 Cos 2 V1 U1 Cos 1
g

Substituting the value of UV Cos

H=

U22 + V22 W22

2g
V22 V21
2g

V22 V21
2g
U22 U21

in equation (2) we have,

U21 + V21 W21

U22 U21
2g

-----------------------------(2)

2g

W21 W22
2g

denotes the head representing gain in the kinetic energy

denotes the head contributed by the centrifugal force

2g
W21 W22
2g

denotes the head due to relative velocity change from W1 to W2

Note:
The last two terms denoting pressure do not have any physical significance and,
for all practical purposes, can be considered to be an increase in pressure
observed by an air particle when its motion occurs from inlet to the impeller
outlet.
Let be the external angle between the direction of vectors W and U. Please
refer Fig. 3
W Cos is the relative velocity between U and Vu

U-V

= W Cos

Vu = U - W Cos

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Fig. 3

From Fig. 3,
W Cos = VR Cot

= U - VR Cot

Then the Euler equation (1) becomes

H=

U2 (U2 VR2 Cot 2 )

g

U1 (U1 VR1 Cot 1 )

g

Now, let us assume that the air has no pre-rotation before entering the impeller.
In that case,

(Absolute velocity of flow) = (Radial component of the absolute velocity of flow)

and
Tangential component of the absolute velocity of flow = 0
i.e., Vu1 = 0 and VR1 = V1
Hence,
H=

U2 (U2 VR2 Cot 2 )

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U22 U2 VR2 Cot 2 )

g

Practically, the above parameters are obtained as follows:

U2 is obtained from the rotational speed of the impeller i.e.,
U2 = 2 r2n where n is the speed of impeller in revolutions per second

2 is obtained from the inclination of the vanes

VR2 is obtained from the quantity of air flowing
VR2 =

Q
Area of discharge of impeller

Q
2B r2

Where, B = Width of impeller (m)

VR2 Q

REFERENCES
Banerjee S.P. (2003); Mine Ventilation; Lovely Prakashan, Dhanbad, India.
Deshmukh, D. J. (2008); Elements of Mining Technology, Vol. II; Denett &
Co., Nagpur, India.
Hartman, H. L., Mutmansky, J. M. & Wang, Y. J. (1982); Mine Ventilation and
Air Conditioning; John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Le Roux, W. L. (1972); Mine Ventilation Notes for Beginners; The Mine
Ventilation Society of South Africa.
McPherson, M. J. (1993); Subsurface
Engineering; Chapman & Hall, London.
Misra

G.B.

Ventilation

and

Environmental

(1986); Mine Environment and Ventilation; Oxford University

Press, Calcutta, India.

Vutukuri, V. S. & Lama, R. D. (1986); Environmental Engineering in Mines;
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

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