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1. Introduction
In general, fan are the devices used to flow or move air. For industrial and automobile applications fan
can be defined as a device that impart air movement with fixed impeller inside a casing. Fans find
applications in a variety of engineering systems. Boilers, Heat exchangers, cooling towers are few
such systems where fan are used. In automobile applications fan are used at a variety of places like
blowers of HVAC systems & viscous fan for engine cooling.
Fans are classified broadly on the basis of how air flows through the impeller. It can be axial, radial,
fixed, mixed and cross. In mixed flow fans axial and radial flow occurs on vanes. Casings for these
are similar to that of axial flow machines but inlet has a radial flow component. On cross-flow
impellers, the gas traverses the blading twice [1]. However the two main types of fan that are used are
axial & centrifugal which have been discussed below.
1.1) Axial Fan
Axial type of fan operates on the principle of air deflection by fan blade. Pressure is produced by lift of
rotating blades as air moves on it. Air is moved parallel to shaft or axis. Popular types of these are
Propeller, Tube axial & Vaneaxial. In axial fan, air is pressurized by fan blades by the generation of an
aerodynamic drag. [2]
In this literature review, basic performance characteristics of the fan types (axial and centrifugal) has
been discussed. Moreover, application of fan in HVAC blower unit has been reviewed and the
performance parameters and characteristics of fan relevant to blower application has been discussed.
Considering the analysis of performance parameters and characteristics the critical parameters
affecting fan output and performance had been highlighted and ways to optimize them while designing
the fan have been concluded and listed.
Qf = m/f
2.4 System Effect
Even by controlling factors like static pressure, density and temperature air performance is not met.
This is due to the factor called System Effect. The loss factor is termed system resistance. The
system effect takes into account various effects like inlet and outlet restrictions, ducts, elbows and
grills. In the design process all these are added in calculation. Governing equation for pressure loss is
given by
P = C (V/1097) 2
where P= Pressure loss in inches
C = Loss coefficient
V = Velocity in feet per minute
As evident from the above graph that decreasing impedance or obstructions would increase the air
flow rate and hence improve the efficiency of the fan. Further it is interesting to take into account the
fan efficiency concept & see the mixed effect of impedance on airflow at the maximum efficiency.
2.6 Fan Efficiency Curve with (P vs Q)
Efficiency of fan is an important criteria and there is a constant effort by researchers and
manufacturers to improve the efficiency of fan. Fan efficiency varies a lot with aerodynamic loading
[5]. Fan efficiency () is the ratio of output and input power.
Fan efficiency () = Pout / Pin
Pinput (W) = V (volts) * I (amps)
Fan output power is given by
Pout (W) = Air pressure (Pa)*Air flow(m3/sec)
Fan efficiency varies a lot with Airflow. As per the performance curve, decreasing impedance leads to
higher speed & performance. So the relationship curve for efficiency and performance differs and is
given as following graph [5] for a 120mm size axial fan with curves for both airflow and efficiency. BEP
or the best efficiency point is the where a fan operates most effectively with minimum wear and tear.
4
2.7 Fan laws
Fan laws are the critical relations which relate performance characteristics of geometrically similar
series of fans. Parameters like Cubic feet per min (CFM), RPM, static pressure and power are
interrelated and change in one may impact another and the overall performance of the fan. The
calculations of these can be given as:
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In the new compact blower, there was an appreciable reduction in noise & increase in efficiency by
10% for the same fan size. [7]. Its given by the below curve. Also on reducing the blower fan size to
110 diameter, power consumption decreased by 15% & volume by 35%.
With the evolving hybrid & EV technology, there is a need to accommodate HVAC blower in these
vehicles without any extra burden of energy on the vehicle. Further this is helpful in existing vehicles
as well where power of the vehicle is used by HVAC. Imahigashi & Sakai (2016) developed a 2-layer
compact blower high efficiency blower where the blower fan is a 2-stage fan which uses the heat
inside the cabin effectively and improves performance by utilizing both heats effectively [7]. The new
fan although becomes large in size & required to be downsized. The below graph shows the results
with previous fan with respect to which 20% less electricity is used & 40% less volume is occupied.[7]
The results of these paper show that concepts of aerodynamics can be used further to reduce heat
losses and improve blower performance by reducing power usage and increasing volume flow rate.
This leads to the point that further research can still improve efficiency to a great extent and reduce
the size of blowers.
4. Conclusion
Fans form an important part of engineering applications utilizing fundamentals of fluid mechanics. The
most challenging part with fan is attaining flow rate with minimum size possible, as many applications
have size limitations. The basics of fluid mechanics like static pressure, flow rate along with different
types of fans form the basis of this review. The concept of pressure vs flow rate plays an important
part in overall performance of airflow. The main application of Blower for automobile applications
discussed in this literature review has many critical parameters like Fan blade design, scroll housing
parameters, obstructions at the inlet & outlet leading to impedance affecting pressure and flow rate.
There have been a lot of development in HVAC blowers from the 80s till date where we have reached
to 2-layer compact blower. One of the biggest challenges with blowers for automotive applications is
packaging or space availability in the cabin. Further, HVAC and blowers contribute to power
consumption from the vehicle which have to be continuously minimized. In this review, we have
discussed the basics of blower in automobile application & how HVAC blowers have evolved and got
compact in size with improvement in efficiency. Also there has been constant improvement in reducing
the noise from blowers which plays an important part in ride comfort for passengers. Lot of research
has been done with the help of CFD simulation like Airflow in a HVAC blower and fan blade design,
but this literature covers mostly the fluid dynamics and Blower design concept part. In future further
emphasis will be on reducing the size, power consumption and noise of blowers in cars as emission
norms go stringent and ride comfort will be demanded by the customer.