Technical Bulletin TBN001.

0/1998

WHAT IS A FAN ?
A fan is a gas flow producing machine with two or more blades or vanes attached to a rotating shaft. Each of these devices, including the impellers, converts rotational mechanical energy, applied to their shafts, to total pressure increase of the moving gas. This conversion is accomplished by changing the momentum of the fluid. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers power test codes limit the fan definition to machines which increase the density of the gas by no more than 7% as it travels from inlet to outlet. This is a rise of about 7620 Pa (30 inches of water pressure) based on standard air. For pressure higher than 7620 Pa (30 in. WG), the air-moving device is a compressor, or pressure blower. Fans for heating, ventilating and air conditioning, even on high velocity, high-pressure systems, rarely en-counter more than 2500 - 3000 Pa (10-12 inches of water pressure). There are three main components in a fan : the impeller (sometimes referred to wheel or rotor), the means of driving it, and the casing. To forecast with reasonable accuracy the installed performance of a fan a designer must know : (a) How the fan was rated and tested. (b) The effects the air distribution system will have on the fans performance. Fans of different types, or even fans of the same type supplied by different manufacturers, will not interact with the system in the same way.

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