Fans

Fans
Purpose:
To supply the necessary static pressure to
move air in a
ventilation or exhaust
system.
Basic classifications of air moving devices:
Ejectors
Fans

Fans

Ejectors
Low operating efficiencies.
Used only for special material handling applications (corrosive
material, flammable material, hot or sticky material).
Used when not desirable to have contaminated air passing
directly through the air moving device.
Used for air streams containing materials that might degrade
fan performance.
Used in pneumatic conveying systems.

Fans

Fans
Primary air moving devices used in industrial applications
Basic groups of fans are:
Axial fans
Centrifugal fans (home furnaces, hair dryers, vacuum cleaners)
Special type fans

Fans

Axial Fans
Propeller fans:
Moves air against low static pressures (less than 1 wg)
Commonly used for general ventilation
Very sensitive to added resistance
Blade types:

Disc blade
Propeller blade

2. Tube axial fans:

Moves air against moderate pressures (less than 2 wg)
Blade type: propeller type with no straightening vanes
3.Vane axial fans:
Moves air against high static pressures (up to 8 wg)
Limited to clean air applications
Blade types: air foil blades with straightening vanes

Fans

Centrifugal Fans
1. Forward curved impellers:
Blades curve towards the direction of rotation.
Fans have low space requirements and low tip speeds.
Used against low to moderate static pressures.
Not recommended for dust or particulate that would adhere to
2.

3.

blades.

Radial impellers:
Blades are in a radial direction from the hub.
Fan have medium tip speeds.
Radial blade shape resist material build up.
Can handle either clean or dirty air.

Backward inclined/curved impellers:

Blades are inclined opposite to the direction of fan rotation.

High fan efficiency and relatively low noise levels.
Blade shape is conducive to material buildup.

Fans

Special Types of Fans

1. Inline centrifugal fans:
Backward inclined blades are used.
Pressure versus flow rate performance curves are similar to
centrifugal fans.
Space requirements are similar to axial fans.
2. Power roof ventilators:
Packaged units that can be either axial flow or centrifugal type.
Centrifugal type discharges around the periphery of the
ventilator.
3. Fan and dust collector combination:
Fans and dust collectors are packaged in a unit.
Power exhausters and air foil are other special type fans.

Fans

Fan Selection
Considerations for fan selection are :
1. Capacity:

Flow rate based on system requirements. Expressed as actual

cubic feet per minute (acfm).
Pressure requirement based on system pressure requirements.
Expressed as FSP or FTP in inches of water gauge.

2. Air stream:
Material handled through fan.
Small amount of smoke or dust - backward inclined
centrifugal or axial fan is selected.
Light dust fume or moisture - backward inclined or radial
fan is preferred.
Heavy particulate loading - radial fan is selected.
Explosive or flammable material.
Spark resistant construction is used.
Explosion proof motor is used.

Fans

Fan Selection
3. Physical Limitations:
Fan size is determined by
Performance requirements
Inlet size and location
Fan weight
The most efficient fan size may not fit the physical space
available.
4. Drive arrangements:
Electric motor is the power source of fans.
Unlike packaged fans, for larger units the motor is
coupled directly to the fan or indirectly by a belt drive.

Fans

Fan Selection
Standard drive arrangements are:
Direct drive:
Offers more compact assembly and assures constant fan speed.
Fan speeds are limited to available motor speeds.
Belt drive:
Offers flexibility in changing the fan speed.
Important in applications where changes in system capacity or
pressure requirements are needed.
5. Noise:
Generated by turbulence within he fan housing.
White noise which is a mixture of all frequencies is mostly
produced.
Radial blade fans produce a pure tone at a frequency BPF.
BPF = rpm * n * CF.
Where:
BPF - blade passage frequency.
RPM - rotational rate.
N - number of blades.
CF - conversion factor, 1/60.

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Fan Selection
6. Safety and accessories:
Safety guards are required at inlet, outlet, shaft, drive
and cleanout doors.
Accessories help in future maintenance requirements.
Flow control can be done using dampers.
Outlet dampers:
Mounted on the fan outlet.
Adds resistance to the system when partially closed.
Inlet dampers:
Mounted on the fan inlet.
Pre-spins air into the impeller.
Lowers operating horsepower.

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Fan Selection
Various factors effecting fan selection are:
Volume required (cfm)
Fan static pressure
Type of material handled
Explosive or inflammable material
Direct driven vs belt driven
Space limitations
Noise
Operating temperature
Efficiency
Corrosive applications

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Rating Tables
Fan size and operating RPM and BHP can be obtained from these
tables
Tables are based on the following pressure relationships
FanTP = TP out - TP in = (SP out + VP out) - (SP in + VP in)
FanSP = FanTP - VP out = SP out - SP in - VP in
Refer to IV manual, table 6-1 (page 6-14)

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Point of Operation
Fan and system have variable performance characteristics which can

be represented graphically.
Point of operation is the single point at the intersection of fan curve
and system curve.
Fan Performance Curves:
Curve represents fan performance variables plotted against flow rate.
Curve is specific to a fan of given size operating at a single rotation
rate ( RPM ).
Even with size and rotation rate fixed, power and pressure
requirements vary over a range of flow rates.
System Requirement Curves:
Duct system pressure varies with volumetric flow rate.
Curve represents the variation of pressure plotted against volumetric
flow rate.

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Fan Laws
Useful when changes in fan performance are required.
Principles relate the performance variables for any
homologous series of fans.
Predict the effect of varying size, speed, capacity,
pressure and power requirement as follows:
Q2 = Q1 (size2/size1)3 (rpm2/rpm1).
P2 = P1 (size2/size1)2 (rpm2/rpm1)2 2/ 1.
PWR2 = PWR1 (size2/size1)5 (rpm2/rpm1)3 2/ 1.

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Simplified Fan Laws

For changes of rotation rate:

Flow varies directly with rotation rate

Pressure varies as square of rotation rate

Power varies as cube of the rotation rate

Q2 = Q1 (rpm2/rpm1)
P2 = P1 (rpm2/rpm1)2
PWR2 = PWR1 (rpm/rpm)
For changes of gas density:

Flow is not affected by a change in density

Pressure and power vary directly with density

Q 2 = q1
P2 = P1 (2/1)
PWR2 = PWR1 (2/1)

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Limitations of Fan Laws

Fan laws rely on the fact that the performance curves
are homologous and the ratios are for the same
relative points of rating on each curve.
When applying fan laws to the following cases special
care must be exercised.
Case 1: when pressure does not vary as the square of
the flow rate.
Case 2: when the system has been physically altered or
for some reason operates on a different system line.

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Fan Selection at a Density Other

Than Standard
Fan performance is affected by changes in gas density.
Corrections must be employed if density varies by more than 5%
from the standard 0.075lbm/ft3
Corrected Pressure is given by:
Pe = Pa (0.075/a)
Pe = Equivalent or corrected pressure
Pa = Actual pressure
a = Actual density, lbm/ft3

Actual power requirement is given by

PWRa = PWRt (a/0.075)
PWRa = Actual power requirement
PWRt = Power requirement in rating table.
a = Actual density, lbm/ft3

Fan selection at non-standard density requires knowledge of actual

volumetric flowrate, actual pressure requirement and the density of
gas at the fan inlet .

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Fan Installation and

Fan rating tests are conducted under ideal conditions i.e.,uniform
Maintenance
straight air flow .
In practice duct connections cause non-uniform air flow.
Location and installation of fan must consider the location of duct
components to minimize losses.
System Effect:
This is the estimated loss in fan performance due to non-uniform
air flow.
System effect factor is obtained from resulting fan performance
curve and actual system curve.
A vortex or spin may be created by non-uniform flow conditions.
This may be caused due to poor inlet box, multiple elbows or ducts
near the inlet.
If vortex or spin cannot be avoided, the use of turning vanes,
splitter sheets will reduce the effect.

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Fan Installation and

Inspection and Maintenance:
Maintenance
Wear or accumulation on an impeller will cause weakening of
the impeller structure .

Severe vibrations may cause damage or failure at the

bearings or fan structure.
Scheduled inspection of following items of fans is recommended:

Bearings for proper operating temperature

Excessive vibration of bearings or housing
Belt drives for proper tension and minimum wear
Correct coupling alignment
Fan impeller for proper alignment and rotation
Impeller free from excess wear or material accumulation

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