Influence of Geometric Parameters on Aerodynamic and Acoustic Performances of Bladeless Fans

Abstract

In recent years, the bladeless fan that does not have visible impellers have been widely applied in household appliances. Since the customers are particularly sensitive to noise and the strength of wind generated by the fan, the aerodynamic and acoustic performances of the fan need to be accurately characterized in the design stage. In this study, computational fluid dynamic (CFD) and computational aeroacoustics (CAA) are applied to investigate the performances of different designs of a bladeless fan model. The influence of four parameters, namely the airfoil selection for cross-section of the wind channel, the slit width, the height of cross-section and the location of the slit, is investigated. The results indicate the streamwise air velocity increases significantly by narrowing the outlet, but the noise level increases simultaneously. In addition, the generated noise increases while the height of fan cross-section increases, and a 4mm height of the cross section is optimal for aerodynamic performance. When the slit is closer to the location of maximum thickness, the performances of the bladeless fan increases. Moreover, the performance is not changed significantly by changing the cross-sectional profile. Finally, the optimal geometric parameters are identified to guide the future design of the bladeless fan.