Efficiency Improvement of Industrial Fans if Operating at Off-Design Modes

Abstract

This paper’s aim is enhancement of efficiency for fans adjusting by turn of rotor blades. A high load axial fan and a fan with decreased rotor’s pitch chord ratio by reduction of blades number were investigated. Have been performed tests of the fan with design characteristics as follows: theoretical head coefficient Ht = 0,3, mass flow rate Ca = 0,4, hub’s relative diameter ν = 0.6, and with blades, graded on the law of permanent circulation. The area of effective adjustment was estimated by the performance factor value η* ≥ 0,8. When changing the stagger angles in a wide range from 26° to 70°, the area of highly economical work was in variation ranges 0,26–0,78 for the mass flow rate Ca , and 0,24–0,5 for the theoretical head coefficient Ht accordingly. Tests of fans with a reduced blades number in the rotor (12 instead of 16 for the original fan) has showed that under the same stagger angles the fan’s high-efficiency operating mode is approximately in the same range of Ca variation at slightly reduced values of theoretical head coefficient. Maximal performance factor has increased on 2.5%. Decreasing the number of rotary blades, simplifying the turning mechanism and reducing the weight are possible in the design of fans with increased values of aerodynamic load coefficients.