INTRODUCTION TO FANS ,

PERFORMANCE
SELECTION CRITERIA
&
MAINTENANCE
Submitted by
MANAS (211316024)
DHEERAJ NARSIAN (211316025)
PRATEEK KHANDELWAL (211316030)
KAPIL KUMAR (211316031)
INTRODUCTION TO FAN
• A fan can be considered a mechanical device that uses a power driven
rotating impeller to move fluid, the impeller does work on the fluid,
imparting to it both static and kinetic energy.
• Large capacity fan units typically consist of a bladed, rotating impeller
enclosed in a stationary casing.
• A fan is the air pump with the rotating impeller which creates a pressure
difference, as long as the pressure differential is maintained.
• The rotor system causes the motion of the air/gas and the casing directs
the output flow, the rotor can be drive through a motor, turbine driver,
fluid driver.
COMPARISON
• 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 are large-volume air/gas compressing device, they are volumetric
devices that moves fluid from one place to another, overcoming the
resistance placed in between, while compressor produce HP and low
volume.
Types of Fan –
Generally Fan are classified by the direction of its flow through the bladed
passage of the impeller-
1. Centrifugal Fan – air moves perpendicular to the rotational axis of the
impeller.
2. Axial Fan – air moves parallel to the rotational axis of the impeller.

By the types of drive arrangement –

1. Direct Drive – Simple, Less maintenance, But the problem is the
fluctuation of the efficiency is not operate at optimum RPM
2. Belt Drive – For smaller Fans up to 150 KW, Speed can be adjusted for
efficiency, Less area required but Slackening and wear of belt.
Double Width ,Double Inlet Centrifugal
Fan
Two Stage Axial Fan
CENTRIFUGAL FAN –
• Rotating impeller increases air speed, and then speed is converted to pressure
• They can have one inlet (SWSI) or double inlet (DWDI)
• High pressures for harsh conditions
• High temperatures
• Moist/dirty air streams
• Material handling(large running clearances, which is useful for airborne-solids
(dust, wood chips and metal scraps)
• Their Performance totally depend on blade shapes –
• Radial
• Forward curved
• Backward curved (Airfoil)
Centrifugal Fans – Radial
• Advantages
• Simple design because of Blades are in radial direction
• High pressure and temperature operating capacity
• Having medium tip speed so High durability
• Efficiency up to 75%
• Large running clearances
• Disadvantages
• Suited for low/medium airflow rates only
• Relatively Less efficiency and overloading Horsepower requirement at
maximum flow condition are significantly higher then the power required
during maximum efficiency
Centrifugal Fans – Forward curved
• Advantages
• Best suited for Large air volumes against low pressure
• Less space requirement and Low Tip speed and Higher Flow work
• Low noise level , Easier Balancing
• Excellent abrasion resistance and self cleaning capabilities
• Disadvantages
• Not high pressure / harsh service, only suitable for clean service application
• Difficult to adjust fan output
• Careful driver selection
• Low energy efficiency 55-65%
Centrifugal Fans – Backward inclined
•Advantages
•Highest Efficiency, over more than 85%
•The passages between adjacent blades are gradually expanding for minimum
turbulence.
•They are called as a Non Overloading because at their peak power range the
power demands drop off in their useable air flow range
•Operates with changing static pressure and when system behavior at high flow
rate is uncertain
•Suited for high flow and forced draft services
•Disadvantages
•Not suited for dirty airstreams (as fan shape promotes accumulation of dust)
•Instability and erosion risk due to adhesive particle movement
Axial Fans -
• Work like airplane propeller:
• Blades create aerodynamic lift which pressurized the fluid
• The pressure and flow output is controlled by adjusting the pitch of the blade
so they called as variable pitch blade
• They can maintain high efficiency at various load then the constant speed
centrifugal fan by help of inlet dampers and load
• Air moves along fan axis, can able to create the reverse flow also
• Popular with industry: compact, low cost and light weight
• Applications
• Ventilation (requires reverse airflow)
• Exhausts (dust, smoke, steam)
Axial Fans – Propeller fans
• Advantages
• High airflow at low pressure
• Little ductwork and very sensitive to added resistance
• Inexpensive because of simple construction
• Reverse flow which is helpful in ventilation applications e.g. Rooftop
ventilation
• They experience a large change in airflow due to small change in pressure
• Disadvantages
• Low energy efficiency approximately less then 50%
• Low speed, Moderate Temperature and Noisy
Axial Fans – Tube axial fans
• Advantages
• Suited for medium-pressure, high airflow rates
• Fan inside a cylindrical housing, with close clearance between blade and
housing for higher pressures and better operating efficiencies than propeller
fans
• Create the sufficient pressure difference to overcome duct losses and are
relatively less efficient which is useful for exhaust application
• Quick acceleration (because of their low rotating mass)
• Disadvantages
• Relatively Expensive
• Moderate airflow noise
• Low energy efficiency 65%
Axial Fans – Vane axial fans

• Advantages
• There are similar to tube axial with addition of guide vane that improve
efficiency by directing and straightening the flow
• Suited for medium/high pressures
• Quick acceleration
• Suited for direct motor shaft connection
• Blade type with airfoil blade with straightening vanes
• Most energy efficient 85%
• Disadvantages
• Expensive
Propeller Tube-axial

Tube-vane
 FAN SELECTION
Various factors affecting 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
 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.
 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.
 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 the fan housing.
 “White” noise which is a mixture of all frequencies is mostly produced.
 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.

(a) Outlet dampers:

 Mounted on the fan outlet.
 Adds resistance to the system when partially closed.

(b) Inlet dampers:

 Mounted on the fan inlet.
 Pre-spins air into the impeller.
 Lowers operating horsepower.
 FAN SELECTION IN POWERPLANT
• Forced draft- it supply combustion air to the steam generator. Hence it should have high pressure
capabilities to overcome all resistances.
• Primary air- PA fans generally handle low flows and very high pressure differentials. This usually
requires centrifugal fans of large diameter having aerofoil blades.
• Induced draft- ID fans exhaust combustion products from the steam generators. ID fans must
handle all of the flue gases and any infiltration caused by the negative pressure. Hence variable
speed centrifugal fans are advantageous.
• Gas recirculation- gas recirculation fans draws flue gases from a point between the economiser
exit and air preheater inlet and discharge it into the bottom of the furnace. To cope with
temperature excursions , fan with integral hub having radial tip blade are preferred.
LOCATION OF FANS IN POWERPLANT
 FAN CHARACTERISTICS
• System resistance: it is the sum of static pressure losses in the system.
• The system resistance is a function of the configuration of ducts, pickups, elbows.
• The system resistance varies with the square of the volume of air flowing through the system.
• Hence to determine what volume fan will produce , it is necessary to know system characteristics.
• The fan curve is a performance curve for the particular fan under a specific set of conditions.
• The fan curve is a graphical representation of a number of inter-related parameters.
• The intersection of the system curve and the static pressure curve defines the operating point.
• When the system resistance changes, the operating point also changes.
 SYSTEM RESISTANCE CURVE
1.4

1.2

0.8
Pressure

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
CFM x 100
OPERATING POINT
FAN CURVE
VARIATION OF OPERATING POINT
 SELECTION BASIS OF FAN CURVE
• Manufacturer will provide a fan curve for each fan he produces.
• The fan curves predict the pressure-flow rate performance of each fan.
• Choose a fan that gives you the volumetric flow rate you need for your system pressure drop.
• Choose a fan that has its peak efficiency at or near your operating point.
• Sometimes will provide data in a table rather than in a graph.
 PARALLEL OPERATION
• The parallel operation is defined as using two or more fans side by side. The volume air flow of
two fans in parallel will be double in the free-air condition only. If the parallel fans are applied to
the higher system resistance situation, the high system resistance that enclosure has, the less
increase in flow results with parallel fan operation. Thus, this type of application is only
recommended for the low system resistance situation -- when the fans can operate near free
delivery.
 SERIES OPERATION
• The series operation is defined as using two or more fans in series. The static pressure capacity of
two fans in series can be doubled at zero air flow condition, but do not increase the airflow in the
free-air situation. An additional fan in series increases the volume flow in a higher static pressure
enclosure. Thus, in series operation, the best results are achieved in systems with high resistance.
 FAN PERFORMANCE
• Fans are used to provide pressure necessary to overcome
system resistance.
• Fan performance characteristics are developed from test
data and are typically illustrated on flow (acfm) vs. static
pressure curves.
• In addition to static pressure capability, fan power
requirements are also shown on the fan performance
curve
Typical Performance Curve
 FAN PERFORMANCE (cont.)

• After installation, the intersection of system resistance

curve and fan characteristics curve defines the system
operating point- flow, pressure and power
requirements.
• An alternative to showing Brake Horse Power
requirement is to show fan efficiency as function of
flow.
Typical Fan Efficiency Curve
Fan Efficiency
FAN LAWS
 FAN LAWS (Cont.)
• These laws apply to both centrifugal and axial flow fans
and are based on incompressible flow.
• Corrections factors due to effects of compressibility,
surface boundary conditions and flow stream Reynolds
number can also be used to fine tune the prediction.
• Geometric Similarity must be maintained.
• Also, proper use of these fan law relationships will result
in equal efficiency between operating points.
FAN LAW 1 – FAN FLOW
• It states that as the fan size increases, flow increases as
the cube of the size changes and increases directly as the
rpm changes.
• The rotor volume or volume of one complete air change
through the rotor would increase by a factor of 23 if the
rotor diameter was double.
• With change of rpm, the number of air changes of every
revolution remains constant for every revolution, but the
number of air changes through the rotor per minute
changes
FAN LAW 2 – FAN PRESSURE
• Fans generate pressure by accelerating gas flow through
the inlet of the fan wheel and regaining this velocity
pressure in the discharge of the fan housing.

• Unlike Fan Law 1, Fan Law 2 is dependent on gas

density, since a change in density directly affects
velocity pressure.
FAN LAW 3 – FAN POWER
• As defined earlier, fan BHP is a product of the fan flow
and fan pressure.
• Fan Law 3 for power is simply a product of Fan Law 1
for fan flow and Fan Law 2 for fan pressure.
• It can be derived by multiplying the corresponding
equations of both the previous laws
EXAMPLE
Solution
 Maintenance

• Periodic inspection of all system component

• Belt tightening and replacement
• Bearing lubrication and replacement
• Motor repair and replacement
• Fan cleaning
 Checking Belt Tension

• Check the belt tension with a tensioning gage and adjust using the motor slide
base.
• For initial tensioning, the proper belt deflection half way between sheave centres
is 1/64 inch(0.4mm) for each inch of belt span.
• E.g., if the belt span is 64 inches, the belt deflection should be 1 inch using
moderate thumb pressure at the mid-point of the belt span.
Deflection = Belt span
64
Check the tension of the belts Check that the access door is closed
 Bearing

• Standard grease lubricated fan bearings should be maintained with high quality
lithium based grease conforming to NLGI grade 2 consistency.

• Avoid mixing greases with different bases, as they may be incompatible and result in
rapid deterioration of the lubricant and premature bearing failure.
Check ,that there is
no foreign matter
inside the fan
STARTING
Before starting up it is important to carry out various
checks :
• check that the bearings of the fan and motor are
correctly lubricated.
• Make sure the drive flexible connection is
adequately lubricated.
• Make sure that all the bolts are fully tightened, with
a torque force indicated in the table below

In particularly be careful with the bolts of support

Check the alignment of the coupling joint Check the alignment of the pulleys

Rotate the impeller by hand to be sure that it does

not touch the walls
Operation check points
Vibration check
TROUBLESHOOTING
THANK YOU