Air conditioning systems lecture No.

(3) part 1

Fans
 A fan is the prime mover of an air system or ventilation system. It
moves the air and provides continuous airflow so that the conditioned air,
space air, exhaust air, or outdoor air can be transported from one location to
another through air ducts or other air passages.
 Two types of fans are widely used in air conditioning and ventilation
systems: centrifugal fans(radial flow fans) and axial fans fig(1)
 Fans can be mounted individually as ventilating equipment to provide
outdoor air or air movement inside a building.
 In air conditioning systems, fans are often installed in air-handling
units, packaged units, or other air conditioning equipment.
 In both centrifugal fans and axial fans, the increase of air static
pressure is created by the conversion of velocity pressure to static pressure.
 Centrifugal fans (A) are the most common fans used in HVAC
applications. They are often cheaper but usually less efficient than axial fans
(B).

Fig.(1)

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Air conditioning systems lecture No.(3) part 1

 When the air enters the impeller axially and discharged radially from
the impeller, it is called centrifugal fans(radial flow fans)
 When the air flows parallel to the axis of impeller, it is called axial fans

Centrifugal fans
 The Centrifugal fans are widely used for duct air conditioning system,
because they can efficiently move large or small quantities of air over a greater
range of operating pressure.
 The fan impeller may have the following three types of blades: fig(2)
1. Radial or straight blades,
2. Forward curved blades, and
3. Backward curved blades.

Fig.(2)
 The centrifugal fans with radial blades have simple impeller
construction. The blades run straight out from a central hub. Some fans of this
type have heavy steel blades with high structural strength.
 A large number of centrifugal fans installed in air conditioning systems
have impellers with forward curved blades.
 The blades are very shallow in depth; therefore the diameter of the
housing air-inlet opening more nearly approaches to that of the impeller.

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Air conditioning systems lecture No.(3) part 1

 The ample inlet opening, together with stream-lined hub of the wheel,
promotes a smooth flow of air into the rotating blades. This increases the
efficiency of the fan and reduces its noise.
 The forward curved blades are more capable of overcoming the
attached duct system resistance when their operation is at low speeds.
 The backward curved blades must be operated at a much higher speed
of rotation than the forward curved blades.
 If the same static pressure is to be produced in each case. In some cases,
the higher speed may be an advantage because of a possible direct connection
to the driving motor.
 The fan impellers having backward curved blades operate at high
efficiency and have no overloading power characteristic.
 They also offer the advantage of wide ranges of capacity at constant
speed with small changes in the power requirements.
Note:
The number of impeller blades varies in centrifugal fans. The radial blade
impellers seldom have more than 8 or 10 blades. The forward curved impellers
usually have 24 to 64 blades whereas the backward curved impellers usually
have 10 to 16 blades.

Axial Flow Fans

The axial flow fans are divided into the following three groups:
1. Propeller fan: A propeller type of axial flow fan consists of a propeller or
disc type wheel which operates within a mounting ring as shown in Fig. 4.3a.
The design of the ring surrounding the wheel is important because it prevents
the air discharged from being drawn backward into the wheel around its
periphery. The propeller fans are used only when the resistance to air

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Air conditioning systems lecture No.(3) part 1

movement is small. They are useful for the ventilation of attic spaces,
lavatories and bathrooms, removal of cooking odours from kitchens and many
other applications where little or no duct work is involved.
2. Tube axial fan: consists of a propeller wheel housed in a simple cylinder
as shown in Fig. 4.3b. The wheel may be driven either from an electric motor
within the cylinder directly connected to its shaft or may be driven through a
belt arrangement from a motor mounted outside the housing. These fans are
easily installed in round ducts. They are more efficient than propeller fans.
The air discharge from tube axial fan follows a spiral path as it leaves-the-
cylindrical housing.
3. Vane axial fan: A vane axial fan combines a tube axial fan wheel mounted
in a cylinder with a set of air guide vanes, as shown in Fig. 4.3c. This fan
eliminates spiral flow of the discharge air and reduces the turbulence of flow.
The efficiency of operation and the pressure characteristics are better than
those of tube axial fan. The straight line flow leaving the fan assures quiet
operation.

Fig.(3)

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Air conditioning systems lecture No.(3) part 1

Note:
The axial flow fans are never used for duct air conditioning system because
they are incapable of developing high pressures. These fans are particularly
suitable for handling large volumes of air at relatively low pressures.

Total Pressure Developed by a Fan

Static pressure (Ps): is the pressure increase produced by a fan.
Velocity pressure (pv): is the velocity pressure corresponding to the mean
velocity of air at the fan outlet based on the total outlet area without any
deductions for motors, fairings, or other bodies. The total pressure created by
a fan or the
Total pressure (Pt): is the algebraic difference between the total pressure at
the fan outlet and the total pressure at the fan inlet.
Mathematically, fan total pressure:
𝑃𝑡 = 𝑃𝑡2 − 𝑃𝑡1
Where
𝑃𝑡2 : Total pressure at fan outlet 𝑃𝑡2 = 𝑃𝑠2 + 𝑃𝑣2
𝑃𝑡1 : Total pressure at fan inlet 𝑃𝑡1 = 𝑃𝑠1 + 𝑃𝑣1

Notes:
1. If the fan has no suction duct, the entry losses to the fan housing are
considered as part of the fan losses and are reflected in the mechanical
efficiency of the fan.
2. In an actual system, the fan has a suction duct and apparatus such as
filters and coils. In such a system, the total pressure at the fan inlet is always
equal to the total frictional resistance in that part of the system.
3. The total pressure at the fan inlet in such a system is always negative and it
is numerically less than the static pressure at the fan inlet.

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Air conditioning systems lecture No.(3) part 1

4. If the fan has no discharge duct (i.e. the fan delivers air directly into a free
open space), the discharge static pressure is zero (i.e. Ps2=0). Thus the total
pressure at the fan outlet is equal to the velocity pressure (i.e.Pt2=Pv2).
5. In an actual system, the fan has a discharge duct. In such a system, the total
pressure at the fan outlet is equal to the velocity pressure at the point of
discharge plus all pressure losses in the path taken by air to reach that point.

Fan Air Power

The power output of a fan is expressed in terms of air power and represents
the work done by the fan.
𝑊𝑡 = 𝑄 × 𝑃𝑡 × 𝐾𝑝
𝑊𝑡 = 𝑄 × 𝑃𝑠 × 𝐾𝑝
Where
Q: Total quantity of air flowing at the fan inlet in (m3/min)
𝑃𝑡 : Fan total pressure in N/m2, and
Kp: Compressibility coefficient.

Fan Efficiencies
The ratio of the total fan air power to the driving power (or brake power)
required at the fan shaft is known as total fan efficiency. It is also called
mechanical efficiency of the fan. Mathematically, total fan efficiency:
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
𝜂𝑇 =
𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
Ex: (H.W)
A centrifugal fan has a circular inlet duct of 0.45m diameter and a rectangular outlet duct
of 0.45m by 0.375m. The static pressure at the fan inlet is -12.5 mm of water and the static
pressure at the fan outlet is 25 mm of water when the fan delivers 115 m3/min and absorbs
l kW Assuming standard air density in both ducts and compressibility factor as 1, determine
(a) total pressure at fan inlet and outlet, (b) fan total pressure and fan static pressure, and
(c)fan efficiency and fan static efficiency.

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