2000•Tsinghua Science & TechnologyRequires access
Application of numerical simulation of the flow field of centrifugal impellers for fan design
Xiaodong Bian, Xudong Tang, Dongtao Huang, Mancang Tlan, Zhichi Zhu
Open publisher page 2 citations
Abstract
An impeller is the most important component affecting the performance of centrifugal fans. The flow in the impeller is very complicated, and the 3\|D viscous flow is difficult to simulate numerically. This paper presents a numerical method for simulating the flow in practical commercial impellers. The predictions are compared with experimentally measured fan performance results. The predicted total pressure and efficiency for two fan models, whose optimum designs were determined by this method, agree well with the measured data for the design flow rate. The results show that the aerodynamic and noise levels for these two models are excellent. The paper also presents several new ideas about the shape of the front plate and the blade flow pattern to improve the flow in an impeller channel. The practical simulation methodology and results developed here will be very useful to the fan industry in the future.