WO1990009525A1 - Centrifugal fan with variably cambered blades - Google Patents
Centrifugal fan with variably cambered blades Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO1990009525A1 WO1990009525A1 PCT/US1990/000660 US9000660W WO9009525A1 WO 1990009525 A1 WO1990009525 A1 WO 1990009525A1 US 9000660 W US9000660 W US 9000660W WO 9009525 A1 WO9009525 A1 WO 9009525A1
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- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- blades
- blade
- blower
- camber
- centrifugal blower
- Prior art date
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Classifications
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
- F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
- F04D29/00—Details, component parts, or accessories
- F04D29/66—Combating cavitation, whirls, noise, vibration or the like; Balancing
- F04D29/68—Combating cavitation, whirls, noise, vibration or the like; Balancing by influencing boundary layers
- F04D29/681—Combating cavitation, whirls, noise, vibration or the like; Balancing by influencing boundary layers especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
- F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
- F04D29/00—Details, component parts, or accessories
- F04D29/26—Rotors specially for elastic fluids
- F04D29/28—Rotors specially for elastic fluids for centrifugal or helico-centrifugal pumps for radial-flow or helico-centrifugal pumps
- F04D29/281—Rotors specially for elastic fluids for centrifugal or helico-centrifugal pumps for radial-flow or helico-centrifugal pumps for fans or blowers
- F04D29/282—Rotors specially for elastic fluids for centrifugal or helico-centrifugal pumps for radial-flow or helico-centrifugal pumps for fans or blowers the leading edge of each vane being substantially parallel to the rotation axis
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
- F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
- F04D29/00—Details, component parts, or accessories
- F04D29/26—Rotors specially for elastic fluids
- F04D29/28—Rotors specially for elastic fluids for centrifugal or helico-centrifugal pumps for radial-flow or helico-centrifugal pumps
- F04D29/30—Vanes
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
- F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
- F04D29/00—Details, component parts, or accessories
- F04D29/40—Casings; Connections of working fluid
- F04D29/42—Casings; Connections of working fluid for radial or helico-centrifugal pumps
- F04D29/44—Fluid-guiding means, e.g. diffusers
- F04D29/441—Fluid-guiding means, e.g. diffusers especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps
- F04D29/444—Bladed diffusers
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F05—INDEXING SCHEMES RELATING TO ENGINES OR PUMPS IN VARIOUS SUBCLASSES OF CLASSES F01-F04
- F05D—INDEXING SCHEME FOR ASPECTS RELATING TO NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, GAS-TURBINES OR JET-PROPULSION PLANTS
- F05D2250/00—Geometry
- F05D2250/50—Inlet or outlet
- F05D2250/52—Outlet
Definitions
- This invention relates to centrifugal blowers and fans.
- Centrifugal blowers and fans generally include an impeller that rotates in a predetermined direction in a housing, and may be driven by an electric motor.
- the impeller has curved blades which draw air in axially, along the impeller's axis of rotation, and discharge -air radially outwardly.
- blowers are used in a variety of applications, which dictate a variety of design points for pressure difference, airflow volume, motor power, motor speed, space constraints, inlet and outlet configuration, noise, and manufacturing tolerances.
- blade exit angle the angle of the blade tip relative to a tangent to the tip. This angle is called the "blade exit angle”. If the blade exit angle is greater than 90°, the impeller is said to have forwardly curved blades; if the blade exit angle is less than 90°, the impeller is said to have rearwardly curved blades.
- GB 2,080,879 discloses a rearwardly curved centrifugal blower with stator vanes to convert radial flow to axial flow.
- Zochfeld, U.S. 3,597,117 and GB 2,063,365 disclose forwardly curved centrifugal blowers with a volute.
- GB 2,166,494 discloses a centrifugal impeller in a rotationally symmetrical cone-shaped housing, with guide vanes to produce an axial discharge.
- GB 1,483,455 and GB 1,473,919 disclose centrifugal blowers with a volute.
- GB 1,426,503 discloses a centrifugal blower with dual openings.
- one aspect of the invention features blades having a positive camber at a radially inward region and a negative camber at a radially outward region of the blade.
- the blades are two-dimensional and they sweep out a three-dimensional solid (a cylinder)—i.e., the mean blade camber line does not change in the direction of the blade span (perpendicular to the chord) .
- the primary blades extend radially inwardly further than the secondary blades.
- the positive camber of the primary blades is about 2-5% of the blade " chord, and the maximum positive camber occurs at 20-30% of the total chord (mid-lihe) length; the maximum negative camber occurs at 70-80% of the total chord length.
- the secondary blades can, (but need not necessarily) have the "S" shape described above. Noise
- control is provided by reducing the inlet area (irr for the plane of entry into the blower) to at least 20% less than the outlet area (ird.S, where d is the blower diameter and S is the blade span.
- Fig. 1 is a cross-section of a centrifugal blower and automobile air conditioner evaporator.
- Fig. 2A is a cross-sectional representation of the impeller blades of the blower of Fig. 1.
- Fig. 2B is an enlarged detail of a portion of Fig. 2A.
- Fig. 3 is a top view, partially broken away, of the annular envelope of the blower of Fig. l.
- Fig. 4 is a graph of pressure as a function of tangential swirl velocity.
- Fig. 5 is a plot of local surface pressure as a function of blade chord position. Structure of the Blower Generally
- blower 10 includes an impeller 12 consisting of a plurality of blades (14 and 15, shown in Fig. 2) which are described in greater detail below.
- Impeller 12 is driven by an electric motor 16 attached to impeller axle 18.
- Impeller 12 rotates within stator 20, which is a part of generally cylindrical housing 21 extending co-axially with impeller 12 and motor 16.
- Generally cylindrical motor housing 22 forms the inner diameter of annular envelope 24.
- the outer diameter of annular envelope 24 is established by housing 21.
- Airfoil Vanes Positioned within annular envelope 24 are two sets 25 and 27 of airfoil vanes shown best in Fig. 3.
- C. is the centerline (axis) of the motor, blower and impeller. The vanes extract tangential (rotational or swirl) velocity from air leaving the impeller, and they recapture that energy as static pressure.
- Evaporator 30 is attached to the outlet 28 of envelope 24. Swirl in the airflow reaching evaporator 30 is substantially eliminated and air pressure across the evaporator is increased. Specifically, the vanes 25 and 27 are important in part because about 1/4 to 1/2 of the flow energy produced by a rearwardly curved centrifugal blower is in the form of velocity; the airfoil vanes recapture a substantial (40-80%) percentage of this flow energy.
- Fig. 4 diagrams pressure coefficient (Cp) as a function of tangential swirl velocity (V. ).
- Cp is defined by the following equation:
- V airflow velocity leaving the impeller
- V . the impeller tip velocity
- Vt is the tangential velocity of air leaving the impeller ⁇ V .
- angle of airfoil vanes 25 and 27 will depend upon the blade configuration (discussed below) and the rotational velocity of the impeller (i.e., the range of rotational velocity within which the blower is designed to operate) . It is desirable to match the leading edge of the airfoil to the direction of airflow encountering that leading edge, so that the angle of incidence is negligible. In general, air approaches envelope 24 at an angle of 20-30° from tangential in the regime described above.
- Fig. 3 is a vector diagram for flow V-. entering the stator, in which V is the tangential swirl velocity entering the stator, and V is the axial velocity of the airstream entering the stator. V. is the tangential velocity of the blower wheel (impeller). Angle ⁇ . is 20-30° and angle ⁇ chorus is 60-70°. Similar diagrams could be drawn for flow leaving stage 1 and entering stage 2, and for flow leaving stage 2.
- the second stage is necessary because the boundary layer loading value for a single stage exceeds the maximum engineering value (0.6) associated with attached flow.
- the diffusion factor is defined as (l-V- j /V ⁇ + (V tl -V t2 )/2 ⁇ V 1 , where V-. and V- are respective airflow velocities entering and leaving the stage, V and V. 2 are respective tangential velocities entering and leaving the stage, and ⁇ is blade solidity (i.e., blade chord ⁇ blade spacing) .
- Figs. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional representations '* of the blades 14 and 15 of the invention, showing their "S" shape (i.e. their reverse camber). The blades are backwardly curved, and (given their relatively small size) develop large thrust or pressure, with good efficiency and low noise. Specifically, Figs. 2A and 2B shows the "S" shape of long chord blades 14 and shorter chord auxiliary blades 15.
- the suction side boundary layer must overcome three significant retarding forces: acceleration associated with the inertial reference frame curvature of the blade surface, a, pressure gradient caused by the pressure rise that . occurs from the blade leading edge to its trailing edge,, and friction that exists at the blade-air interface. It is as though the air were rolling up hill; the air in the boundary layer begins its journey with a certain kinetic energy budget, which is partially dissipated by friction and partially converted into potential energy. At the same time the air follows a curved path, and the momentum change associated with this curvature thickens the boundary layer.
- the blower design of the invention has a combination of high positive camber near the leading edge and apparent negative camber between midchord and the training edge.
- the blade configuration of a centrifugal blower is selected using, among other things, knowledge of the following characteristics of ⁇ blowers:
- the pressure capacity of a blower increases as the square of the blade tip's tangential velocity at its outside diameter. This velocity is the product of diameter times rotation velocity. Thus, the pressure required by the application largely determines blower speed and diameter.
- the pressure observed experimentally reaches a maximum when the blade exit angle is still backward curved, at an angle of perhaps 50-60 degrees.
- the 2-dimensional geometry of the blades defines a diffusion passage which has its largest total diffusion when the blade exit angle is 90 degrees. Boundary layer physics prevents realizing this maximum diffusion.
- the velocity of the air discharged by the blower increases as the blade exit angle increases, and reaches a maximum at a blade exit angle well beyond 90 degrees.
- the energy invested increases as the square of velocity. In applications where static pressure is required, it can be extracted from a high velocity discharge flow by diffusion.
- the efficiency of the diffusion process is generally far higher in the blading of the blower than in any process which diffuses the discharge flow—as high as 90 percent for the blading process, versus about 50 percent for the discharge process. It follows that the most efficient blower generally is the one which accomplishes the most diffusion in the blading. However, the blower blade design described herein accomplishes the combination of high efficiency along with small diameter and lower rotational velocity (leading to lower noise).
- the blade entry angle is defined by the RPM, the inlet diameter and leading edge blade span, and the flow design point (ft /min.).
- Fig. 5 is a plot of local surface pressure (Cp) versus the blade chord position (designated as a percentage of total chord from 0 at the leading edge to 1 at the trailing edge), where Cp is defined by the 9525
- FIG. 5 The plot of Fig. 5 is based on a computer model of performance of the primary blades alone.
- the lower plot represents local surface pressure on the suction surface, and the upper plot represents local surface pressure on the pressure surface.
- the overall work done is represented by the difference between the average pressure entering the blade (left axis, one-half way between the two plots) and the average pressure leaving the blade (right axis, convergence of the two plots).
- the ' plot in Fig. 5 represents a flow of 240 CFM, a static pressure of 2.29 and a static efficiency of 0.46.
- the "S" shaped blade of the invention pulls hard, as indicated in Fig.
- the blades have a high positive camber near the leading edge and a negative camber at some point between the mid-point and the tail of the blade. Most preferably the positive camber reaches a maximum of 1-3% in the leading half (e.g. 20-30%) of the blade, and the negative camber is
- the operating regime of the blower is further defined by the flow number (J) and the pressure number (K.) as follows:
- n rotational velocity in revolutions/second
- D diameter of the impeller in feet. Static pressure is measured in inches of water and is corrected to atmospheric pressure (29.92 inches > Hg).
- the flow number J is between 0.35 and 0.8 and the pressure number K. > 2.4.
- the blade chord Reynolds number is 40,000 to 200,000. Blowers with these characteristics are less than 2 feet in 10 diameter and preferably less than 12 inches.
- outlet 15 of envelope 24 is larger (at least 1.2X) than the area of inlet area 13.
- the increased area represents blade diffusion, since outlet 15 is
- the blower is manufactured by injection molding plastic, using e.g. fiber-filled plastic.
Abstract
Boundary layer separation in a rearwardly skewed centrifugal impeller (14, 15) can be better controlled by designing the impeller blades with an 'S' camber, i.e., with rearward curved radially extending blades in a centrifugal blower (10). The blades have a positive camber at a radially inward region and a negative camber at a radially outward region of the blade.
Description
CENTRIFUGAL FAN WITH VARIABLY CAMBERED BLADES
Background of the Invention This invention relates to centrifugal blowers and fans.
Centrifugal blowers and fans generally include an impeller that rotates in a predetermined direction in a housing, and may be driven by an electric motor. The impeller has curved blades which draw air in axially, along the impeller's axis of rotation, and discharge -air radially outwardly. Such blowers are used in a variety of applications, which dictate a variety of design points for pressure difference, airflow volume, motor power, motor speed, space constraints, inlet and outlet configuration, noise, and manufacturing tolerances.
One important design feature in a centrifugal fan is the angle of the blade tip relative to a tangent to the tip. This angle is called the "blade exit angle". If the blade exit angle is greater than 90°, the impeller is said to have forwardly curved blades; if the blade exit angle is less than 90°, the impeller is said to have rearwardly curved blades.
Specific centrifugal blowers described in prior patents are discussed below. Koger et al., U.S. 4,526,506 and DE 2,210,271 disclose rearwardly curved centrifugal blowers with a volute.
GB 2,080,879 discloses a rearwardly curved centrifugal blower with stator vanes to convert radial flow to axial flow.
Zochfeld, U.S. 3,597,117 and GB 2,063,365 disclose forwardly curved centrifugal blowers with a volute.
Calabro, U.S. 3,967,874 discloses a blower 16 positioned in a plenum chamber 14. The blade configuration and blower design are not apparent, but opening 46 in the bottom of the plenum chamber is in communication with the blower outlet.
GB 2,166,494 discloses a centrifugal impeller in a rotationally symmetrical cone-shaped housing, with guide vanes to produce an axial discharge.
GB 1,483,455 and GB 1,473,919 disclose centrifugal blowers with a volute.
GB 1,426,503 discloses a centrifugal blower with dual openings.
Shikatani et al. , U.S. 4,269,571 disclose a centripetal blower, which draws air in axial entrance 26 and out of the top periphery of disc 22 and axial exit 27 (3:26-36) . Canadian 1,157,902 discloses a rearwardly curved centrifugal blower with a curved sheet-metal guide.
Summary of the Invention I have discovered that boundary layer separation from rearwardly skewed radially extending centrifugal impeller blades can be better controlled by designing the impeller blades with an "S" camber. Accordingly, one aspect of the invention features blades having a positive camber at a radially inward region and a negative camber at a radially outward region of the blade.
In preferred embodiments, the blades are two-dimensional and they sweep out a three-dimensional solid (a cylinder)—i.e., the mean blade camber line
does not change in the direction of the blade span (perpendicular to the chord) . There are at least two sets of blades, primary set of blades as described above and secondary blades positioned between primary blades. The primary blades extend radially inwardly further than the secondary blades. Most preferably, the positive camber of the primary blades is about 2-5% of the blade" chord, and the maximum positive camber occurs at 20-30% of the total chord (mid-lihe) length; the maximum negative camber occurs at 70-80% of the total chord length. The secondary blades can, (but need not necessarily) have the "S" shape described above. Noise
2 control is provided by reducing the inlet area (irr for the plane of entry into the blower) to at least 20% less than the outlet area (ird.S, where d is the blower diameter and S is the blade span.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment. Description of the Preferred Embodiment
The following description of the preferred embodiment is provided to illustrate the invention and not to limit it. The description includes features described and claimed in my commonly owned U.S. patent application filed this day entitled, Centrifugal Fan With Variably Cambered Blades, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Brief Description of the Drawings
Fig. 1 is a cross-section of a centrifugal blower and automobile air conditioner evaporator.
Fig. 2A is a cross-sectional representation of the impeller blades of the blower of Fig. 1.
Fig. 2B is an enlarged detail of a portion of Fig. 2A.
Fig. 3 is a top view, partially broken away, of the annular envelope of the blower of Fig. l.
Fig. 4 is a graph of pressure as a function of tangential swirl velocity. Fig. 5 is a plot of local surface pressure as a function of blade chord position. Structure of the Blower Generally
In Fig. 1, blower 10 includes an impeller 12 consisting of a plurality of blades (14 and 15, shown in Fig. 2) which are described in greater detail below.
Impeller 12 is driven by an electric motor 16 attached to impeller axle 18.
Impeller 12 rotates within stator 20, which is a part of generally cylindrical housing 21 extending co-axially with impeller 12 and motor 16. Generally cylindrical motor housing 22 forms the inner diameter of annular envelope 24. The outer diameter of annular envelope 24 is established by housing 21. Airfoil Vanes Positioned within annular envelope 24 are two sets 25 and 27 of airfoil vanes shown best in Fig. 3. C. is the centerline (axis) of the motor, blower and impeller. The vanes extract tangential (rotational or swirl) velocity from air leaving the impeller, and they recapture that energy as static pressure.
Evaporator 30 is attached to the outlet 28 of envelope 24. Swirl in the airflow reaching evaporator 30 is substantially eliminated and air pressure across the evaporator is increased. Specifically, the vanes 25 and 27 are important in part because about 1/4 to 1/2 of the flow energy produced by a rearwardly curved centrifugal blower is in the form of velocity; the airfoil vanes recapture a substantial (40-80%) percentage of this flow energy.
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Efficiency of the blower in the form of uniformity of discharge velocity and flow energy recapture is aided by the design of the annular envelope, which is radially symmetrical and smoothly curved. Moreover, the radial extent of the envelope is small, so that the pressure and velocity are relatively uniform across the exit.
The pressure/swirl regime in which the blower operates is demonstrated by Fig. 4 which diagrams pressure coefficient (Cp) as a function of tangential swirl velocity (V. ). In Fig. 4, Cp is defined by the following equation:
Cp = 1/2PV2 ÷ l/2pV^ip
In this equation, V is airflow velocity leaving the impeller, and V . is the impeller tip velocity. * tip
Vt is the tangential velocity of air leaving the impeller ÷ V . The theoretical relationship with (x) and without (o) swirl recovery is shown. Blowers of the invention preferably operate within the cross-hatched area where V =0.5-1 and Cp=0.5-2.
Those skilled in the art will understand that the exact angle of airfoil vanes 25 and 27 will depend upon the blade configuration (discussed below) and the rotational velocity of the impeller (i.e., the range of rotational velocity within which the blower is designed to operate) . It is desirable to match the leading edge of the airfoil to the direction of airflow encountering that leading edge, so that the angle of incidence is negligible. In general, air approaches envelope 24 at an angle of 20-30° from tangential in the regime described above.
It is also desirable to maintain a substantially constant cross sectional area of the airflow (along the blower axis). To this end, there is
a reduction in hub diameter at the second stage of stators (indicated by 29 in Fig. 1) to match the reduced cross sectional area created by the higher density of stators in the second stage. Superimposed on Fig. 3 is a vector diagram for flow V-. entering the stator, in which V is the tangential swirl velocity entering the stator, and V is the axial velocity of the airstream entering the stator. V. is the tangential velocity of the blower wheel (impeller). Angle α. is 20-30° and angle β„ is 60-70°. Similar diagrams could be drawn for flow leaving stage 1 and entering stage 2, and for flow leaving stage 2. For flow V2 leaving stage 2, the angle α, between V._ and V _ would be 80-90° and angle β, is between 0° and 10°. The net effect is that V 2 <<vι because of the change in flow angle, even though v xl=v x2•
The second stage is necessary because the boundary layer loading value for a single stage exceeds the maximum engineering value (0.6) associated with attached flow. In this context, the diffusion factor is defined as (l-V-j/V^ + (Vtl-Vt2)/2σV1, where V-. and V- are respective airflow velocities entering and leaving the stage, V and V.2 are respective tangential velocities entering and leaving the stage, and σ is blade solidity (i.e., blade chord ÷ blade spacing) . Impeller Blades
Figs. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional representations'*of the blades 14 and 15 of the invention, showing their "S" shape (i.e. their reverse camber). The blades are backwardly curved, and (given their relatively small size) develop large thrust or pressure, with good efficiency and low noise.
Specifically, Figs. 2A and 2B shows the "S" shape of long chord blades 14 and shorter chord auxiliary blades 15.
One significant problem in the design of a high thrust backward curved blower is to maintain attached,,^ - flow on the suction side of the blades all the way froj^ the leading edge to the trailing edge (that is, the , blower outside diameter). Boundary layer separation leads to a deviation between the geometric camber lines of the blower blades and the actual flow streamlines... This deviation translates directly into reduced performance since the diffusion process (changing velocity energy into pressure) stops at the point that boundary layer separation occurs. The deviation bvetween the blades and streamlines also leads directly to lower performance by reducing the tangential velocity of the discharge flow.
Maintaining attached flow requires preserving the blade suction surface boundary layer energy as, it dissipates along the blade chord. The suction side boundary layer must overcome three significant retarding forces: acceleration associated with the inertial reference frame curvature of the blade surface, a, pressure gradient caused by the pressure rise that . occurs from the blade leading edge to its trailing edge,, and friction that exists at the blade-air interface. It is as though the air were rolling up hill; the air in the boundary layer begins its journey with a certain kinetic energy budget, which is partially dissipated by friction and partially converted into potential energy. At the same time the air follows a curved path, and the momentum change associated with this curvature thickens the boundary layer.
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Energy is infused into the boundary layer by the main flow, but less effectively as the thickness of the layer increases. Eventually the retarding forces become greater than the lift forces and the flow separates, that is, diverges from the blade surface. At this point the loss effects described above go into effect.
The blower design of the invention has a combination of high positive camber near the leading edge and apparent negative camber between midchord and the training edge. Thus the blade pulls hard on the flow when the BL is energetic, and pulls gently when the BL is weak. Pulling hard on the flow early produces room for more primary blades; reducing the boundary layer forces proportionately since the net work done by the blower is distributed over all of the blades surface.
In addition, space is produced for intermediate blades with shorter chords, reducing negative lift related BL forces, again. The camber lines of these short blades mimic the primary blades in the region where the short blades exist. They could have (but need not have) the "S" shape of the primary blades.
Specifically, the blade configuration of a centrifugal blower is selected using, among other things, knowledge of the following characteristics of ■ blowers:
1. The pressure capacity of a blower increases as the square of the blade tip's tangential velocity at its outside diameter. This velocity is the product of diameter times rotation velocity. Thus, the pressure required by the application largely determines blower speed and diameter.
2. The pressure generated in the blading increases, in theory, to a maximum when the blade exit
- 9
angle is 90 degrees, as shown in Fig. 4. However, the pressure observed experimentally reaches a maximum when the blade exit angle is still backward curved, at an angle of perhaps 50-60 degrees. Essentially, the 2-dimensional geometry of the blades defines a diffusion passage which has its largest total diffusion when the blade exit angle is 90 degrees. Boundary layer physics prevents realizing this maximum diffusion.
3. The velocity of the air discharged by the blower increases as the blade exit angle increases, and reaches a maximum at a blade exit angle well beyond 90 degrees. The energy invested increases as the square of velocity. In applications where static pressure is required, it can be extracted from a high velocity discharge flow by diffusion. The efficiency of the diffusion process is generally far higher in the blading of the blower than in any process which diffuses the discharge flow—as high as 90 percent for the blading process, versus about 50 percent for the discharge process. It follows that the most efficient blower generally is the one which accomplishes the most diffusion in the blading. However, the blower blade design described herein accomplishes the combination of high efficiency along with small diameter and lower rotational velocity (leading to lower noise).
4. For low noise and best blade diffusion it is necessary to align the blade leading edge with the flow. Thus, the blade entry angle is defined by the RPM, the inlet diameter and leading edge blade span, and the flow design point (ft /min.).
Fig. 5 is a plot of local surface pressure (Cp) versus the blade chord position (designated as a percentage of total chord from 0 at the leading edge to 1 at the trailing edge), where Cp is defined by the
9525
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following equation, in which P is the surface pressure and V.. is the tip velocity:
Cp = Ps ÷ l/2p (Vt.p)2 The plot of Fig. 5 is based on a computer model of performance of the primary blades alone. The lower plot represents local surface pressure on the suction surface, and the upper plot represents local surface pressure on the pressure surface. The overall work done is represented by the difference between the average pressure entering the blade (left axis, one-half way between the two plots) and the average pressure leaving the blade (right axis, convergence of the two plots). The'plot in Fig. 5 represents a flow of 240 CFM, a static pressure of 2.29 and a static efficiency of 0.46. The "S" shaped blade of the invention pulls hard, as indicated in Fig. 5 by the Δ Cp from the high pressure side of the blade to the suction side of the blade, in the chord region 0.0-0.4. For the chord region 0.4-1.0, the blade does less work. More specifically, the blades have a high positive camber near the leading edge and a negative camber at some point between the mid-point and the tail of the blade. Most preferably the positive camber reaches a maximum of 1-3% in the leading half (e.g. 20-30%) of the blade, and the negative camber is
0.25%-3% in the trailing half (e.g. 70-80%) of the blade,
The operating regime of the blower is further defined by the flow number (J) and the pressure number (K.) as follows:
J = CFM * 0212 n • D3
K+. = 1700 • static pressure n 2 • D n2
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In the above equations, n = rotational velocity in revolutions/second, and D = diameter of the impeller in feet. Static pressure is measured in inches of water and is corrected to atmospheric pressure (29.92 inches > Hg).
Preferably, the flow number J is between 0.35 and 0.8 and the pressure number K. > 2.4. The blade chord Reynolds number is 40,000 to 200,000. Blowers with these characteristics are less than 2 feet in 10 diameter and preferably less than 12 inches.
It is also significant that the cross-sectional area of the outlet 15 of envelope 24 is larger (at least 1.2X) than the area of inlet area 13. The increased area represents blade diffusion, since outlet 15 is
15 filled with airflow. The decreased inlet area significantly reduces noise.
The blower is manufactured by injection molding plastic, using e.g. fiber-filled plastic.
Other embodiments are within the following 20 claims.
Claims
1. A centrifugal blower comprising an impeller mounted to rotate on an axis, said impeller comprising a plurality of rearwardly curved, radially extending blades, said blades being characterized in that: (a) the blades have a positive camber at a radially inwardly region of the blade; (b) the blades have a negative camber at a radially outward region of the blade; whereby boundary layer separation is controlled to improve blower efficiency.
2. A centrifugal blower comprising a set of primary blades characterized according to claim 1, and a set of secondary blades, each of said secondary blades being positioned between a pair of said primary blades, said primary blades extending radially inwardly further than said secondary blades.
3. The centrifugal blower of claim 1 of claim 2 in which the positive camber is 2-5% of the blade chord.
4. The centrifugal blower of claim 1 or claim 2 in which the maximum negative camber is about 0.25-3% of the blade chord.
5. The centrifugal blower of claim 3 in which the maximum positive camber occurs at a blade radius of 20-30% of the total blade length.
6. The centrifugal blower of claim 4 in which the maximum negative camber occurs at a blade radius of 70-80% of the total blade length. - 13 -
χ 7. The centrifugal blower of claim 2 in which
2 the secondary blades have a positive camber at a
3 radially inward portion of the blade, and a negative
4 camber at a radially outward portion of the blade.
! 8. The centrifugal blower of claim l wherein
2 the blower inlet area at least 20% less than the blower
3 outlet area.
1 9. The centrifugal blower of claim 1 wherein 2 the blades are two-dimensional, and they sweep out a three-dimensional solid.
Priority Applications (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP90903507A EP0458864B1 (en) | 1989-02-14 | 1990-02-05 | Centrifugal fan with variably cambered blades |
DE69022405T DE69022405T2 (en) | 1989-02-14 | 1990-02-05 | CENTRIFUGAL BLOWERS WITH VARIABLE CURVES. |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US310,664 | 1989-02-14 | ||
US07/310,664 US4900228A (en) | 1989-02-14 | 1989-02-14 | Centrifugal fan with variably cambered blades |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO1990009525A1 true WO1990009525A1 (en) | 1990-08-23 |
Family
ID=23203572
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US1990/000660 WO1990009525A1 (en) | 1989-02-14 | 1990-02-05 | Centrifugal fan with variably cambered blades |
Country Status (6)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US4900228A (en) |
EP (1) | EP0458864B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JPH04505201A (en) |
DE (1) | DE69022405T2 (en) |
ES (1) | ES2078335T3 (en) |
WO (1) | WO1990009525A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
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WO2008109037A1 (en) * | 2007-03-05 | 2008-09-12 | Xcelaero Corporation | Low camber microfan |
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US5832606A (en) * | 1996-09-17 | 1998-11-10 | Elliott Turbomachinery Co., Inc. | Method for preventing one-cell stall in bladed discs |
US6139273A (en) * | 1998-04-22 | 2000-10-31 | Valeo Climate Control, Inc. | Radial flow fan |
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US6814545B2 (en) * | 2000-04-21 | 2004-11-09 | Revcor, Inc. | Fan blade |
US6712584B2 (en) * | 2000-04-21 | 2004-03-30 | Revcor, Inc. | Fan blade |
US6447251B1 (en) | 2000-04-21 | 2002-09-10 | Revcor, Inc. | Fan blade |
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US6942457B2 (en) * | 2002-11-27 | 2005-09-13 | Revcor, Inc. | Fan assembly and method |
US7108482B2 (en) * | 2004-01-23 | 2006-09-19 | Robert Bosch Gmbh | Centrifugal blower |
US7607886B2 (en) * | 2004-05-19 | 2009-10-27 | Delta Electronics, Inc. | Heat-dissipating device |
DE202004012015U1 (en) * | 2004-07-31 | 2005-12-22 | Ebm-Papst Landshut Gmbh | radial impeller |
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US20090317237A1 (en) * | 2008-06-20 | 2009-12-24 | General Electric Company | System and method for reduction of unsteady pressures in turbomachinery |
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CN102135110B (en) * | 2010-01-27 | 2014-12-31 | 德昌电机(深圳)有限公司 | Centrifugal impeller |
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CN101922468A (en) * | 2010-03-24 | 2010-12-22 | 南通大通宝富风机有限公司 | Impeller of centrifugal fan |
JP6155544B2 (en) * | 2012-03-12 | 2017-07-05 | 日本電産株式会社 | Centrifugal fan |
CN103225625A (en) * | 2013-03-28 | 2013-07-31 | 无锡小天鹅股份有限公司 | Centrifugal fan and clothes dryer with same |
JP5705945B1 (en) * | 2013-10-28 | 2015-04-22 | ミネベア株式会社 | Centrifugal fan |
US11073165B2 (en) * | 2013-12-23 | 2021-07-27 | Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited | Blower for breathing apparatus |
JP6411118B2 (en) * | 2014-07-31 | 2018-10-24 | 株式会社日立製作所 | Centrifugal impeller, single-shaft multistage centrifugal compressor using the same, and method of manufacturing centrifugal impeller |
EP3015713A1 (en) | 2014-10-30 | 2016-05-04 | Nidec Corporation | Blower apparatus |
US9777741B2 (en) * | 2014-11-20 | 2017-10-03 | Baker Hughes Incorporated | Nozzle-shaped slots in impeller vanes |
JP2019082129A (en) * | 2017-10-30 | 2019-05-30 | 株式会社デンソー | Blower |
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JPS60125798A (en) * | 1983-12-09 | 1985-07-05 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Motor fan |
US4531890A (en) * | 1983-01-24 | 1985-07-30 | Stokes Walter S | Centrifugal fan impeller |
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-
1989
- 1989-02-14 US US07/310,664 patent/US4900228A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1990
- 1990-02-05 DE DE69022405T patent/DE69022405T2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1990-02-05 EP EP90903507A patent/EP0458864B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1990-02-05 JP JP2503833A patent/JPH04505201A/en active Pending
- 1990-02-05 ES ES90903507T patent/ES2078335T3/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1990-02-05 WO PCT/US1990/000660 patent/WO1990009525A1/en active IP Right Grant
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US13200A (en) * | 1855-07-03 | Cork-machine | ||
US1240949A (en) * | 1914-08-03 | 1917-09-25 | Buffalo Forge Co | Centrifugal fan. |
GB2063365A (en) * | 1979-10-08 | 1981-06-03 | Punker Gmbh | Radial Flow Fans |
US4531890A (en) * | 1983-01-24 | 1985-07-30 | Stokes Walter S | Centrifugal fan impeller |
JPS60125798A (en) * | 1983-12-09 | 1985-07-05 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Motor fan |
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Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2008109037A1 (en) * | 2007-03-05 | 2008-09-12 | Xcelaero Corporation | Low camber microfan |
US8157518B2 (en) | 2007-03-05 | 2012-04-17 | Xcelaero Corporation | Low camber microfan |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
ES2078335T3 (en) | 1995-12-16 |
DE69022405T2 (en) | 1996-03-07 |
JPH04505201A (en) | 1992-09-10 |
EP0458864B1 (en) | 1995-09-13 |
US4900228A (en) | 1990-02-13 |
EP0458864A1 (en) | 1991-12-04 |
DE69022405D1 (en) | 1995-10-19 |
EP0458864A4 (en) | 1991-12-11 |
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