A Comparison of Actuator Disc Models for Axial Flow Fans in Large Air-Cooled Heat Exchangers

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. Wilkinson ◽  
Francois G. Louw ◽  
Sybrand J. van der Spuy ◽  
Theodor W. von Backström
Keyword(s):  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Velocity Profiles ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Disk Model ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Fan Performance ◽  
Actuator Disk ◽  
Performance Results

The performance of large mechanical draft air-cooled heat exchangers is directly related to fan performance which is influenced by atmospheric wind conditions, as well as the plant layout. It is often necessary to numerically model the entire system, including fans, under a variety of operating conditions. Full three-dimensional, numerical models of axial flow fans are computationally expensive to solve. Simplified models that accurately predict fan performance at a lesser expense are therefore required. One such simplified model is the actuator disk model (ADM). This model approximates the fan as a disk where the forces generated by the blades are calculated and translated into momentum sources. This model has been proven to give good results near and above the design flow rate of a fan, but not at low flow rates. In order to address this problem two modifications were proposed, namely the extended actuator disk model (EADM) and the reverse engineered empirical actuator disk model (REEADM). The three models are presented and evaluated in this paper using ANSYS FLUENT. The models are simulated at different flow rates representing an axial flow fan test facility. The resulting performance results and velocity fields are compared to each other and to previously simulated three dimensional numerical results, indicating the accuracy of each method. The results show that the REEADM gives the best correlation with experimental performance results at design conditions (ϕ = 0.168) while the EADM gives the best correlation at low flow rates. A comparison of the velocity profiles shows that none of the three models predict the radial velocity distribution at low flow rates correctly, however the correlation improves at flow rates above ϕ = 0.105. In general the upstream velocity profiles, where reversed flow occurs through the fan, are poorly predicted at low flow rates. At the flow rates above ϕ = 0.137 the correlation between the velocity profiles for the simplified modes and the three dimensional results is good.

The Design of a Large Diameter Axial Flow Fan for Air-Cooled Heat Exchanger Applications

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. Wilkinson ◽  
Johan van der Spuy ◽  
Theodor W. von Backström
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Large Diameter ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Design Procedure ◽  
Axial Flow Fan ◽  
Disk Model ◽  
Actuator Disk ◽  
Static Efficiency ◽  
Air Cooled Heat Exchanger

An axial flow fan design methodology is developed to design large diameter, low pressure rise, rotor-only fans for large air-cooled heat exchangers. The procedure aims to design highly efficient axial flow fans that perform well when subjected to off design conditions commonly encountered in air-cooled heat exchangers. The procedure makes use of several optimisation steps in order to achieve this. These steps include optimising the hub-tip ratio, vortex distribution, blading and aerofoil camber distributions in order to attain maximum total-to-static efficiency at the design point. In order to validate the design procedure a 24 ft, 8 bladed axial flow fan is designed to the specifications required for an air-cooled heat exchanger for a concentrated solar power (CSP) plant. The designed fan is numerically evaluated using both a modified version of the actuator disk model and a three dimensional periodic fan blade model. The results of these CFD simulations are used to evaluate the design procedure by comparing the fan performance characteristic data to the design specification and values calculated by the design code. The flow field directly down stream of the fan is also analysed in order to evaluate how closely the numerically predicted flow field matches the designed flow field, as well as determine whether the assumptions made in the design procedure are reasonable. The fan is found to meet the required pressure rise, however the fan total-to-static efficiency is found to be lower than estimated during the design process. The actuator disk model is found to under estimate the power consumption of the fan, however the actuator disk model does provide a reasonable estimate of the exit flow conditions as well as the total-to-static pressure characteristic of the fan.

scholarly journals Influence of mineralization and injection flow rate on flow patterns in three-dimensional porous media

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (27) ◽  
pp. 14605-14611 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Moosavi ◽  
A. Kumar ◽  
A. De Wit ◽  
M. Schröter
Keyword(s):  
Porous Media ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Injection Flow Rate ◽  
Injection Flow

At low flow rates, the precipitate forming at the miscible interface between two reactive solutions guides the evolution of the flow field.

Numerical Research on Flow Field Characteristics within the Slipstream of a Propeller

2012 ◽  
Vol 224 ◽  
pp. 55-60
Author(s):  
Zhong Zhe Duan ◽  
Pei Qing Liu ◽  
Li Chuan Ma
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Disk Model ◽  
Actuator Disk ◽  
Numerical Result ◽  
Light Load ◽  
Strip Theory ◽  
Flow Field Characteristics ◽  
Numerical Research

Numerical research on three dimensional flow field of a propeller and actuator disk model have been made. Under design conditions (headway 66.889m/s, revolving velocity 2575rpm）, the Slipstream flow field after Propeller is solved by RANS equations with structure mesh. Chosen 12 million mesh through verification of reliability analysis. The numerical result consists of the flow field and vortex field in the propeller slipstream. With comparison to the calculation result of standard strip theory and actuator disk model, it is shown that for light load propeller with the side small contraction of slipstream, in the slipstream cross section after 0.6R away from downstream of propeller rotation plane, the axial, circular and radial induced velocity coefficient by Prandtl’s blade tip corrected standard strip theory result; three dimensional flows numerical simulation and actuator disk model are well consistent. It verified the correctness of standard strip theory and also provided scientific basis for the correction of actuator disk model

An Investigation Into Performance Characteristics of an Axial Flow Fan Using CFD for Electronic Devices

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hafiz M. Hashim ◽  
Baris Dogruoz ◽  
Mehmet Arik ◽  
Murat Parlak
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Volumetric Flow Rate ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Axial Fan ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Cad Models ◽  
And Control ◽  
Control Association

Rotating fans are widely utilized in thermal management applications and their accurate characterization has recently become even a more critical issue for thermofluids engineers. The present study investigates the characterization of an axial fan computationally and experimentally. Using the three-dimensional CAD models of the fan, a series of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed to determine the flow and pressure fields produced by the axial mover over a range of flow rates. In order to validate the computational model findings, experiments were conducted to obtain the pressure drop values at different flow rates in an AMCA (Air Movement and Control Association) standard 210-99, 1999 wind tunnel. These data sets were also compared with the fan vendor’s published testing data. A reasonably good agreement was obtained among the data from these three separate sources. Furthermore, an attempt was made to understand the overall fan efficiency as a function of the volumetric flow rate. It was determined that the maximum overall fan efficiency was less than 27% correlating well with the computational results.

scholarly journals Investigation of the Flow Field in the Vicinity of an Axial Flow Fan During Low Flow Rates

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francois G. Louw ◽  
Theodor W. von Backström ◽  
Sybrand J. van der Spuy
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Design Flow ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Axial Flow Fan ◽  
Free Vortex ◽  
Flow Rates

Large axial flow fans are used in forced draft air cooled heat exchangers (ACHEs). Previous studies have shown that adverse operating conditions cause certain sectors of the fan, or the fan as a whole to operate at very low flow rates, thereby reducing the cooling effectiveness of the ACHE. The present study is directed towards the experimental and numerical analyses of the flow in the vicinity of an axial flow fan during low flow rates. This is done to obtain the global flow structure up and downstream of the fan. A near-free-vortex fan, designed for specific application in ACHEs, is used for the investigation. Experimental fan testing was conducted in a British Standard 848, type A fan test facility, to obtain the fan characteristic. Both steady-state and time-dependent numerical simulations were performed, depending on the operating condition of the fan, using the Realizable k-ε turbulence model. Good agreement is found between the numerically and experimentally obtained fan characteristic data. Using data from the numerical simulations, the time and circumferentially averaged flow field is presented. At the design flow rate the downstream fan jet mainly moves in the axial and tangential direction, as expected for a free-vortex design criteria, with a small amount of radial flow that can be observed. As the flow rate through the fan is decreased, it is evident that the down-stream fan jet gradually shifts more diagonally outwards, and the region where reverse flow occur between the fan jet and the fan rotational axis increases. At very low flow rates the flow close to the tip reverses through the fan, producing a small recirculation zone as well as swirl at certain locations upstream of the fan.

Speed Matching of the Second Rotor in a Counter-Rotating Fan Under Off-Design Conditions

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zijian Ai ◽  
Guoliang Qin ◽  
Xuefei Chen ◽  
Jingxiang Lin ◽  
Wenqiang He
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Theoretical Analysis ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
High Flow ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Fan Performance ◽  
Power Characteristics ◽  
Equal Power

A method for speed matching of the second rotor (R2) with equal power for two rotors was proposed to improve the performance of the counter-rotating fan under off-design conditions. In this method, the speed of R2 is adjusted until the power of R2 is equal to the power of the first rotor (R1). The fan performance during constant speed operation and during R2 speed matching operation is presented and discussed using theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and experimental research. The results show that R2 speed matching improves the power and efficiency characteristics of R2. Thus, the pressure rise and power characteristics of the fan were improved. The load of R2 under low flow rates condition was decreased, and the pressure rise and efficiency of R2 under high flow rates condition were increased. The blocking condition margin increased from 37.2% to 48.0%, and the high-efficiency working range of the fan increased from 33.2% to 37.9%.

Scaling the Performance of Micro-Fans

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Grimes ◽  
E. Walsh ◽  
S. Kunz ◽  
M. Davies ◽  
D. Quin
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Radial Flow ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Scaling Analysis ◽  
Electronic Systems ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Local Loss ◽  
Micro Scale ◽  
Fan Performance

Pumping of liquids and gases in micro fluidic systems has been the focus of much attention in recent times. Miniaturisation of traditional rotating pumps such as axial and radial flow designs, has been limited by the fabrication techniques employed. As a result of these limitations, the geometry of the majority of rotating micro pumps has been two-dimensional. This paper addresses issues of scaling in micro axial flow fans. The anticipated primary application will be in cooling compact electronic systems, but the results are applicable to a much wider range of pumping applications. Using novel fabrication techniques a series of geometrically similar three dimensional fans were fabricated, ranging in size from the macro to the micro scale. Experimental techniques are described which will be used for the characterisation of these fans. A scaling analysis is used to show how reduced fan scale causes increased local loss as fan dimensions are reduced to the micro scale. Numerical simulations of flow in the channels between the fan blades were performed to investigate the validity of the scaling theory, the results of which give confidence in the scaling analysis. The fundamental finding of this work is that a reduction in scale is accompanied by a reduction in efficiency and thus fan performance.

On the Theory of the Wells Turbine

1984 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
pp. 628-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. M. C. Gato ◽  
A. F. de O. Falca˜o
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Aerodynamic Performance ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Wells Turbine ◽  
Actuator Disk ◽  
Turbine Efficiency ◽  
Axial Velocity Profile ◽  
Profile Losses ◽  
Blade Shape

A theoretical investigation is presented concerning the aerodynamic performance of the Wells turbine, a self-rectifying, axial-flow turbine suitable for energy extraction from a reciprocating air flow. A two-dimensional analysis is developed, and expressions, based on potential flow, are derived for the blade shape maximizing the turbine efficiency. Three-dimensional effects and profile losses are then accounted for by means of an actuator disk theory, which shows that large radial distortions of axial velocity profile can occur, depending on blade shape, with important implications on the extent of the stall-free conditions.

The Application of Actuator Disks to Calculations of the Flow in Turbofan Installations

1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (4) ◽  
pp. 733-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. G. Joo ◽  
T. P. Hynes
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Flow Fields ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Disk Model ◽  
Actuator Disk ◽  
Good Agreement

This paper discusses the application of an actuator disk model to the problem of calculating the asymmetric performance of a turbofan operating behind a nonaxisymmetric intake and due to the presence of the engine pylon. Good agreement between predictions and experimental results is demonstrated. Further validation of the model is obtained by comparison with the results of a three-dimensional calculation of an isolated fan operating with a nonaxisymmetric inlet. Some justification of the neglect of unsteady aspects of the flow in the fan is presented. The quantitative features of the interaction of the pylon and fan flow fields are discussed.

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