A numerical investigation of the errors associated with the scaling of axial flow fan performance characteristics
Date
2004
Authors
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Publisher
Science Africa for the South African Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Abstract
The primary purpose of this numerical investigation is to determine the influence of scaling on the accuracy with which the fan performance characteristics of a scaled axial flow fan can be determined from those of a model fan with the use of the fan laws. The fan laws are based on the premise that similarity exists between the model and scaled fan velocity fields, and does not make provision for fan blade Reynolds number and surface roughness differences between the model and scaled fans. The numerical investigation is conducted using a commercially available computational fluid dynamics code. An axial flow fan model based on actuator disc theory is developed and incorporated into the commercial code. The use of the fan model greatly reduces grid complexity and processing power whilst maintaining a high degree of accuracy. The results of the numerical investigation indicate that, depending on the type of axial flow fan used as well as the operating conditions encountered, inaccuracies due to scaling can arise when using the fan laws to determine the scaled fan performance characteristics.
Description
CITATION: Meyer, C. J. & Kroger, D. G. 2004. A numerical investigation of the errors associated with the scaling of axial flow fan performance characteristics. R&D Journal, 20.
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Citation
Meyer, C. J. & Kroger, D. G. 2004. A numerical investigation of the errors associated with the scaling of axial flow fan performance characteristics. R&D Journal, 20.