A centrifugal fan is a mechanical device for moving air or other gases.

The terms "blower" and

"squirrel cage fan", (because it looks like a hamster wheel), are frequently used as synonyms.
These fans increase the speed and volume of an air stream with the rotating impellers.[1]
Centrifugal fans use the kinetic energy of the impellers to increase the volume of the air/gas
stream. which in turn moves them against the resistance caused by ducts, dampers and other
components. Centrifugal fans displace air radially, changing the direction (typically by 90) of
the airflow. They are sturdy, quiet, reliable, and capable of operating over a wide range of
conditions.[2]
Centrifugal fans are constant displacement devices or constant volume devices, meaning that, at
a constant fan speed, a centrifugal fan will move a relatively constant volume of air rather than a
constant mass. This means that the air velocity in a system is fixed even though the mass flow
rate through the fan is not.[citation needed]
Centrifugal fans are not positive displacement devices. Centrifugal fans have certain advantages
and disadvantages when contrasted with positive-displacement blowers.[3][4][5][6][7]
The centrifugal fan is one of the most widely used fans. Centrifugal fans are by far the most
prevalent type of fan used in the HVAC industry today. They are often cheaper than axial fans
and simpler in construction.[8] They are used in transporting gas or materials and in ventilation
system for buildings.[9] They are also well-suited for industrial processes and air pollution control
systems.
The centrifugal fan is a drum shape composed of a number of fan blades mounted around a hub.
As shown in the animated figure, the hub turns on a driveshaft mounted in bearings in the fan
housing. The gas enters from the side of the fan wheel, turns 90 degrees and accelerates due to
centrifugal force as it flows over the fan blades and exits the fan housing.[10]
Testing method and parameters

A wind tunnel is a tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past
solid objects. A wind tunnel consists of a tubular passage with the object under test mounted in
the middle. Air is made to move past the object by a powerful fan system or other means. The
test object, often called a wind tunnel model, is instrumented with suitable sensors to measure
aerodynamic forces, pressure distribution, or other aerodynamic-related characteristics.

Centrifugal compressors, sometimes termed radial compressors, are a sub-class of dynamic

axisymmetric work-absorbing turbomachinery.[1]

The idealized compressive dynamic turbo-machine achieves a pressure rise by adding kinetic
energy/velocity to a continuous flow of fluid through the rotor or impeller. This kinetic energy is
then converted to an increase in potential energy/static pressure by slowing the flow through a
diffuser. The pressure rise in impeller is in most cases almost equal to the rise in the diffuser
section.
The affinity laws for pumps/fans are used in hydraulics and/or HVAC to express the relationship
between variables involved in pump or fan performance (such as head, volumetric flow rate,
shaft speed) and power. They apply to pumps, fans, and hydraulic turbines. In these rotary
implements, the affinity laws apply both to centrifugal and axial flows.
The laws are derived using the Buckingham theorem. The affinity laws are useful as they allow
prediction of the head discharge characteristic of a pump or fan from a known characteristic
measured at a different speed or impeller diameter. The only requirement is that the two pumps
or fans are dynamically similar, that is the ratios of the fluid forced are the same.
Thermodynamic pump testing is a form of pump testing where only the temperature rise,
power consumed, and differential pressure need to be measured to find the efficiency of a pump.
These measurements are typically made with insertion temperature probes and pressure probes
fitted to tapping points on the pump's inlet and outlet.[1] From these measurements, the flow
produced by a pump can be derived.[2] The thermodynamic method was developed in the early
1960s, and since has been increasingly used. It is described in high precision hydraulic testing
standards such as ISO 5198.

The thermodynamic method is used for performance testing of pumps, flow meter calibration,
system curve tests, and other applications. It is capable of achieving results with uncertainties of
less than 1% in pump efficiency and less than 1.5% in flow[3] while being able to test piping
configurations where other conventional pump testing methods cannot provide accurate results.[4]
The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in
aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan": the
turbo portion refers to a gas turbine engine which achieves mechanical energy from
combustion,[1] and the fan, a ducted fan that uses the mechanical energy from the
gas turbine to accelerate air rearwards. Thus, whereas all the air taken in by a
turbojet passes through the turbine (through the combustion chamber), in a
turbofan some of that air bypasses the turbine. A turbofan thus can be thought of as
a turbojet being used to drive a ducted fan, with both of those contributing to the
thrust. The ratio of the mass-flow of air bypassing the engine core compared to the
mass-flow of air passing through the core is referred to as the bypass ratio. The
engine produces thrust through a combination of these two portions working in
concert; engines that use more jet thrust relative to fan thrust are known as lowbypass turbofans, conversely those that have considerably more fan thrust than jet
thrust are known as high-bypass. Most commercial aviation jet engines in use today
are of the high-bypass type,[2][3] and most modern military fighter engines are lowbypass.[4][5] Afterburners are not used on high-bypass turbofan engines but may be

used on either low-bypass turbofan or turbojet engines.

Computer cooling is required to remove the waste heat produced by computer components, to
keep components within permissible operating temperature limits.
Components that are susceptible to temporary malfunction or permanent failure if overheated
include integrated circuits such as CPUs, chipset, graphics cards, and hard disk drives.
Components are often designed to generate as little heat as possible, and computers and
operating systems may be designed to reduce power consumption and consequent heating
according to workload, but more heat may still be produced than can be removed without

attention to cooling. Use of heatsinks cooled by airflow reduces the temperature rise produced by
a given amount of heat. Attention to patterns of airflow can prevent the development of hotspots.
Computer fans are widely used along with heatsinks to reduce temperature by actively
exhausting hot air. There are also more exotic cooling techniques, such as liquid cooling.

A jet engine is a reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet that generates thrust by jet
propulsion. This broad definition includes turbojets, turbofans, rocket engines, ramjets, and pulse
jets. In general, jet engines are combustion engines.
In common parlance, the term jet engine loosely refers to an internal combustion airbreathing jet
engine. These typically feature a rotating air compressor powered by a turbine, with the leftover
power providing thrust via a propelling nozzle this process is known as the Brayton
thermodynamic cycle. Jet aircraft use such engines for long-distance travel. Early jet aircraft
used turbojet engines which were relatively inefficient for subsonic flight. Modern subsonic jet
aircraft usually use more complex high-bypass turbofan engines. These engines offer high speed
and greater fuel efficiency than piston and propeller aeroengines over long distances.

Vapor-Compression Refrigeration or vapor-compression refrigeration

system (VCRS),[1] in which the refrigerant undergoes phase changes, is one of the
many refrigeration cycles and is the most widely used method for air-conditioning of
buildings and automobiles. It is also used in domestic and commercial refrigerators,
large-scale warehouses for chilled or frozen storage of foods and meats, refrigerated
trucks and railroad cars, and a host of other commercial and industrial services. Oil

refineries, petrochemical and chemical processing plants, and natural gas

processing plants are among the many types of industrial plants that often utilize
large vapor-compression refrigeration systems.