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ENGINEERING DATA
Aerovent • TC Ventco • Fiber-Aire • Twin City Fan & Blower • TC Axial • Clarage
Wheel Types
Centrifugal fans may be classified into three basic types
according to blade configuration:
1. Forward curve
2. Backward inclined
3. Radial or straight blade
Each type has its own application range and limits.
Modifications of these basic types include radial tip, mixed
flow, and tangential flow.
The tip speed required to produce the required air parti-
cle velocity varies substantially with the type of blade used.
Figures 3a, 3b, and 3c (Figure 3) show vector diagrams of
forces in forward curve, backward curve, and radial blade
impellers, respectively. Vector V1 represents the rotational or
tangential velocity, and V2 represents the radial velocity of
the airflow between the blades with respect to the various
blade shapes.
Figure 3. Wheel Vector Diagrams
R R
Vector R represents the resultant velocity for each of
R V2 V2 V2
V1
these blade shapes. Note that R for the forward curve
V1 V1
impeller is the largest with the backward inclined impeller
the smallest, while the radial blade fan lies somewhere in
between. This relationship is best illustrated in Figure 4,
3a. 3b. 3c. which shows a typical tip speed/static pressure relationship
Forward Curve Backward Curve Radial for various types of centrifugal fans.
0.8
at or near free delivery (note the rising power curve in Figure
0.7 5b) and its light construction limit its suitability for most
0.6
industrial requirements.
Highly dependent on the housing for performance, the
0.5 forward curve impeller is not suitable for plug or plenum fan
applications. Without a housing the forward curve impeller
0.4
becomes unstable and exhibits a relatively poor perfor-
0.3 mance.
BLADE INCLINATION
0.2
F = FORWARD
0.1 R = RADIAL
B = BACKWARD
Backward Inclined Fans
These are sometimes called “load limiting” or “non-over-
1 2 3 4 loading” fans. The impeller blades are larger and heavier
TIP SPEED — FPM (THOUSANDS) than forward curve blades, usually number from eight to
twelve, and are inclined away from the direction of rotation.
They are standardly offered in three blade shapes:
1. Flat single thickness (Figure 6a)
Forward Curve Fans 2. Curved single thickness (Figure 6b)
These fans are sometimes known as “volume,” “squirrel 3. Curved airfoil (Figure 6c)
cage,” or “sirocco” blowers. The impeller blades are small Figure 6. Backward Inclined Fans
and numerous with a pronounced curvature and short chord
length. The concave blade curvature faces the direction of
rotation. These fans operate at relatively low speeds and
pressures (reference Figure 4) which permits light construc-
tion of the impeller, shaft, bearings, and housing.
100
90
PERCENT OF NO FLOW STATIC PRESSURE
80
TO
70 TA
L
PR
60
ES
SU
TOT
AL
R
50 EFF
E
ST ICIE
AT NC
40 Y
I C
ST
EF
AT
FI
30 CI
I
C
E R EN
OW
PR
CY
SEP
ES
20 HOR
SU
RE
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
PERCENT OF FREE DELIVERY
6c. Curved Airfoil, BIA
100 HOR
SE
PO
WE
90 R
PERCENT OF NO FLOW STATIC PRESSURE
HORSEPOWER AND EFFICIENCY
80
70 TO
TA
60
8a. 8b. 8c.
L
EF
OW/BW AW RT
TO TIC
FI
CI
50
ST
TA
L P R ES
CY
RE
40 ST
P
AT
SS
I C
UR
EF
30 The open wheel (OW), paddle wheel; and the backplate
SU
FI
E
CI
RE
EN
20 CY wheel (BW), steel plate, are the most common of the radial
10 blade impellers, and their typical performance characteris-
0 tics are shown in Figure 9. These fans are generally select-
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
PERCENT OF FREE DELIVERY ed to operate from 35% to 80% of free delivery. However, it
should be noted that these fans can, and do, operate quite
An attractive feature of the backward inclined types is the successfully left of peak, down to approximately 20% of free
non-overloading characteristic of their horsepower curves. delivery.
As Figure 7 illustrates, the horsepower increases to a maxi-
mum as airflow increases, and then drops off again toward Figure 9. Characteristic Performance of Radial Blade Fans
free delivery. This means that a motor selected to accom-
modate the peak horsepower will not overload, despite vari- 100
R
ations in the system resistance or airflow, as long as the fan WE
90 PO
PERCENT OF NO FLOW STATIC PRESSURE
R SE
speed remains constant. HO
HORSEPOWER AND EFFICIENCY
80
Typically the flat bladed design has efficiencies of about 70
TO
T
82%, while the curved blade and airfoil designs approach
AL
60
PR
ST
86% and 90%, respectively. AT
ES
I C TO
EF TA
SU
50 L
The backward inclined “family” of fans has the highest FI
R
CI EF
E
EN FI
CI
operating speeds of all the centrifugal fans (Figure 4). While 40 CY ST EN
C
Y
AT
this is a desirable feature for direct connection to modern 30
IC
PR
10
and precision balancing, making them fairly expensive com- 0
pared to forward curve fans. Also, the close running clear- 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
PERCENT OF FREE DELIVERY
ances required to maintain fan performance makes them
unsuitable for material handling. However, in single thick- From Figure 4 it can be seen that these are medium
ness blade construction they can be used in light dust and speed fans and are used to deliver low air volumes at medi-
corrosive air. um to high pressure. The main advantage of the radial blade
These fans are used primarily in the industrial market for fan lies in its simple but rugged construction. They are ideal
ventilation, clean side of commercial air cleaning devices, for high static pressure applications and for handling
furnace draft and large commercial heating and cooling airstreams containing a high level of particulate.
units. The air leaving the backward inclined impeller has less Some of the disadvantages are that they generate more
of its total energy in the form of velocity pressure than does noise than forward curve and backward inclined fans, pri-
the air leaving a forward curve impeller. Because more of its marily because of the impeller design and high operating
energy is in the form of static pressure, a backward inclined velocities and they exhibit the same rising horsepower char-
impeller loses less energy in the process of converting from acteristic as the forward curve fans. Because they are low
velocity pressure to static pressure in the housing. volume fans, larger sizes are generally required, taking up a
Therefore, a backward inclined impeller can operate quite larger installation space. Fan efficiencies are lower than both
satisfactorily without a housing, making it suitable for spe- the forward curve and backward inclined type, but this is
cialty fans such as plug fans, plenum fans, and in-line cen- generally offset by their ability to adapt to harsh environ-
trifugal fans, whose characteristics are all similar to Figure 7, ments.
just slightly less efficient. For higher efficiencies most manufacturers offer some
variation of the air wheel (AW) impeller, Figure 8b, to operate
TM