Performance calculations for rotary positive displacement blowers require the use of

several equations. These equations are presented below in the calculation order that is
most logical. Typical equations are provided for both Roots and Sutorbilt.
Slip represents the amount of gas (air) which leaks back through the very small
clearances which are present between the impellers and headplate, the impellers and
the cylinder and between the impellers. The slip is the RPM (Revolutions per Minute)
required to compensate for this leakage

Pa Ps Ta Gs

Ps Pa Ts Ga

Slipcorrected = Slipapplication
Where:
Slipcorrected
Slipapplication
Pa
Ps
Ps
Pa
Ta
Ts
Gs
Ga

Slip of the unit at actual operating conditions (RPM)

Slip of the unit at 1 psi (measured in RPM)
Differential Pressure in psi
Standard Pressure rise = 1 psi
Standard Absolute Pressure in psia
Actual absolute inlet pressure in psia
Actual absolute inlet temperature in R (F+460)
Standard absolute inlet temperature in R, 528R
Standard Specific Gravity of air, 1.0
Actual Specific Gravity of gas

Slipapplication is determined by blanking off the discharge of a blower and rotating the
blower at the speed that will generate a 1 psi at the discharge. This is also referred to as
1 psi slip.
Ga is determined by dividing the molecular weight of the desired gas by 28.964 which is
the molecular weight of dry air.

Ga =

MWGas
28.964

Blower or vacuum pump inlet volume can be calculated with the following equation:

Qa = cfr ( N Slipcorrected )
Where:
Qa
Actual Inlet Volume in cfm
cfr
Cubic Feet per Revolution (displacement)
N
Speed of unit in RPM (revolutions per minute
Slipcorrected
Slip of unit at actual operating conditions
If cfr is not known for a unit, one could estimate it with the following equation:
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cfr = GD 2 CL 0.00137
Where:
GD
CL

Gear Diameter in inches

Cylinder Length in inches

This calculation for cfr assumes an 80% involute profile design.

The brake horsepower required to drive the blower is calculated with the following
equation:

BHP = GHP + FHP

Where:
BHP
GHP
FHP

Brake Horsepower
Gas Horsepower
Friction Horsepower

A quick method to calculate Brake Horsepower to get you in the ball park is to use the
following equation:

BHP = 0.00474 P N
Where:
P
N
0.00474

Differential Pressure between inlet and discharge in psi

Speed of the unit in RPM
Represents a constant that includes 7.8% for friction losses

If you want to fine tune your brake horsepower calculation, the Gas Horsepower will be
calculated separately from the Friction Horsepower. Gas Horsepower for a conventional
rotary positive displacement blower can be calculated with the following equation:

GHP = 0.00436 cfr N P

The formula that is used for a Whispair unit (jet - assisted) is:

GHP = Fg cfr N P
Fg must be obtained from a graph that has gear tip speed on the x-axis and Fg on the yaxis. This curve is specific for a particular series of units or a specific unit and is typically
proprietary for the blower manufacturer.

Rotating Engineered Products, Inc.

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www.pdblowers.com
800-536-9933

Friction Horsepower can be calculated using several different strategies. All strategies
require a Friction Horsepower provided by the manufacturer. This friction horsepower is
typically based on either Friction Horsepower per 1000 RPM or Friction Horsepower at
the maximum RPM which in turn can be related to gear tip speed.
Friction Horsepower per 1000 RPM can be defined as follows:

FHP =

FHP N
1000

Friction horsepower defined by the maximum friction horsepower at the maximum speed
is:
3

N
FHPN =
FHPmax
N max
FHP/1000, FHPN, FHPmax and Nmax are supplied by the manufacturer.
Gear tip speed in fpm (feet per minute)can be calculated with the following equation:

0.262 GD N
Where:
GD
N

Gear Diameter in inches

Speed of shaft in RPM

We can now calculate temperature rise on the unit. Temperature rise is a critical
calculation since the blower has limits on thermal growth. To much temperature rise and
the impellers will expand into the headplates causing the unit to seize and possibly
causing extensive damage to the unit.
Two formulas can be used. The first formula is only applicable to air and is as follows:

T =

Ta BHP Ft
0.01542 Pa Qa

The following formula can be used for any gas:

T =

Ta BHP Ft ( k 1)
0.00436 Pa Qa k

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800-536-9933

Where:
Ta
BHP
Ft
K
Pa
Qa

Actual absolute inlet temperature in R (F+460)

Brake Horsepower
Temperature rise factor from manufacturers table
Ratio of specific heats for a gas cp/cv
Actual absolute inlet pressure in psia
Actual Inlet Volume in cfm

Temperature rise exerts a couple additional limitations on rotary positive displacement

blowers. Most manufactures impose an average temperature rule as well as a reduction
in maximum allowable temperature rise when inlet gas temperatures exceed ambient
conditions.
These two rules can be expressed mathematically as follows:

Tsuction + Tdisch arg e

2

250 F

2
Tallowable = Tmax (Tsuction Tambient )
3
Where:
Tsuction
Tdischarge
Tallowable
Tmax
Tambient

Inlet Temperature in F at blower inlet

Discharge Temperature in F at blower discharge
Revised maximum allowable temperature rise
Manufacturers maximum allowable temperature rise
Ambient Temperature around the blower in F

Rotating Engineered Products, Inc.

2405 Murphy Blvd. Gainesville, GA 30504
www.pdblowers.com
800-536-9933

Let the controversy begin!!

I've been in the air and gas handling business since 1982 and I think this topic causes
the most confusion of any I've seen in this business.
I will plagiarize the Roots SCFM vs ACFM Guidebook to offer the correct calculation for
air.
In specifying blower performance, major problems occur in distinguishing ACFM from
SCFM, and in correctly converting from one to the other. Some people even use SCFM
and ACFM interchangeably.
SCFM is normally used to designate flow in terms of some base or reference pressure,
temperature and relative humidity. Many standards are used, the most common being
the Compressed Air & Gas Institute (CAGI) and the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers (ASME) standards, which are 14.7 PSIA, 68F and 36% relative humidity
(RH). This converts to a density of 0.075 lbs/cu.ft. for air.
These corrections must, therefore, be made to assure that the blower furnished will
provide the proper amount of oxygen or other elements for the process to function
properly.
The formula below is strictly for ambient air, if another gas is required, additional
considerations are required.

ACFM = SCFM

Ps ( RH s PVs ) Ta Pb

Pb ( RH a PVa ) Ts Pa

where:
Ps = Standard pressure (PSIA)
Pb = Atmospheric pressure - barometer (PSIA)
Pa = Actual pressure (PSIA)
RHs = Standard relative humidity
RHa = Actual relative humidity
PVs = Saturated vapor pressure of water at standard temperature (PSI)1
PVa = Saturated vapor pressure of water at actual temperature (PSI)1
Ts = Standard temperature (R) NOTE: R =F+460
Ta = Actual temperature (R)
1: See vapor pressure chart

Rotating Engineered Products, Inc.

2405 Murphy Blvd. Gainesville, GA 30504
www.pdblowers.com
800-536-9933

Temp
F
t
32
32.018
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46

Press
PSIA
p
.08859
.08866
.09223
.09601
.09992
.10397
.10816
.11250
.11700
.12166
.12648
.13146
.13662
.14196
.14748
.15319

Temp
F
t
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62

Press
PSIA
p
.15909
.16520
.17151
.17803
.18477
.19173
.19892
.20635
.2140
.2219
.2301
.2386
.2473
.2563
.2655
.2751

Temp
F
t
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78

Press
PSIA
p
.2850
.2952
.3057
.3165
.3276
.3391
.3510
.3632
.3758
.3887
.4021
.4158
.4300
.4446
.4596
.4750

Temp
F
t
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94

Press
PSIA
p
.4909
.5073
.5241
.5414
.5593
.5776
.5964
.6158
.6357
.6562
.6772
.6988
.7211
.7439
.7674
.7914

Temp
F
t
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110

Press
PSIA
p
.8162
.8416
.8677
.8945
.9220
.9503
.9792
1.0090
1.0395
1.0708
1.1029
1.1359
1.1697
1.2044
1.2399
1.2763

Temp
F
t
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126

Press
PSIA
p
1.3133
1.3516
1.3909
1.4311
1.4723
1.5145
1.5578
1.6021
1.6475
1.6940
1.7417
1.7904
1.8404
1.8915
1.9438
1.9974

Lets put the equation to the test with the following criteria:
Location:
Elevation:
SCFM:
Ambient Temperature:
Relative Humidity:
Inlet Pressure Drop:
Standard Conditions:

Atlanta, GA
1050 feet above sea level
1000
80F
70%
0.3 psi (due to filter and silencer)
CAGI Standards (14.7 psia, 36% RH and 68F)

We can use our elevation table to get our barometric pressure which can be interpolated
as 14.18 psia. Lets plug these numbers into our equation:

ACFM = 1000

14.7 ( 0.36 0.3391) ( 80 + 460 ) 14.18

14.18 ( 0.70 0.5073) ( 68 + 460 ) 13.88

Do the math and the answer is 1,101.7 acfm.

As you can see, if flow is not corrected for actual conditions, you would miss your
requirement by 10.2%. This would be a greater miss if all parameters stayed the same,
but we assume a 100F. Based on a 100F day, the flow would be 1,169 acfm.
A more detailed calculation is available in our Tech Talk Article titled "Volume and Mass
Flow Calculations for Gases." This article shows how you can convert mass flow to
either SCFM or ACFM and volume into mass flow.
Rotating Engineered Products, Inc.
2405 Murphy Blvd. Gainesville, GA 30504
www.pdblowers.com
800-536-9933