FINAL PROJECT:

EVAPORATOR FAN DESIGN

ChristopherPhaneuf
BrianTovar
ME407:ComputationFluidDynamics
ProfessorScottBondi
05May2008

TABLEOFCONTENTS

1INTRODUCTION

1.1Objective

1.2HeatExchangerDesign

1.3FanTypes

2DESIGN

2.1Assumptions

2.2DesignConcept

2.3HeatExchangerRedesign

3
3

2.4DesignIntegration

3FANSIMULATION

3.1Preprocessing

15

3.1a)Fullsizemodel

17

3.1b)Periodicmodel

18

3.1c)Shroud/manifold

23

16
17

3.2Solution

4RESULTS

4.1Postprocessing

24

4.1a)Fullfansimulation

25

4.1b)Periodicfansimualtion

29

4.1c)Shroud/manifoldsimulation

32

25
25

4.2FanPerformance

5DISCUSSION

5.1Generalresults

35

5.2CostEstimate

36

5.3Designbenefits

37

36
36

APPENDIXI:DimensionedFanSchematics

38

APPENDIXII:HandCalculations

40

INTRODUCTION

1.1

Objective

Norefrigerationcyclewouldbecompletewithoutanevaporator;noevaporatorwouldbe
completewithoutaheatexchangerandafan.Previousdesignandcomputationalfluid
dynamicsanalysisaimedatthedevelopmentofanevaporatoryieldedanovelsinglepass
shellandtubeheatexchangerfeaturingannularfinsandperpendicularductingforthe
inletandoutlet.Thisdevicecoolsairfrom100Fto50Fwhileminimizingthephysicalsize
andpressuredrop.Forallpastsimulations,flowthroughtheheatexchangerwassetata
midrangevelocityof250ft/min.Thesourceofthemovingairwasirrelevantuntilnow.
Todrivetheairthroughtheheatexchanger,acompact,energyefficientfanshallbe
designedtooperateatthreespeedscorrespondingtomeanflowvelocitiesof200,350,and
500ft/min.Inaddition,thefanmustbecoupledtotheheatexchangerwithashroudor
alternativeconnector.

1.2

HeatExchangerDesign

Thedesignofthefanandshroudbeganwherethefinaldesignofasimpleshellandtube
heatexchangerleftoff.Bydirectingairflowaroundaseriesofannularbaffles,more
turbulentmixingpromotesincreasedconvectivecoolingfromthelowtemperature
refrigerantpipe,whichisassumedtostayataconstanttemperaturealongitsentirelength.
Plotsbelowdepicttheuniquegeometryandillustratetheeffectivecooling.

Figure1

Streamlinesfororiginalshellandtubeheatexchanger
1


Figure2

Temperaturecontoursfororiginalshellandtubeheatexchanger

Theoriginalheatexchangerdesignperformedinaccordancewithrelativelyloose
requirements.Thispromptedaneedtotesttheheatexchangerundernewlypresented
conditions,includingthevariableflowrateanddirectionofflow.

1.3

FanTypes

Mechanicalfanstylesandconfigurationsaremultifariousandsuitavarietyofneeds.The
twobasicstypesareaxialandcentrifugalfans.Centrifugalfansareruggedmachines
commonlyusedforlarge,industrialapplications.Thedemandforacompactdesign
eliminatesthisoptionandleavestheaxialfanstyleopentoadaptation.Elementsofthefan
suchasmotortype,bladegeometry,andhousingpermitflexibilityofperformanceand
allowspecificapplicationmatching.


Figure3

Fantypes:centrifugal(left)1andaxial(right)2

DESIGN

2.1

Assumptions

Likemostengineeringproblems,acriticalsetofassumptionsisrequiredtorealizeandtest
theintegrationofafanforourevaporator.Detailsofpartswell,acousticeffects,bearing
implementation,inducedvibration,andotherphysicalnuancesencounteredinthe
operationofafanareneglectedtosimplifythedesignandshiftemphasisonachievingbulk
flowrequirements.Anothersimplificationisencounteredintheapproachtosolvingthe
governingfluidmechanicsequationsusingFLUENT.Thetwomainoptionswithinthe
softwareare1)steadystateanalysisusingmultiplereferenceframes,includingarotating
frameand2)unsteadyanalysisusingaslidingmesh.Duetoinexperiencewithunsteady
simulationsandalackofneedforthebehaviorcapturedbythistypeofsolution,asteady
stateapproachwastaken.

2.2

DesignConcept

Duringtheearlierdesignoftheheatexchanger,severaldiscussionsaroseoverthemeans
ofairflowdelivery.Althoughthefinaldesignfeaturedperpendicularductsateachendof
thedevice,themoreobviousandpotentiallymorecompactmethodofaxiallydirectedflow
intotheheatexchangerwasconsidered.(Thiscorrespondedtotheoriginal2D
axisymmetricsimulationthatvalidatedthegeneralshellandtube/annularfinconcept.)
Uponmorecriticalconsiderationofanaxialflowscheme,theideawasabandoneddueto
questionsoffeasibility.Itwasthoughtthatthepathoftherefrigerantpipeandthe
3

fan/shroudsystemwouldconflict.Thepipewouldhavetobebenttoexitashroudandin
turncreateabarrierforflowintotheheatexchanger.
Thetaskofdesigningafanfortheevaporatorbroughtustorevisittheideaofanaxially
orientedflowsource.Callingonpastresearchexperienceinelectricmotortechnologies,
muchofwhichiscenteredonfandesign,wedevisedanapproachofdirectlycouplingour
heatexchangertoanaxialfanpoweredbyabrushless,permanentmagnetmotor.The
flexibilityofanouter,electricallycommutatedstatorandaninner,permanentmagnet
equippedrotormakesthisconfigurationpossible.Onthesurface,theroughspecifications
providedforthefancomponentsresembleacommoncoolingfan.Thegeneralbladeshape
andsizecorrespondcloselywithmidsized,axialcoolingfans.Theprimarydifferenceslie
intheslightlymorecomplexbladestyleandthedistributionofthepowercomponents.
Withmodelingandmeshinglimitationsinmind,thefanbladegeometrywaskeptsimple.
Theprofileneededtobemoreinterestingandmorecapableofacceleratingfluidthanaflat,
angledplatebutnotascomplexasthecarefullydesigned,lownoisespecialtydesigns
foundinconsumerproducts.UsingSolidworks,asplineintheshapeofanairfoilwas
createdandoffsettogivethebladeathickness.Thetwoedgeswereclosedwithtangent
arcsateachend.Thisouterprofilewascopiedontoanotherplane(whichwasoffsetbythe
expectedlengthoftheblade)andmodifiedtobesmallerandexhibitamoresevereangleof
attackatthebase/hub.Thesetwoprofileswereloftedtogenerateasingle3dimentional
blade(Figure4)andexportedasaSTEPfiletobeimportedintopreprocessingsoftware.

Figure4

Fanbladegeometry

Themotivationbehindthemotordesigndepictedinthe2Dschematicbelowistheability
torunapipethroughthecenterwithoutaffectingtheoperationofthefan.Byplacing
magnetsofalternatingpolarityalongthecircumferenceofaretainingringontheoutsideof
thefanbladesandbyguidingtherotationofthefanblades(rotor)withanouterbearing
4

builtintothefanhousing(notshown),thecenterofthehubcanbehollowandallowthe
passageoftherefrigerantpipe.Thismakesthepreviouslyabandonedideaofaxiallydriven
flowcompletelyconceivable.Theonlyothercomponentofthefanisthehousing/
enclosure,whichisanordinaryplasticcasemodifiedtosupporttherotorwithabearing
support.

Figure5

Fanmotorconcept:custominrunnerbrushlessPMmotor

Figure6

Fanassembly
5

ABS(AcrylonitrileButadieneStyrene)plasticwasselectedforthebulkofthefanparts,
excludingthesteelstatorlaminationsforthemotor,thecontrollingelectronicsandthe
magnetsontherotor.Foruseinsimulations,keypropertiesweregathered:
Density=1080kg/m3(SG=1.08)
Specificheat=0.34Btu/lbF
ThermalConductivity=0.1125Btu/hrft2F
Maximumtemperature=180200F

UsingSolidworkstodeterminethevolumeoccupiedbyeachprimarycomponent,the
approximatemassofthefanwascalculatedfromthecorrespondingdensities.
(mfanblades=0.02612kg)+(mfancover=0.131kg)+(mstator=0.198kg)+(mmagnets=0.02kg)
=0.375kg
Weight=3.675N=approx.0.8lbs.

Technicalspecificationsforthisfanarepotentiallylimitless.Brushlessmotorbasedfans
areversatiledevices,controlledwithvariousfeedbackschemesandcapableofeitherlow
speed,hightorqueorhighspeed,lowtorqueapplications.Forthisparticularfan,thestator
isdesignedforrelativelyhighspeedsandappropriatelylowtorquegeneration.Thestator
teethwillfeaturethinmagneticwireandahighnumberofwindings.Theoptimalmeansof
poweringandcontrollingthefanfromlinefed(wall)electricityisacomplexsystem
summarizedbythefollowingflowofcomponents:apowerrectifierandregulator
convertingACtomanageableDC,avariablefrequencyinvertertosupplythreephase
alternatingsquarewavecurrentpulsestothreesetsofstatorwindingsdistributedover
twelveteeth.Steadyspeedcontrolisaccomplishedwitheitherhalleffectsensors
positionedaroundtherotororamethodsensorlesscontrolthatestimatesrotational
velocitybasedonmeasurementsofbackEMFthroughnonenergizedwindingphases
duringeachcycle.[NOTE:Thesedetailsareseeminglyexcessiveforthepurposesofthis
assignmentbutrepresentacarefullyselectedsetofcomponentsthatareeasily
manufacturedandmeettheoperatingdemandsoftheevaporator.]
Whilemostheatexchangersrequireashroudtoconverttheroundgeometryofthe
effectivefanareatothesquareorrectangularfaceofthetypicalcrossflowheatexchanger,
ourshellandtubegeometryobviatestheuseofashroud.Withminormodification,the
roundcylinderisdirectlycoupledtothefan.Inlieuofashroudanalysis,theintroductionof
a3inchsectionofpipemanifold(tobeexplainedinthefollowingsection)necessitatesa
studyofthissegmentoftransitionbetweenthefanandthebafflesoftheheatexchanger.
Additionally,thesimulationsofthefangeometrycapturetheflowin3inchlong,5inch
diameterstraightshrouddirectlyaftertherotatingflowaroundthefanblades.
6

2.3

HeatExchangerRedesign

Tovalidatethedirectcouplingapproachofincorporatingthefanintotheevaporator
design,theheatexchangermustbealteredandtestedforadequateperformancewiththe
axialinlet.Sinceafandiameterof5incheswasselectedfromthestartofthedesign,prior
totheinitialstepsofredesigningtheheatexchanger,theoutershelldiameterofthe
exchangerwasadjustedaccordingly.Thegeometryofolddesignwasreproduceddirectly
inGAMBITwiththefollowingchanges:theeliminationoftheperpendicularducting,the
increaseofshelldiameterto5inches,andtheuseoffacestosplitthevolumeforthe
annularfinsinordertousecoupledthermalboundaryconditions.Quadmesheswere
appliedtoallfacesandthevolumemeshwasgeneratedtoyieldedacleanlyrevolvedsetof
640,549elements.Thegeneralboundaryconditions(forthissimulationandallsubsequent
validationruns)wereaninletspeedof250ft/min,refrigeranttemperatureof10F,and
coupledfins.Thekepsilonrealizableturbulencemodelwasusedandsolutionscontrols
werekeptattheirdefaultsforthesakeofintermediatetests.Theresultswerenot
promising,confirmingtheexpectedissueswiththealternativeflowscheme.Theaxialflow
didnotinducethesamedegreeofmixingandtheareaweightedoutlettemperaturewas
justunder80F.Thisnecessitatedaseriesofsimulationscheckingtheeffectofminor
geometricmodificationstowardabettercoolingshellandtubeheatexchanger;however,
despitemeasuressuchaslengtheningtheheatexchangerandapplyingtighterfinspacing,
thecoolingcapabilitiesofthesinglepassexchangerwithannularfinswasnoteffective
withinreasonableconstraintsofcompactness(Tout=57F/P=00.28).Thefollowing
figuredemonstratestheinadequateheattransferoftheoriginaldesignexperiencingaxial
inflow.

Figure7

Postmodification,singlepass,15inch,9finheatexchanger
7

Inanefforttoattainbetterperformancefromouraxiallyfedheatexchanger,thenext
phaseoftheredesignborrowedfromthemorecommonstyleofshellandtubeheat
exchangers,whichfeaturealargenumberpipeschanneledthroughtheinteriorand
alternatingbafflesshapedliketruncatedcircles(Figure8).Byincorporatingamanifold
thatsplitsthesingle1inchpipeofrefrigerantinto7halfinchpipes,morecoolingsurface
areaisintroducedtothedesign.Additionally,bafflessimilartothosefoundwithin
industrialheatexchangersofthiskindwereincluded.
Thefirstattemptwiththistopologywasareturntotheoriginal12inchlengthandhad3
baffles.Resultswerenotcompletelysuccessful(Tout=76.25F/P=0.65incheswater)
butshowedroomforimprovement(Figure9).Alonger,15inchshellwith7bafflesat1.5
inchspacingprovidedsufficientresultswithanoutlettemperatureof49.9Fanda
pressuredropof2.2inchesofwater(Figures1015).Adrawbackofthisapproachisthe
inabilitytomatchthequalityofthemeshforthesingletube,axisymmetricdesign.The3D
meshwasmadewithTGridandconsistsof279,168elements.Also,whilethepressureloss
wasgreaterthanthepreviousdesigns,themodelstillmettheprimaryrequirementof
reducingtheairtemperature.Sincetheadditionofthemanifoldaffectstherefrigerantflow,
asimulationofthedividingflowwasrunthoughameshof64,980elements(Figure1619).
Thisconcludedtheheatexchangerredesignprocess.

Figure8

Commonshellandtubeheatexchanger3


Figure9

7pipe,12inch,3baffleheatexchanger

Figure10

Residualshistoryforfinalheatexchangerredesign


Figure11

Temperaturecontoursforfinalredesign

Figure12

Pressurecontoursforfinaldesign

10


Figure13

Velocitycontoursforfinaldesign

Figure14

Pathlinescoloredbytemperature

11


Figure15

Redesignedheatexchanger

12


Figure16

Internalrefrigerantpipeflowmanifoldmesh

Figure17

Pressurecontoursthroughmanifoldatmidplane

13


Figure18

Velocitycontoursthroughmanifoldatmidplane

Figure19

Temperaturecontoursthroughmanifoldatmidplane

14

2.4

DesignIntegration

Withthegeneralfanconceptdevelopedandmodeledandtheheatexchangeradaptedto
thesizeofthefan,thetwopartswerecombined.Aflange,ormountingplate,wasaddedto
theendoftheheatexchangertoallowboltingtothefan.Figuresoftheassembled,inline
evaporatorweregeneratedwithSolidworks.

Figure20

Assembledevaporatorcomponents

Figure21

Evaporatorwithsectioncut

15


Figure22

Explodedviewofevaporator

FanSimulation

Computationalfluiddynamicswasemployedtorefinethedetailsofourdesignandvalidate
theeffectivenessofthefan.Anaccuratesimulationcanprovideseveralmeasuresoffan
performancecriticaltotheoperationofanefficientandusableevaporator.Withthree
desiredsettingsforthefan,thesimulationprocesswasiterative.Addingtothenumberof
requirediterationwasthelackofexperienceandthereforenumerousissueswithmoving
referenceframes.
Sincethesymmetryoftheaxialfantypeslendsitselftoananalysisofonlyasectionofthe
fan,periodicboundarieswerefirstattempted.Althoughtheboundaryconditionsseemedto
makesense,resultspointedtomajorerrorsinthesetup.Followingmanypermutationsof
logicalboundaryconditions,thefailuretoyieldreasonableflowregimes,theperiodic
conditionwasthesuspectedcause.Wetooktheapproachofmodelingtheentirefan
structure,whichintroducedmoreelementsbuteliminatedanypossibleproblemscaused
byanimproperperiodicconfiguration.Despitethesimplificationofthesimulation,results
stillfailedtocapturetheintendedflowdirections.Lookingmorecloselyatthemixingplane
tutorialthathadoriginallyguidedtheselectionofboundaryconditions,subtlesettings
werefoundtobedisparatewiththepastattemptsanduponadjustment,simulations
eventuallyrevealedtheintendedflow.Byestimatingrotationalspeedsfromtheinitial
results,thecorrectvaluesforproducingthethreeoutletspeedsof200,350,and500ft/min
wereeventuallydeterminedthroughtrialanderror.Toconfirmourabilitytouseperiodic
conditions,wereturnedtomodelingonlyasinglebladeofthefan.Thefollowingsections
willbrieflydepictthefullscalemeshandthentakeyouthroughthedetailedprocessesof
creatingthemeshandarrivingatasolutionfortheperiodicmodel.
16

3.1

Preprocessing

3.1a)Fullsizemodel

Figure23

Fullsizemeshdisplayingallfacemeshes

Figure24

Closeuponquadmappedfanbladewithboundarylayer
17

3.1b)Periodicmodel

Oncethegeneralfanconfigurationwasestablishedandthefanbladegeometrywas
modeledinSolidworks,preprocessingsoftwareknownasGAMBITwasusedtomodelthe
relevantfluidvolume,createathreedimensionalmesh,andsetboundarytypestobe
furtherdefinedinthesolver.
InGAMBIT,theimportofanytypeofnonnativefileleads,almostalways,toanexcessof
lowergeometry.Forexample,somelinesorcurveshaveunnecessaryverticesalongthe
edge.ThefirststepafterimportingtheSTEPfilegeneratedinSolidworksisacleanupof
theresultinggeometry,andforthiscasethatmeansacompletedismantlingoftheupper
topologiesandareconstructionoftheloftedfanbladefeature.Thishastobedonebefore
theairfoilvolumecanbesubtractedfromthepositiveairspace;otherwise,wewouldhave
toreconstructthatentiregeometryaltogetherandweprefertomakeourworkloadsimple.
Thefirstanomalyencounteredisthesingleloftededgesalongtheleadingandtrailingedge
oftheairfoilcrosssection.Afterboththevolumeandallthefaceshavebeenerasedfrom
theimportedgeometry,thesetwoedgescanbedeleted.Whenonetakesacloserlookat
eachofthe(nowisolated)airfoils,youdiscovertheoverdefinedcurvesthatwereferredto
earlier.Theymustbereducedtoasinglecurveusingthesplit/mergeedgetoolbox.

Figure25

Exampleofsuperfluouslowergeometry

Thenwecanconnecttheairfoilstoeachotherthroughtheirfour(andonlyfour)existing
vertices.Thiswillresultinthestraightloftthatwearelookingfor,butonlyafterthesix
faceshavebeencreatedandthevolumestitchedandsubtractedfromthecenterairspace.It
isnotimportanttosplitthisvolumewiththeairfoilvolumeandthenlaterdeleteit.Since
weonlycareaboutthepositivespace,asimplesubtractionwillsuffice.Although
subtractionyieldsnoboundaryissues,theresultinggeometryrequiressomecleaningup
sincetheSTEPfilegeometrysitsexactlytangenttothecylindricalvolume.Usingthesame
mergeedgestoolfrombefore,thetwooutsideairfoiledges(specificallythosealongthe

18

cylindersouterwall)needtobejoined.Thisjoiningdoesnotrequireadeconstructionof
theuppertopologicalentitieslikebefore;it'ssimplydoesn'thavethesameaim.

Figure26

Repairingsubtractedvolume

AperiodicboundaryconditionisusefulforthereductionoftheCPUtimerequired,andto
achieveaworkingmodelofthis,twocylindersweresubtractedfromoneanotherwhilea
pairofoppositelyrotatedbricksslicethegeometrydowntoaroundedwedgeshaped
extrusion.Ifyoucanrecallfromthedesignsection,theradialdimensionsofthispart's
crosssectionissuchthattheinnerdiameterisjustlargerthantheaxialpipecarrying
refrigerant;1.5inches,andtheouterdiameterissizedtofitexactlyalignedwiththeheat
exchangerdiameter:aflatfiveinches.Thismeansthatthefanhassixbladesthatfit
identicallyontheinletfaceoftheheatexchangersothatnoarealconversionisrequired,
reducingthenumberofpartsofthesystemandfurtherreducingcosts.

Figure27

Overallairspacewithvolumestobesubtractedfor60periodic

Whenweconsidertheflowofairthroughafansystem,weseethreesections.Thefirstis
theairfromtheoutsidethattravelsthroughthefan,thesecondisthehighlyturbulentzone
wherethebladessweepoutacylindricalvolume,andthelastistheairafterwards;theair
intheheatexchanger.Forthisreasonwedivideourpositiveairspaceintothreesectionsof
varyingsize.Theseveninchheightoftheairspaceallowsacenteredvolumeofoneinchin
heighttoencompassthefanbladesandresultsintwoequivalentthreeinchsections;one
beforethefanandoneafterthefan.Aspecialboundaryconditionmustexisthereforfluid
toflowacrossitasifitwerenotaboundary.Toaccomplishthiswemustfirstsplitthe
19

largervolumewithtworealfacesthatextendpastthelimitsofthevolume,justtobe
certain.

Figure28

Splittingmainvolumearoundairfoil

Meshingbeginsfirstwithanunderstandingofperiodicboundaryconditions.Sinceeach
periodicboundarymustbelinkedformeshingbemeshingbegins,and,ifweconsiderour
intentionstoconcentratethemeshingsizearoundtheairfoil,wearepresentedwitha
problem.Hereyoucansee,sincewehavetospecifyavertexforeachfaceanditmeshlinks
thetwoadjacentedgestothecorrespondingoppositeface,whenwebegintoedgemesh
onewitharatioalongtheaxialdirectionanduniformdensityedgemeshalongthe
perpendiculartoflowedge,thereexistsaconflict;bothcan'texist.

Figure29

Edgemeshingalongperiodicboundarytypes
20

Tosolvethisproblem,wetosplittheeightverticaledgesbyauvaluetocreateavertexin
thecenterofeachsymmetricface.Nowwecanedgemeshthelongerofthetwoedgeswith
anincreasingratio,andtheshorteredgewithaconstantspacingontheorderofthe
smallest(thelastelement)fromthelongeredge,thirdlyandmostimportantofall,an
independentedgemeshisnowpossiblealongtheeightperpendicularedgesaswellasthe
fourairfoilloftedges.(Figure29).

Figure30

Methodofquadmappingtheinletandoutletvolumes

Forvolumemeshing,theordermatters.Asitis,thecentervolumewillnotmeshaHexMap
scheme,simplybecausethehubsidefacewillresultinatoohighlyskewedmeshforitto
complete.Instead,acompromisemustbesetalongthesharedfacesoneithersideofthe
centervolume;thevolumesbeforeandafterthefanwillhaveahexmapscheme,butthe
fanvolumeitselfwillbemeshedwithTGrid.Thisisunderstandable;itisdifficult(ifnot
impossible)topredicttheflowdirectionandtoconstructameshperpendiculartothe
regionwiththemostexpectedturbulence.UsingaTGridschemeimpliesacertainamount
offreedom,andtorestrictthatfreedom,everyedgeofthevolumewasmeshedtoacertain
qualitybeforethemeshingschemehadthefreedomtosetitsownconditions.Also,a
boundarylayerwascreatedaroundtheairfoil.Theresultingmeshsizeis:372,160
elements,938,893faces,226,643nodes.

21


Figure31

Sectionofquadmappedfanbladeandsurrounding3Delements

Figure 32

Worst 25% of 3D elements according to equiskew

22

A mesh analysis shows that the worst quarter of the tetrahedral shaped elements, based on their
Equiskew feature, all reside in this center volume. This is completely acceptable since the flow
direction in this region is difficult to predict. Most importantly, the airfoil itself has a quadmapped face and the inlet and outlet interior faces of this volume are quad-mapped as well.

3.1 c) Shroud / manifold flow

Figure 33

Mesh for simulating flow around pipe manifold before entering exchanger

23

3.2

Solution

ThemeshisreadintoFLUENTandcheckedforinconsistencies.Duringearlyattempts,grid
checkswouldoccasionallyfailduetoimproperlyconfiguredperiodicconditions.Once
havinglearnedthecorrectmethodoflinkingfacemeshesandapplyingperiodicboundary
types,thisnolongerpresentedanyproblems.Themeshisscaledandunitsaresetfor
Englishsysteminputs,includinglength,angularvelocity,pressure,temperature,and
velocity.Theenergyequationandkepsilonturbulencemodelareturnedon.Boundary
ConditionsarelabeledinFigure34.Theproblemisinitializedanditerateduntilreaching
convergence.

Figure34

Modelboundaryconditions

24

Results

4.1

Postprocessing
4.1a)Fullfansimulation

Figure35

Residualsforfullsize,lowspeed

Figure36

Pathlinesthroughfullsizemodel

25


Figure37

Pathlinesforlowspeedacrossmidplane(flowfromtoptobottom)

Figure38

Velocityvectorsforlowspeedthroughfanbladesection

26


Figure39

Residualsforfullsize,mediumspeed

Figure40

Pathlinesformediumspeedacrossmidplane,shroudandhub

27


Figure41

Residualsforfullsize,highspeed

Figure42

Pathlinesforhighspeedacrossmidplane,shroud,andhub

28

4.1b)Periodicfansimulation

Figure43

Residualsforperiodic,lowspeed

Figure44

Pathlinesforlowspeedatmidplane

29


Figure45

Residualsforperiodic,mediumspeed

Figure46

Pathlinesformediumspeedatmidplane

30


Figure47

Residualsforperiodic,highspeed

Figure48

Pathlinesforhighspeedatmidplane

31


Figure49

Pathlinesforhighspeedacrossfanblade,hub,andshroud

4.1c)Shroud/manifoldsimulation

Figure50

Residualsforshroudsimulationathighspeed
32


Figure51

Pathlinesovermanifoldatmidplane

Figure52

Pressurecontoursatmidplane

33


Figure53

Velocitycontoursatmidplane

Figure54

Temperaturecontoursatmidplane

34

4.2

FanPerformance

Actualoutputvelocitiesofthefanwere:
Lowspeed(500rpm)=207ft/min
Mediumspeed(800rpm)=348ft/min
Highspeed(1000rpm)=444ft/min
Pressureincreases(head)throughthefanareminimalatabout0.015inchesofwater,not
completelycompensatingforthepressuredropthroughtheheatexchanger.
Temperatureincreaseisnegligibleineachsimulation,reportinganincreaseontheorderof
1103F.
FLUENTprovedtobeextremelyusefulforreportingtheforcesandmomentsexperienced
bythefanblades,withoptionstowritethetotalforceduetobothpressureandviscous
shearstresses,aswellasthemomentaroundeachaxiswithrespecttotheorigin(whichis
convenientlyatthecenterofthefanblades.Thefollowingvalueswerederivedfromthe
periodicmodel,allowingustodeterminetheforcesandtorquesonasinglebladeand
simplymultiplybysixfortheneteffect.Theforcesareusedforhandcalculationsofthe
structuralstrengthofthefanbladesandthemomentsarehandingforcalculatedthe
requiredpowerfromthemotor,sincebothtorqueandthesetrotationalspeedareknown.

SPEED

Low

Medium

High

Fy(N)

0.001

0.0075

0.01217

Fz(N)

0.00115

0.00765

0.01234

Torque(Nm)

0.000069

0.0004675

0.000751

Angularspeed(rad/s)

52.36

99.5

125.664

Req.FanPower(W)

0.0216

0.279

0.566

35

Discussion

5.1

GeneralResults

Throughcountlessiterationsofattemptedsimulations,attentiontothedetailsofsetting
boundaryconditionsbecamethecriticalstepforyieldingreasonablenumbersforoutput
flowandcorrespondingfanspeed.Forthesakeofthesizeandflowofthereport,the
coarserandfinermeshes,rangingfromabout200,000to1.8millionelementsforthe
periodicvolumes,runattheextremesofrotationalspeed,werenotshownbutservedas
measuresofthelevelofdetailrequiredtocapturethefanflowconsistently.Thismesh
sensitivitytestwassimilarlyperformedduringtheheatexchangerredesign,sincethe
meshingprocesswasadverselyalteredbytheintroductionofmultiplepipesand
asymmetricalbaffles.Thiswasatimesavingprocessthatensuredconsistentresultsover
therangeofspeeds.

5.2

CostEstimate

Thecostofthephysicalfanwaskeptlowforproductionconsiderations.Basedonraw
materialspricingfromMcMasterCarr,thefanrequiresabout$15worthofplastic.The
partsforprototypingthemotor,controller,andpowerconversioncouldbemanagedwitha
combinationofoneofmanykitsfromaretailersuchasgobrushless.com(whichincludethe
materialsforwindingacustomstatorandassemblingthepermanentmagnetrotor)anda
homebuiltpowerandcontrolcircuit.Wehavepersonalexperienceinthisdepartment,
havingbuiltathreephaseinverterforcontrollinganoutrunnerbrushlessmotorfora
highspeed,rotaryvalveapplication.Althoughpricingwillbesubjecttoapersonalstockof
basicelectronicssuchaswiring,powertransistors(e.g.MOSFETS),diodes,atransformer,
etc,thekitwillcostaround$30.Thistranslatestoasubtotalof$45fortheactualfan.
Laboristheotherfactorindeterminingthecostofdesigning,testing,andprototypingthe
fanconcept.Sincetheheatexchangerdesignimpressedtheprojectmanagers,ourhourly
wageswereincreasedfrom$11/hrto$20/hr.Withapproximately70hoursputintothe
designandanalysisphases,andanestimated30hourstowardanexperimentalprototype,
thelaborcostpeaksat$2,000.
Therefore,TOTALCOST=$2.045.00

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5.3

DesignBenefits

Beforediscussingthebenefitsofourdesign,weshouldaddressthedrawbacks.The
complexityofthemotorchosentopowerthefansacrificestheruggednessofotheroptions,
suchasasquirrelcageinductionmotor.Theneedtoincreasethesizeoftheheatexchanger
toaccommodatetheaxialfanisunfortunatebutstillkeepsthedesignwithinareasonable
sizeenvelope.Also,fanperformancedoesnotmeeteverycriteria,mostnotableitsinability
tocompletelyovercomethepressurelossthroughtheheatexchanger.
Therearemanyadvantagestothefandesignpresentedhere.Thechoiceofmaterialssuch
asABSplasticyieldsalightweight,lowcostfanwiththestrengthtowithstandtheforces
ofoperationatmultiplespeeds,asverifiedbyhandcalculations.Theuseofabrushless,
permanentmagnetsynchronousmotorisanotherkeyappealtothedesign,embracingthe
trendsofincreasedsophisticationandincreasedaffordabilityofmotortechnologywith
ongoingadvancesinthepowerelectronicsandsensorindustries.Alongwiththerelatively
complexelectroniccontrolschemecomesnumerousbenefitsincludinghighpowerdensity
(mostlycreditedtotheuseofpowerfulpermanentmagnets),lowheatgeneration,low
noiseproduction,andhighoverallefficiency.Omissionofanofficialshroudpromotes
convectivecoolingintheheatexchangerbydirectlyintroducingtheturbulentswirling
exitingthefanintotheshelloftheheatexchanger.Theresultingfan,coupledwiththe
redesignedheatexchanger,presentsacompact,inlinepackagethatwouldbeattractivefor
manyevaporatorapplications.Thisisadesignmadetoblowawayallcompetingproposals.

1http://longbiao.win.mofcom.gov.cn/en/plate01/product.asp?id=36105
2http://longbiao.win.mofcom.gov.cn/en/plate01/index.asp
3http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Straighttube_heat_exchanger_1pass.PNG

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