The American University in Cairo

MENG 411
Turbomachinary

Abdelrahman Sultan 900140700

Cherif Chokeir 900140712
Karim Kadry 900121163

Project: Tunnel Ventilation System

Date : 11/05/2018

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1 Abstract
The purpose of this report is to investigate the properties of fans in tunnel ventilation applications.
This is done by reviewing two research papers. The first talks about the effect of aerodynamic stall
on tunnel ventilation fans in terms of mechanical impact, and the second paper investigates different
conceptual designs of high pressure reversible axial tunnel ventilation fans.

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Contents
1 Abstract 2

2 Introduction 6
2.1 Fan design requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2 Aerodynamic Stall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3 Passive control by stabilization rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.4 Technology Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3 The Mechanical Impact of Aerodynamic Stall on Tunnel Ventilation Fans 9

3.1 Experimental Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.2 Structural Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.3 Fan Selection Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

4 The Conceptual Design of High Pressure Reversible Axial Tunnel Ventilation

Fans 16
4.1 Tunnel Ventilation fans conceptual designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.2 Case Study: Application of turbomachinery in Marmaray tunnel ventilation fans
(Turkey) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.3 Prototype Laboratory Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.4 Design Concept 1: Counter rotating fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.5 Design Concept 2: High speed Single-stage fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.6 Design concept 3: Double ended fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.7 Tunnel Ventilation Fan Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

5 Conclusion 26

6 References 28

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List of Figures
1 Marmaray Fan Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2 Blower arrangement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3 Test fan stall characteristics with and without a fitted stabilization ring. . . . . . . . 10
4 Stall characteristics for a fan with a nonstalling blade angle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
5 Stall characteristics of the test fan with a stalling blade stagger angle at full and half
speed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
6 Stall characteristics of the test fan with a stalling blade stagger angle at half and
quarter speed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7 The best-fit curve for the material test data, also called the Gerber line. . . . . . . . 14
8 Counter-rotating fans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
9 High speed single stage fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
10 A 1959 vintage Woods of Colchester J-Range double-ended mine ventilation fan. . . 18
11 Advantages and disadvantages of each of the three conceptual designs. . . . . . . . . 18
12 A computer-aided design model of the horizontal 2.8 meter two-stage double ended
motor fan designed for the Marmaray project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
13 A computer-aided design model of the vertical 2.8 meter two-stage double ended
motor fan designed for the Marmaray project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
14 Prototype and full size double ended motor tunnel ventilation fan specification . . . 21
15 Aerodynamic performance of a 1.8 meter prototype two-stage double ended motor fan. 21
16 Acoustic performance of a 1.8 meter prototype two-stage double ended motor fan,
tested with one and two impellers fitted. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
17 8 The characteristics of a 2.5 meter diameter, 6-pole two-stage counter-rotating fan,
with an estimated 78% efficiency at the Marmaray duty point. . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
18 The characteristics of a 2.5 meter diameter, 4-pole single-stage high speed fan, with
an estimated 71% efficiency at the Marmaray duty point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
19 The characteristics of a 2.8 meter diameter, 6-pole two-stage double ended motor fan,
with an estimated 75% efficiency at the Marmaray duty point. . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

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List of Tables
1 Fan data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2 Safety factor derived for a fan at full speed with and without a fitted stabilization ring. 15
3 Safety factor derived for a fan at full and part speed without a fitted stabilization ring. 15

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2 Introduction
The purpose of this report is to investigate and summarize two papers that have performed research
in the area of tunnel ventilation. The first paper attempts to establish a working design for a
tunnel ventilation fan that operates without risk of mechanical failure in case of aerodynamic stall.
It establishes the aerodynamic characteristics of a typical tunnel ventilation fan when operated in
both stable and stalled aerodynamic conditions, it also analyze the characteristics with an anti-stall
stabilization ring and without. It also analysis the characteristics with and without a “nonstalling”
blade angle and at full, half, and one quarter design speed. Furthermore, this paper also measures the
fan’s peak stress. The paper presents three different strategies for the selection of tunnel ventilation
fans in applications where stalling is most likely. The first strategy selects a fan with a low-blade angle
that is nonstalling. The second strategy selects a fan that is able to develop a high-pressure. The
third strategy selects a fan that is fitted stabilisation ring. All three strategies can produce system
designs within which a tunnel ventilation fan performs reliably in-service. The paper considers
the advantages and disadvantages of each selection approach. Aerodynamic flow instabilities place
considerable mechanical stress on the rotors, which can eventually lead to mechanical failure. A
study conducted by Rippl [1] found that that alternating stress in vanes exceeding stable operation
by a factor of five under “rotating stall” conditions which leads to rapid fatigue failure of the blades.
Surge can lead to bending stress of enough magnitude to cause a mechanical failure as well. Fan
blades will fail in fatigue although they typically instantaneously fail during rotating stall. The
latter failure occurs due to a fatigue-induced crack initiated in a blade produced during higher stress
during the rotating stall.
The second paper is about high pressure reversible fan in tunnel ventilations. Tunnel ventilation fans
must have the ability to both supply and extract air from a tunnel system, with the operator’s choice
dependent on the tunnel ventilation system’s operating mode most appropriate at any given point
in time. Consequently, tunnel ventilation fans must incorporate a reversible aerodynamic design
which limits the maximum fan pressure rise. This paper presents three high pressure reversible fan
concepts. These comprise a two-stage counter rotating fan, a single-stage high speed fan, and a two-
stage fan with a single motor and impeller on each end of the motor shaft. The authors consider the
relative merits of each concept. The third concept offers the most compact fan, transform, silencer,
and damper package size. The authors discuss the mechanical design challenges that occur with a
two-stage fan with a single motor and impeller on each end of the motor shaft. They present and
consider a selected motor bearing arrangement and casing design for maintainability. The current
limit on the pressure developing capability of single-stage reversible tunnel ventilation fan technology
is 2000 Pa. As tunnel length increases, the system resistance that occurs with a required flow can
exceed this 2000 Pa limit. A second factor that escalates the required tunnel ventilation fan pressure
developing capability is increasing train speeds in modern metro systems. Travelling in a tunnel, a
train induces a positive pressure pulse ahead and a negative pressure pulse behind. When the train
passes a ventilation shaft, a tunnel ventilation fan within the shaft first experiences a positive and
then a negative pressure pulse. The above requirements imply a level of complexity in the design
process that is beyond the historic norm within the fan industry.

2.1 Fan design requirements

The reversible fan concepts presented in this paper were developed using the Marmaray project
specification as an example of a “next-generation” tunnel ventilation system that requires a reversible
fan beyond the current single-stage state of the art. Any silencer has an associated pressure loss, so
we must add this to the pressure that the fan generates. The clearance between aluminium blades

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and the steel casing within which they run must increase at ambient conditions to ensure that it
does not close completely at elevated temperatures during a tunnel fire. Increasing blade tip-to-
casing clearance reduces the tunnel ventilation fans’ efficiency, as well as their pressure development
capability. Additionally, the package must achieve its specification at ambient temperature, with the
associated increased blade tip-to-casing clearance needed to enable the fan to operate at elevated
temperatures during a tunnel fire.

Figure 1: Marmaray Fan Specifications

2.2 Aerodynamic Stall

According to Gravdahl and Egeland [2], two main types of aerodynamic flow instability exist in
compressors: “rotating stall” (in which regions of reversed flow occur locally) and “surge” (which
is characterized by periodic backflow over the entire annulus while involving violent oscillations in
the compression system). The first of these, “rotating stall,” is a mechanism by which the rotor
adapts to a reduction in flow rate, which results in circumferentially nonuniform flow patterns
rotating in the annulus. Cumpsty [3] noted that a drop in overall performance can occur as either
a “progressive stall” or an “abrupt stall”. The former is linked to a part-span stall which results in
a small performance reduction; whereas, the latter is associated with a full-span stall and a large
reduction in performance.

2.3 Passive control by stabilization rings

Scholars have endeavored to develop stage recirculation devices tailored to the pressure rise and
volume flow rate ranges typical of industrial fans. The first concept is of an annular “slit” in the
casing upstream of the blades (figure 2) that stabilizes fan performance as it approaches stall. The
slit enabled air to recirculate through the slit formed between the cylindrical mouth and ferrule, a set
of guide vanes then redirected the recirculating flow in an axial direction as it turns back and reenters
the fan blades. As the fan approaches stall, the slit and static vanes provide a path for low momentum
flow to recirculate. In practice, the concept has proven highly effective as with the stabilization ring
guide, vanes remove the momentum component both radially and circumferentially and re-inject

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the flow in the axial direction. The flow through the stabilization ring vanes is turned such that
it exits the vanes upstream from the impeller, reenergised, and flowing in an axial direction. The
effect of the stabilization ring on the fan characteristic is to eliminate the sharp drop in its pressure
developing capability, which engineers classically associate with fan stall. The primary characteristic
of a tunnel ventilation fan fitted with a stabilization ring is continuously rising pressure back to zero
flow. It was this modification in the fan characteristic that led to tunnel ventilation fan designers
widely embracing the use of stabilization rings.

Figure 2: Blower arrangement.

2.4 Technology Description

The researchers selected a fan typical of tunnel ventilation applications as Table 1 below illustrates.
The chosen fan was from a family of tunnel ventilation fans in order to establish the likelihood
of mechanical failure of tunnel ventilation fans. This was in applications where aerodynamic stall
is likely due to the presence of pressure pulses. The researchers chose the fan configurations for
experimental testing as a consequence of the application into which manufacturers supply tunnel
ventilation fans. Tunnel ventilation fans are typically subjected to pressure pulses. Therefore, the
researchers tested the fan (i) with a stalling blade angle, without a fitted stabilization ring at design
speed; (ii) with a stalling blade angle, with a fitted stabilization ring at design speed; (iii) with a
nonstalling blade angle and no stabilization ring at design speed; (iv) with a stalling blade angle
and no stabilisation ring at 50% design speed; (v) with a stalling blade angle and no stabilization
ring at 25% design speed. The researchers installed the fan in a ducted test system. By throttling
flow downstream from the fan rotor, the researchers induced aerodynamic instabilities. During the
flow/pressure throttling, the fan remained in rotating stall without going into surge, irrespective of
the rotor speed. The rotor aerodynamic load and the plenum geometry ensured that the system could
not develop a counter-pressure high enough to induce a surge. The researchers used a finite element

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analysis program for structural analysis. They applied centrifugal force and bending moments in
order to calculate blade stress. The authors applied strain gauges to three blades in the three
locations that they predicted as the blades’ high stress regions.

Nominal speed 980 rpm

Tip speed 115 m/s
Nominal pressure coefficient 0.189
Nominal flow coefficient 0.220
Duty point efficiency 0.69
Tip diameter 2,240mm
Blade height 720mm
Blade chord at the tip 163mm
Tip stagger angle 70◦
Tip gap (% of fan diameter) 0.45%
Blade count 16
Tip solidity 0.37

Table 1: Fan data.

3 The Mechanical Impact of Aerodynamic Stall on Tunnel

Ventilation Fans
3.1 Experimental Results
The location of the highest stress and the impact of the manufacturing tolerances from blade to blade
was determined by using several strain gauges to separate blades. The difference in the strain gauge
output from blade to blade at the same place in the blades was in the range from 2-3%. This error
was due to gauge calibration, variation of blade geometry, and uncertainty in gauge location. Figure
3 shows the fan performance with and without a fitted stabilization ring. Without the stabilization
ring, the pressure in the throttling fan rises, and then decreases as the fan stalls.
As the fan is throttled, the stress of the blade increased from Point A, which has a value of 2.27
MPa, to 3.53 MPa. The stress then increased to 16.00 MPa as the fan stalled.
Figure 3 shows that when the fan is throttled with a stabilization ring, the pressure increases
continuously and smoothly. However, the initial stress level, which is represented by point C, remains
lower than a fan without a stabilization ring till the fan exhibits stall. The data for the fan with
a stabilization ring shows the existence of point (60 m3 /s) where the fan without a stabilization
ring has lower stress than the fan with a stabilization ring. Figure 3 shows that the fan with a
stabilization ring reaches a stress of 4.60 MPa, which is represented by point D.
Figure 4 compares the measured data for a fan with nonstalling blade angle and no fitted stabilization
angle with a fan having a stalling blade angle with a fitted stabilization rings. The fan’s capability of
developing pressure is reduced when changing from stalling and nonstalling in blade angle by nearly
25%. For the fan with a fitted stabilization ring and a stalling blade angle, the stress increased
from 2.13 MPa (point C in figure 4) to 4.60 MPa (Point D). However, for the case of a nonstalling
blade angle and without a stabilization ring, the stress increased from 2.19 MPa (point E in figure
4) to 3.68 MPa (point D in the same figure). Thus, we can deduce that a fan with nonstalling blade
angle and no fitted stabilization ring will have less stress during aerodynamic stall than the same
fan with stalling blade angle and a fitted stabilisation ring. In addition, data for fan performance

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with a stalling blade angle and no stabilization ring was measured for fittings at design speeds of
25%, 50%, 100% using variable speed drive.
Figure 5 compares the measured data at 50% and 100%. The data for a fan with a stalling angle
and no fitted stabilization ring is plotted on figure 5, where the stress increases from point A (2.27
MPa) to point B (16.00 MPa). However, for the fan operating at 50% speed, the stress increased
0.57 MPa (point G) to 4.00 MPa (point H).
It is not uncommon to operate tunnel ventilation fans at 25% of design speed. Figure 6 shows the
data for a fan with no ring and with stalling blade angle operating at 50% design speed, with stress
increasing from 0.57 MPa (point G in figure 6) to 4.00 MPa (point H). For the same fan running
at 25%, the stress increased from 0.14 MPa (point I) to 1.00 (point J). Thus, we can conclude the
stress level during stall at 25% is much lower than that at 100%.

Figure 3: Test fan stall characteristics with and without a fitted stabilization ring.

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 Figure 4: Stall characteristics for a fan with a nonstalling blade angle.

Figure 5: Stall characteristics of the test fan with a stalling blade stagger angle at full and half
speed.

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Figure 6: Stall characteristics of the test fan with a stalling blade stagger angle at half and quarter
speed.

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3.2 Structural Analysis
Fatigue is the phenomena where materials fail under repetitive stress cycles that aren’t enough to
make a rupture in the first cycle. In general, fan blades are subjected to fatigue stress subjected by:

• The mean force due to rotation and aerodynamic loading.

• The alternating force produced due to changes in lift as the fan rotates.
The combination of these two forces makes the blades subject to fatigue. Aluminum is generally
used by manufacturers as the material for tunnel ventilation fans, due the material’s ability to resist
fatigue for a fixed alternating stress reduces as the mean stress increases. Figure 7 shows the Gerber
line, which is used to study materials subjected to mean and alternating stress. The maximum
alternating stress level σ is expressed by the following equation
σm 2
±σ = ±σo [1 − ( ) ] (3.1)
σt
where σo is the alternating stress level that constitutes the fatigue limit of the material with zero
mean stress, σt is the tensile strength of the material, and σm is the mean stress of the material.
The maximum defect size in the material size is an parameter for determining the ability of an alloy
to withstand the effect of mean and alternating stress. Increasing the size of the defect decreases
the value of mean and alternating stress required to initiate fatigue failure. Thus, the manufactures
of tunnel ventilation fans construct the relationship between mean and alternating stress for a given
defect size, then performs X-ray examination for all rotating components to ensure that the maxi-
mum defect size is below that on which they established the Gerber line.
Failure of the fan due to fatigue is prevented if the peak mean/alternating stress point is below
is the Gerber line. However, since the data for the Gerber line is determined using experimental
methods, there is much uncertainty about the location of all the Gerber lines. In addition, the mean
and alternating stresses obtained are limited by accuracy due to the assumptions made during the
modeling process. Thus, tunnel ventilation fan designers chose a safety factor of 2 when designing
a fan.
An increase in alternating stress is observed when the fan is throttled until stall without a stabiliza-
tion ring. The resultant combination of the alternating and direct stress is significantly below the
Gerber line. Thus, we may deduce that if this fan operated for an longer time in the stalled region,
it would have suffered a fatigue related failure.
Table 2 shows the measured stress levels for three different conditions and their corresponding safety
factor. The fan operates with a slightly higher safety factor of 2.5 during stable operation due to
the reduction in alternating stress. The alternating stress increases in the stalled operation mode,
decreasing the safety factor to 1.1.
Furthermore, using a stalled blade angle and stabilization rings for the same fan slightly decreased
the safety factor to 2.4. The alternating stress increased during stalled operation, reducing the safety
factor to 1.5, which is quite low.
Table 3 shows safety factors corresponding to operating the fan in both stall and stable modes at
speeds 100%, 50%, 25%. For a stable operation at 100%, the tunnel ventilation safety factor was
2.3. In a stalled condition, the safety factor is lowered significantly to 0.3, indicating that the blades
would suffer from great fatigue. At a speed of 50%, the safety factor increased from 2.3 to 10. During
stalled operation, the safety factor was 2.5. The safety factor at 50% were much higher than that
at 100% because the mean stress in the fan blade is reduces with the square of the speed. This can
also be seen in the high values of the safety factors at 25%.

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Figure 7: The best-fit curve for the material test data, also called the Gerber line.

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 Fan Type Full Speed Normal Operation Safety Factor Stalled Operation Safety Factor
Plane casing, stalling blade angle 100 2.3 0.3
Antistall casing, stalling blade angle 100 2.5 1.1
Plane casing, nonstalling blade angle 100 2.4 1.5

Table 2: Safety factor derived for a fan at full speed with and without a fitted stabilization ring.

Fan Type Full Speed Normal Operation Safety Factor Stalled Operation Safety Factor
Plane casing, stalling blade angle 100 2.3 0.3
Plane casing, stalling blade angle 50 10.0 2.5
Plane casing, stalling blade angle 25 106.0 7.3

Table 3: Safety factor derived for a fan at full and part speed without a fitted stabilization ring.

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3.3 Fan Selection Strategy
There are three main approaches that tunnel ventilation fan designers use during the selection of
tunnel ventilation fans that work in the presence of pressure pulses:

1. Choosing a fan with a nonstalling blade angle, such that the stress increases within manageable
limits when the fan is driven out of its normal operating range.
2. Selection of a fan that has high capability of pressure development to operate with a pressure
pulse without stalling.
3. Select a fan with a stabilization ring, such that the stress increases within acceptable limits as
the fan operates out of its acceptable range.
The first strategy is regarded as the most conservative, as one may chose a fan that operates near
its operation point, without having to compromise the selection to accommodate a pressure pulse
within the stable operating range. The second strategy works well with smaller pressure pulses.
However, as the size of the pressure pulse increases, the fan’s operating point moves away from the
optimum, decreasing its efficiency. The third strategy allows fan selection near to its peak aerody-
namic efficiency, thus effectively managing the mechanical consequences of driving into stall under
the effect of pressure pulses.

4 The Conceptual Design of High Pressure Reversible Axial

Tunnel Ventilation Fans
4.1 Tunnel Ventilation fans conceptual designs
The design of tunnel ventilation fans is very important in today’s engineering practice. Several
conceptual designs are presented in the literature [4]. Two counter rotating fans are effective as
100% reversibility is needed. The second fan will help remove the exit flow swirl from the first stage.
Axial flow will exit the second stage which will lead to more efficient aerodynamic solution than
with a single stage fan. Indeed, the opposite direction of rotation of the two fans will help achieve
reversibility. These two-stage counter rotating fans will efficiently achieve pressure rise 2.5 larger
than the single stage. However, the disadvantage is that this would result into unsteady flow from
the first fan entering the second stage. This will lead to noise production within the second stage.
It is therefore imperative to use larger silencers for same acoustic specifications.
If acoustic specifications make this two-stage counter rotating fan-based system too large in a
specific location tunnel, a second design option is possible to the tunnel design engineer. Using
aluminum as blade material is a limitation on current tunnel ventilation fans. Aluminum makes it
possible to design fans operating at tip speeds of 175 m/s maximum. However, according to the
design specifications previously mentioned in this report, this requires 2.24 m diameter fan running
at 1500 rpm which could achieve a pressure rise of 3000 Pa. However, this fan would probably
operate away from its aerodynamic efficiency and it would be impossible to achieve target 70%
minimum fan efficiency. It is important to realize that fan pressure rise is directly proportional to
ratio of fan diameter squared. For example, a 12% increase in fan diameter (from 2.24 m to 2.5 m)
will increase pressure rise from 3000 to 3700 Pa. However, this will require an increase in blade tip
speed from 175 to 196 m/s. Practically speaking, improving aluminum blade design would not help
to increase blade tip speed. In [5], fan blade mechanical optimization was tried to reduce stresses on

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 Figure 8: Counter-rotating fans

blade. However, it was identified as only departure from aluminum into higher strength-to-weight
material such as titanium as it is often linked to aerospace industries. It was demonstrated that
it could achieve high blade tip speed. Carbon fibers are not considered due to high temperature
emergency specifications. Moving from aluminum to titanium can help achieve higher pressure
within one single-stage reversible fan. However, this would lead to acoustic problems due to running
at increased tip speed. This would also lead use of larger silencers for a given acoustic specifications.
A third conceptual design still uses aluminum blade limits and in lower speed two stage fan.

Figure 9: High speed single stage fan

However, this design will use a single motor with an impeller from both ends. Because the motor
separates two impellers, this solution is quiet as compared to the previous two designs.
The summary of the relative advantages and disadvantages of each of the proposed conceptual
designs as found in [7].
The two-stage counter rotating design concept fan is of low technical risk used if the pressure rise is

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 Figure 10: A 1959 vintage Woods of Colchester J-Range double-ended mine ventilation fan.

larger than what would a single stage achieve. It also has high in-service reliability. Single stage high
speed fan concept design is of high technical risk because of the use of titanium used in aerospace
industry instead of aluminum normally used for tunnel ventilation fans blades. This is because
this would require researching how to overcome technical problems that would be associated with
blades of this material. Finally, the two-stage double ended motor option is of medium technical risk
because it is within the normal mechanical limits but would not fall into current design certifications
for fans.

Figure 11: Advantages and disadvantages of each of the three conceptual designs.

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4.2 Case Study: Application of turbomachinery in Marmaray tunnel ven-
tilation fans (Turkey)
This section describes a case study on the application of the concept designs previously mentioned
in the Marmaray tunnel project located in Istanbul, Turkey. “The Marmaray Tunnel is a 13.5
km (8.4 mi) long undersea railway tunnel in Istanbul, Turkey, beneath the Bosporus strait, linking
Kazlıçeşme, Zeytinburnu in Europe with Ayrılıkçeşmesi in Asia. The tunnel consists of two single
track tunnels with three underground railway stations: Yenikapı, Sirkeci and Üsküdar.” [4] Since
1950, mine ventilation applications used two-stage double ended motor axial fans (design concept
3). This is due to space restrictions in these applications and the third design has the advantage of
small packaging size. However, in mine applications, two stage double ended fans are used as booster
fans which means they will have design of about 1.6 m and up to 100 kW power [1]. The Marmaray
tunnel ventilation fan required a 2.8 m fan with 710 kW motor which is an extension of the previously
used fans in mine ventilation. The main challenge here was the accommodation of the loads on the
bearings. Impellers in these applications did not present extra challenges in the design. However,
loads on the bearing due to reversible direction fans and motor rotor and twin impeller loads act
as extra gravitational loads that need to be overcome. Historically, deep-groove ball bearings and
angle contact ball bearing were used in mine ventilation fans applications. However, the increase in
required power and size had caused the load to exceed what these types could support in horizontal
and vertical directions respectively. In this case study, the design engineers used roller-bearings
at each end of the motor shaft. This tunnel ventilation system design required the installation of
tunnel ventilation fans in either horizontal or vertical directions. This minimally affects the fans’
aerodynamics’ performance and does not affect the impeller’s mechanical design. However, each type
of installation will lead to a different design of motor casing and mounting arrangement. If installed
horizontally, a foot mounted motor arrangement is preferred because it helps to pass the mechanical
loads through casing and into fan’s mounting frame. This design with tunnel ventilation fans is well
established and accordingly a mechanical function casing design is routine. The greater challenge
is design for maintainability. In this case study of the Marmaray tunnel project, the fan package
location was within a plant room restricted access for maintenance and accordingly, the design
engineers had to design the fan casing to facilitate maintenance within a confined environment. The
casing is split to allow removal and access to motor and impellers. The main design considerations
were lifting point locations in the plant room and the special tool design for casing fragments and
impeller and motor access for maintenance.
In case of vertical installation, a flange mounted motor arrangement is preferred as loads will be
transferred through flow straighteners to a heavy casing that would mount onto a base-frame using
four mounting arms. As in the case of the horizontal design, the casing is fragmented to allow
maintenance of the motor and impellers.

4.3 Prototype Laboratory Performance

After designing the Marmaray fan mechanical design, the design engineers built an 1800 mm scaled
model of their full-size prototype. The designers performed laboratory experiments on their model
to determine performance parameters. The results were obtained once by fitting one impeller and
another type with both impeller fitted. This helped the designers to obtain the scaling rules that
were required to predict the twin fan aerodynamic performance from experimental testing. Results
showed good agreement between the model’s aerodynamic performance from single impeller data
when it was subject to scaling laws and the performance specifications. The accuracy of the assump-

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Figure 12: A computer-aided design model of the horizontal 2.8 meter two-stage double ended motor
fan designed for the Marmaray project.

Figure 13: A computer-aided design model of the vertical 2.8 meter two-stage double ended motor
fan designed for the Marmaray project.

tions and the scaling rules were thus verified. The designers also conducted tests on the prototypes’
acoustic performance for both single and twin-impellers. This helped to correct data for twin im-
peller acoustic performance from single one.
The prototype fan was manufactured with a casing arrangement designed to optimize motor
arrangement and inter-stage flow straighteners. However, the design engineers considered their de-
signed geometry to be well established enough not to require further improvements. They also took
into consideration effect of manufacturing tolerances on aerodynamic and acoustic performance. In-
let flow distortion was also considered. Due to the success of all the tests in proving the adequacy
of the design, the first production unit was successfully manufactured as explained in [4].

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 Figure 14: Prototype and full size double ended motor tunnel ventilation fan specification .

Figure 15: Aerodynamic performance of a 1.8 meter prototype two-stage double ended motor fan.

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Figure 16: Acoustic performance of a 1.8 meter prototype two-stage double ended motor fan, tested
with one and two impellers fitted.

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4.4 Design Concept 1: Counter rotating fan
In [4], the authors estimated aerodynamic performance of a two-stage counter-rotating fan that can
achieve specifications requirements for tunnel ventilation fans. They used Daly’s method to scale
the small single stage models. Their selection was declared good as the required duty point of the
system fall near the fan characteristic peak efficiency point. This concept successfully exceeded the
70% minimum fan efficiency.

Figure 17: 8 The characteristics of a 2.5 meter diameter, 6-pole two-stage counter-rotating fan, with
an estimated 78% efficiency at the Marmaray duty point.

4.5 Design Concept 2: High speed Single-stage fan

In [4], the authors also scaled a lower speed fan’s performance to study the conceptual design of a
single stage fan operating at higher speeds. This design was also identified as being also suitable.
Here also, the duty point fall close the fan maximum efficiency point. However, as it appeared from
the figure below, this conceptual design has a lower efficiency of 71 %. This could be explained by
the fact that exit swirl from a single stage results in a lower aerodynamic efficiency than that of
the design concept 1. However, further laboratory experiments are needed to be sure of the actual
results.

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Figure 18: The characteristics of a 2.5 meter diameter, 4-pole single-stage high speed fan, with an
estimated 71% efficiency at the Marmaray duty point.

4.6 Design concept 3: Double ended fan

For this third design, the authors in [7] also estimated its aerodynamic performance achieving the
required specifications mentioned previously by scaling the single stage fans’ performance. Again,
the duty point matched closely to the fan’s peak efficiency point. In this design, however, the authors
needed to take into consideration the efficiency of inter-stage flow straighteners. The obtained overall
efficiency is about 75%.

4.7 Tunnel Ventilation Fan Concept

From the above results, designers could possibly use any of the three design concepts in tunnel
ventilation systems. The authors in [9] found that these three concepts have similar package and
through life-costs. However, package volume was smaller for the third design concept. The package
size is a major parameter used in design of these systems since it impacts the required size for
underground plant room required for installation of tunnel ventilation equipment and cost. Since
the third concept design has the smaller package size, it is the most suitable for applications in high
pressure reversible tunnel ventilation fan.

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Figure 19: The characteristics of a 2.8 meter diameter, 6-pole two-stage double ended motor fan,
with an estimated 75% efficiency at the Marmaray duty point.

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5 Conclusion
The first paper concludes that the experimental results are significant in that they provide insight
into a likely reason for tunnel ventilation fans’ inservice failure. A tunnel ventilation fan with a
nonstalling blade angle classically exhibits a continually rising characteristic. In effect, the fan
blade aerodynamic loading is light enough that the fan does not suffer a classical aerodynamic
stall. Alternating stress in a fan blade with a nonstalling blade stagger angle when operated in the
unstable region of the fan characteristic does increase compared to the same fan operating in the
stable region. Mechanical safety factor reduces from 2.4 to 1.5, and although any reduction in safety
factor is undesirable, a safety factor of 1.5 is, nevertheless, high enough to make stalled operation
possible, without suffering a fatigue-related mechanical failure. The experimental results for both
the stalling blade angle with fitted stabilisation ring and nonstalling blade angle with no stabilisation
ring both result in mechanical safety factors that are less then the industry norm of 2.0. As such, we
can regard both a stabilisation ring and nonstalling blade angle as methods to mechanically protect
a tunnel ventilation fan in the event of an unforeseen stall event. Fans that are correctly selected
to operate within the stable part of their characteristic at 100% speed will likely drive into stall if
operated at 50% design speed and certainly drive into stall if operated at 25% design speed. This
paper was able to demonstrate that for a tunnel ventilation fan with a stalling blade angle, without
a fitted stabilisation ring, the mechanical factor of safety during stable operation is 2.3. When they
operated the same fan at half speed in an aerodynamically stalled condition, the mechanical factor
of safety is 2.5. As the mechanical factor of safety at half speed during stalled operation is higher
then the mechanical factor of safety at full speed during stable operation, the authors conclude that
users can operate this tunnel ventilation fan at half speed in an aerodynamically stalled condition
without risk of a fatigue-related mechanical failure. At 25% design speed, mechanical factors of
safety in both stable and aerodynamically stalled operation are sufficiently high that there is no
risk of a fatigue related mechanical failure Last, the authors conclude that the three fan selection
strategies classically used by tunnel ventilation system designers each have specific advantages and
disadvantages. The optimum fan selection strategy in a specific application will, therefore, depend
on the impact of fan diameter on plant room cost and the relative importance of fan initial cost and
fan-operating cost.
The second paper concludes that industrial fan design limits the maximum pressure rise that an
operator can practically achieve in a single reversible fan stage to 2000 Pa. It is necessary for tunnel
ventilation fans to produce the same flow and pressure in both supply and extract modes to enable
the tunnel ventilation fans to accommodate the varied requirements for routine ventilation and to
keep escape routes clear in the event of a fire. As tunnels become longer and deeper, the pressure
drop that occurs with the flow necessary to ventilate the tunnel can rise above the 2000 Pa limit
of a current state of the art single reversible fan stage. In such cases, the traditional solution is to
offer a two-stage fan with counter-rotating stages. A disadvantage of the two-stage counter-rotating
fan is that it produces 15 dB more noise than one of the fans operating in isolation. Consequently,
silencers must be larger for the same overall acoustic emissions at the silencer inlet and outlet. In a
situation where minimum overall fan, transform, silencer and damper package size is desirable, the
two-stage counter rotating fan may not be the optimum fan concept. In such circumstances, the
tunnel ventilation fan designer has two further fan concepts available. These include a highspeed
single-stage fan or a two-stage double ended motor fan. Each represents a valid technical solution
and has the potential to achieve a specified duty point. The three fan concepts are as follows:
1. two-stage counter-rotating fan;

2. single-stage high speed fan;

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 3. two-stage double ended motor fan.
The two-stage double ended motor fan concept resulted in the minimum package size, and so was
chosen by the authors as the preferred concept. The authors primarily encountered two mechanical
design challenges regarding the two-stage double ended motor fan. First, there was the issue of
whether the motor bearing system design could accommodate the imposed aerodynamic and grav-
itational loads in both horizontal and vertical configurations. Second was the issue of designing
a casing that operators could dismantle within a plant room’s confines where engineers installed
the fans and their associated package. Having successfully addressed the mechanical design chal-
lenges, the authors measured the prototype fan’s aerodynamic and acoustic performance. They them
measured the full size package aerodynamic performance and full fan acoustic performance. Both
aerodynamic and acoustic results were in good agreement with the original performance prediction
scaled from single-stage fan data.

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6 References
[1] A. Rippl, Experimentelle untersuchungen zuminstationaren betriebsverhahen an der stabilitars-
grenze eines mehrstufi- gen transsonischen verdichters, Ph.D. dissertation, RuhrUniversitat Bochum,
1995.
[2] J. T. Gravdahl and O. Egeland, Compressor Surge and Rotating Stall: Modeling and Control,
Springer, London, UK, 1999.
[3] N. A. Cumpsty, “Part-circumference casing treatment and the effect on compressor stall,” ASME
Paper No. 89-GT, 1989.
[4] A. G. Sheard and K. Daneshkhah, “The Conceptual Design of High Pressure Reversible Axial
Tunnel Ventilation Fans,” Advances in Acoustics and Vibration, vol. 2012, pp. 1–11, 2012.
[5] A. G. Sheard, A. Corsini, S. Minotti, and F. Sciulli, “The role of computational methods in
the development of an aero-acoustic design methodology: application in a family of large industrial
fans,” in Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Modelling Fluid Flow Technologies,
pp. 71–79, Budapest, Hungary, September 2009
[6] A. G. Sheard, K. Daneshkhah, and A. Corsini, “Fan conceptual design as applied to the marmaray
tunnel ventilation system,” in Proceedings of the 58th American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Congress, Paper No. GT2013-94548, San Antonio, Tex, USA, June.
[7] “Marmaray Tunnel,” Wikipedia, 10-May-2018. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmaray Tunne
[Accessed: 11-May-2018].
[8] “Counter-rotating fan ups airflow, pressure,” Electronic Products, 25-May-2007. [Online]. Avail-
able: https://www.electronicproducts.com/Thermal Management/Fans and Blowers/Counter-rotatin fan ups airflow p
[Accessed: 11-May-2018
[9] “ single stage high speed centrifugal blower,” Chongqing General Industry (Group)Co,.Ltd. [On-
line]. Available: http://www.china-centrifugalchiller.com/sell-single stage high speed centrifugal blower-
1689929.html. [Accessed: 11-May-2018].

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