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SAE TECHNICAL
PAPER SERIES 2008-01-0569

Development of Low-Noise Cooling Fan

Using Uneven Fan Blade Spacing
Jeonghan Lee and Kyungook Nam
Hyundai Motor Company

Reprinted From: Noise and Vibration, 2008

(SP-2158)

2008 World Congress

Detroit, Michigan
April 14-17, 2008

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Development of Low-Noise Cooling Fan Using Uneven Fan
Blade Spacing
Copyright © 2008 SAE International
ABSTRACT
When unifying the functions of widely used two-fan,
engine cooling system into a single fan unit, the noise
and power issues must be addressed. The noise
problem due to the increased fan radius is a serious
matter especially as the cabin noise becomes quieter for
sedans. Of the fan noise components, discrete noise at
BPF’s (Blade Passing Frequency) seriously degrades
cabin sound quality. Unevenly spaced fan is developed
to reduce the tones. The fan blades are spaced such
that the center of mass is placed exactly on the fan axis
to minimize fan vibration. The resulting fan noise is 11
dBA quieter in discrete noise level than the even bladed
fan system.
INTRODUCTION
Most sedans in the market use a two-fan cooling system
for engine cooling and air-conditioning purposes.
Although the fans are conveniently distinguished in
naming as radiator fan and condenser fan, they perform
the same function and in most cases, are controlled by
the same logic. It thus seems very logical to unify these
two units into a single fan. One less fan can mean less
cost. A larger fan unit can mean more airflow capacity as
well.
Apart from the problems that can arise from vehicle
concept such as styling requirements, the major
technical obstacles to the application of a single fan
cooling unit are the noise problem and the motor power
problem. The aerodynamic noise, which is the dominant
noise source of a cooling fan, is typically proportional to
the blade tip velocity raised to the 5th power1. The
increased tip speed due to enlarged fan radius may be
cause for a critical noise problem. A typical fan noise
spectrum is shown in Fig. 1. The noise is characterized
by sharp, harmonic peaks in the Blade Passing
Frequencies (BPF). While the overall broadband noise in
motor driven fans can only hurt the listeners outside of
the vehicle, the sharp BPF tones may seriously affect
the in-cabin sound quality. With advanced NVH
countermeasures and drastic reduction of cabin noise in
2008-01-0569
Jeonghan Lee and Kyungook Nam
Hyundai Motor Company
recent years, this may undermine customer expectations
of a quiet and pleasant sounded vehicle.
1st BPF
2nd BPF
3rd BPF
dB (A)
Broadband Noise
Hz
Fig 1. Typical fan noise spectrum
Cooling fans using unevenly spaced blade are
developed. Uneven spacing of fan blades may give rise
to vibrations due to off-centered point of center of mass.
In this investigation, a method of balancing the blades is
also developed to minimize the vibration. A computer
program is written for designing of the fan from which
several models are suggested. The models are tested
on actual vehicles and the results are discussed.
FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO FAN NOISE
An electric powered cooling module consists of radiator
and condenser onto which the fan and its shroud are
assembled. The fan noise in an actual vehicle is quite
different from this module-state since the aerodynamics
is quite different. Various structures such as horns,
bumpers and radiator grills give rise to fluctuating inflow
to the fan, creating pressure variations on the fan blade.
The parameters giving rise to fan noise in a vehicle is
investigated as follows.
FRONTAL STRUCTURE
The effect of a straight beam directly in front of the fan
module is investigated. The vertical beam is rectangular
in shape and divides the inflow exactly at the center.
The control parameter is the distance between the
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structure and the fan. The shorter the distance, more
aerodynamic disturbance is to be experienced by the fan,
creating more noise. The test setup and the noise
spectra by varying the distance between the fan and the
vertical beam is shown in Fig. 2. All measurements are
taken 1m directly in front of the fan along the axis of
rotation. For a rectangular sectioned beam, and
increase of 30mm in the space between the fan and the
beam reduced the tonal noise by 4dBA.
[_””G
`
ࣰठࣾࣜ
dB (A)
X mm
Hz Hz
‫ٻ‬
Fig 2. Effect of vertical beam’s distance from the fan on fan noise (each
grid 10dBA in y-axis)
SHROUD SHAPE
Fan shroud is, with the exception of the fan blade shape,
the most important contributor to fan noise. Fan noise
can be greatly reduced by modifying shroud shape. Here,
the fan’s location in a rectangular shroud is considered.
Fig. 3 compares the noise spectrum of a same fan,
mounted on different shrouds. In one of the shrouds, the
fan in mounted exactly in the center of the rectangle,
while the same fan is position to a side in another. .
dB (A)
Hz
‫ٻ‬
Fig 3. Effect of shroud shape on fan noise (each grid 3dBA in y-axis)
Different BPF patterns result for the shrouds. For the
centered fan, the 2nd BPF is dominant, while for the off-
centered fan, the 1st BPF is the largest. The inflow
velocity difference between left and right of the fan in the
eccentric case result in the excitation of the first mode.
In case of the centered fan, the inflow velocity changes
along the two diagonals of the shroud, thus resulting in
the 2nd mode excitation.
FAN-ENGINE GAP
Small gap between fan and engine increases the load
XW”” on the fan (with respect to large gap or infinite gap such
as in the no-engine condition) and thus acts as an
indirect source of fan noise. The increased fan noise in
this case is usually associated with back-draft of the flow
ingested into the fan. Fig. 4 shows the different noise
pattern as a result of different fan-shroud gap for same
fan and shroud.
X+30mm
Small
Large gap
gap
dB (A)
Hz Hz
Fig. 4 Fan noise for different fan-engine gap (each grid 10dBA in y-
axis)
As seen above, fan noise, especially the BPF tone,
tends to be aggravated due to various conditions in an
actual vehicle. This is more so in recent years when
parts tend to be packed tightly together. These
structural restraints are difficult to change for they are
related to other aspects of a vehicle such as styling and
crash-safety. To overcome these restraints, uneven
bladed fans are developed, and the benefits of the new
fans will be reviewed with consideration of the factors
reviewed in this section.
DEVELOPMENT OF UNEVEN BLADED FAN
Before designing unevenly spaced fan blades, the
prediction of noise spectra for a given blade spacing
must be achieved. For this, signal from a blade is
modeled using a delta function, from which a Fourier
series is derived to predict the resulting spectrum2.
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NOISE (BPF) PREDICTION Restraint in balancing blades’ positions arises from

limitation in production method. Fans are injection
An acoustic signal from a blade is modeled as below. molded, meaning that blades can’t overlap in the
projection drawing. Actually, the blade-to-blade distance
B must be kept at a certain level to enhance production
p (T ) ¦ G T  T  G
i 1
i and to minimize variations in quality. With the restraints
enforced, the fan design program automatically
computes the BPF tones for a range of design
B represents the number of blades, while T i is the parameters. The program then sorts the designed fans
in the order of the one with the most noise reduction to
angular position of blade i. Fourier transforming the the one with the least noise reduction.
above, the amplitude of each noise is obtained as
follows.
DESIGN AND TEST RESULTS
2 2
1 § B · § B · 7 BLADED UNEVEN FAN DESIGN
AN ¨ ¦ coskT i ¸  ¨ ¦ sin kT i ¸
B ©i 1 ¹ ©i 1 ¹ Using the design program, seven bladed fans are
designed as shown in Fig. 6. Two models, labeled Model
The noise level is obtained by taking the logarithm of the A and Model B, are shown with predicted noise
above expression. reduction levels. In the corresponding bar graphs, the
bars of equal amplitude at every 7th harmonic represent
dB N 20 log 10 An  C BPFs of the even bladed fan, while the red bars
represent BPFs of the designed fan. Model A is
The constant C is added to realize a realistic level of the predicted to reduce 5.5dB in its maximum BPF level with
resulting spectrum. An arbitrary fan is designed. Using respect to the even bladed fan. Model B is designed to
the above equation, the noise spectrum is predicted and achieve a peak reduction of 4.5dB. Model B has larger
is compared to the measure noise spectrum of the fan. blade-to-blade gap compared to Model A for
The predicted noise level qualitatively agrees with the manufacturing purposes.
measured result.

A
measured dB

Hz
5.5dB reduction predicted
dB (A)

predicted
B
dB

Hz
G
Hz 4.5dB reduction predicted
G
Fig. 5 Measured noise vs. predicted noise for a given fan (each grid
10dBA in y-axis)UNEVEN FAN DESIGN
Fig. 6 Seven-bladed fan designs

Using the prediction tool programmed on computer, a

TEST RESULTS
fan design module is developed. To prevent fan vibration
due to uneven spacing of the blades, a blade balancing
The designed fans are machine produced for noise
method is developed. This method involves two of the
testing. Testing is done both in its module state (i.e., fan,
blades for centering the mass center of the total fan. For
shroud, radiator, and condenser mounted on a jig) and
example, when a 7-bladed fan is being developed, only
inside an actual vehicle.
the 5 blades are positioned according to the planned
position, while the remaining 2 blades are positioned by
Fig. 7 compares the noise spectra of the Model A and
algebraically solving the equations to balance the fan (i.e.
the corresponding even spaced fan. The noise is
align the mass center with the rotation axis). Since
measured with 12V applied to a same motor which was
blades are positioned in a plane, two degrees of
proven to be generating negligible cogging noise. The
freedom exist. With the two blades’ positions unknown,
flow rate measured to be the same within error range for
an algebraic solution is bound to exist.
the two fans tested. The uneven bladed fan shows a
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6.3dB reduction in the maximum peak level from the seen to overlap very well with the sector lines. As
even bladed fan. The largest peak occurs at the 24th discussed in the beginning of this investigation,
shaft order (SO, i.e., harmonic of the rotational rectangular shrouds give rise to the inflow disturbance
frequency), and a similar peak is seen at the 12th SO. along its diagonals. The exact correspondence of the
diagonals with the sector lines additionally contributes to
SPECTRUM(dBA)
the 14th SO seen in Fig. 7. A similar explanation can be
70
applied for the 24th SO.
14th SO
24th SO
60

6.3dB
50

dB (A)

40

EVEN
30
7-A UNEVEN

20
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 ‫ٻ‬
Hz
‫ٻ‬
Fig. 7 Measured noise spectra for Model A and even bladed fan
(module state, each grid 10dBA in y-axis) Fig. 9 Fan shroud and the 14 sectors

One of the ways to gauge whether a harmonic would Model B, with its 14th and 24th SO’s predicted to be kept
have a large value is illustrated in Fig. 8. The 360 at a relatively low level, is tested. The largest peak
degrees is divided by the number of harmonic in leveled at 9.8dB lower compared to the even bladed fan.
question (here, 14). The lines dividing a unit circle into It is seen that for the given shroud geometry, Model B,
14 sectors are overlapped onto the fan’s projection. The although predicted to be the fan with less noise
more the lines coincide with the blades in their angular reduction, performs better than Model A.
positions, the larger the peak. For the 14th harmonic
discussed here, three blades coincide with sector lines 70
SPECTRUM(dBA)

within two degrees’ range, while an additional blade is

within three degrees’ range.
60 9.8dB

50
dB (A)

40

EVEN
30
7-B UNEVEN

20
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 G
G Hz
th
Fig. 8 Assessment of the blades contributing to 14 harmonic Fig. 10 Measured noise spectra for Model B and even bladed fan
(module state, each grid 10dBA in y-axis)

When the above method is repeatedly applied to each

harmonic, the predicted spectrum shown in Fig. 6 can be Model B is tested in the actual vehicle. (Fig. 11) The
achieved. This alone, however, can not explain the high result shows even more improvement over the even
peak levels of the 14th and 24th harmonics shown in the bladed fan at an 11dB. Comparing Fig. 11 with Fig. 10,
experiment. There are many harmonics other than the it can be seen that while the maximum peak level of the
two predicted to have a similar, or even higher, levels. uneven fan is kept at a similar level, the peak level of the
even bladed fan is increased in the vehicle. This
The shroud used for testing is shown in Fig. 9, again increase in peak noise level for the even bladed fan can
with the 14 sectors. The diagonals of the shroud are be attributed to several factors. As seen in Fig. 12, the
 Downloaded from SAE International by Univ of California Berkeley, Friday, July 27, 2018

inflow of the fan mounted in an actual vehicle is distorted CONCLUSION

by various structures such as bumper, radiator grill, and
horn. The distorted inflow, gives rise to sharp loading Uneven spacing fan blade is developed to enhance
variations on the rotating blades, causing louder engine cooling and to reduce A/C fan noise. The center
aerodynamic noise. of mass of the unevenly spaced blades are designed to
be located at the exact center of the fan to minimize
eccentricity. Optimally designed uneven spacing fan has
been actually manufactured and through part and real
70
SPECTRUM(dBA) car experiments, conclusions have been obtained as
below.
60 11.0dB
(1) By modifying the blade spacing of cooling fan to
an uneven fan, maximum noise reduction of
dB (A)
50
11dB has been obtained in real cars compared
to that of an even fan in same flow rate.
40

(2) Effect of uneven fan is greater when it is

30 EVEN actually installed in cars than fan itself. In the
7-B UNEVEN case of uneven fan, acoustic energy is
distributed since it is not sensitive to frontal
20
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500
( )
G structures which usually increase fan noise.
G Hz
Fig. 11 Measured noise spectra for Model B and even bladed fan REFERENCES
(vehicle mounted, each grid 10dBA in y-axis)
1. J. Lee, K. Cho, S. Lee, 2000, Application of Acoustic
Analogy to Automotive Engine-Cooling Fan Noise
Prediction,” AIAA Journal 38, p 1095-1098.
2. S. Akaike, K. Kikuyama, M. Kitada, K. Kuwayama,
1996, Study of Rotational Noise Reduction for Axial
Flow Fan, JSME International, Series. B, Vol. 39, No.
3.

CONTACT

Dr. Jeonghan Lee received his degree from Seoul

National University in 2001. He is currently a wind noise
Fig. 12 Cooling flow velocity contour through radiator engineer at Hyundai Motor Company. His interests
include both experimental and analytical assessment of
wind noise in vehicles and aeroacoustics of HVAC
devices.

Contact : trojans91@hotmail.com