COMMERCIAL-IN-CONFIDENCE Aspen HTFS+ HANDBOOK

AE3: Fans for Air-Cooled Heat Exchangers

1 INTRODUCTION
Fans used for air-cooled heat exchangers (ACHE’s) generally range in diameter
from 200 mm to 10 m. Single stage axial fans of a simple type, usually ‘propeller’
fans with no stator, predominate.
In the smaller sizes, say up to 2 m diameter, the fans are usually supplied by
the fan manufacturer as an ‘integral’ unit (Figure 1) with motor, rotor and casing.
In the case of larger fans, it is usual for the fan manufacturer to supply the rotor
only, other components being provided by the ACHE manufacturer.

Figure 1 Integral fan (courtesy of Woods of Colchester Ltd.)

For control of thermal performance or power saving, means of modulating the

airflow may be required; this aspect is extensively reviewed in HTFS Design
Report DR54.
Modulation may be by variation of the speed of the fan, or by adjustment of
the pitch angle of the blades while running. In process applications, it is usual for
the ACHE purchaser to provide the control system. In other applications, control
devices are often the responsibility of the ACHE supplier.
The permitted fan noise emission will usually be specified. This may be
calculated using HTFS Handbook Sheet AP5 and Design Report DR59. Noise
requirements will often decide the type and cost of the fan to be used. There is
not a great difference between the aerodynamic design of a ‘quiet’ fan and a
‘noisy’ one. Quieter fans run more slowly and have a larger value of ‘cover’ - the
ratio of fan blade area to fan disc area. Fans with few narrow-chord blades, hence
little blade area, have to run faster to move the same volume of air. They will
consequently be noisier but cheaper. With any fan type there is a limit to the

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increase in cover that will give an increase in performance. There is, therefore, a
limit to the noise reduction, which can be achieved by buying more expensive
propeller fans.
Should it prove impossible to achieve a required noise level with propeller fans,
then multistage fans or mixed flow fans may be considered. In addition, silencers
may be fitted before and after the fans, alternatively, the problem might be
avoided by using natural draught ACHEs.

2 INTEGRAL FANS
As proprietary items, integral fans are easy to purchase and install. Many
designs are available, generally with direct-drive motors. Blades of die-cast
metal, or injection moulded plastic, are frequently used. If blades are of fixed
pitch, deviations from specified duty may be difficult to remedy. For this reason,
fans with adjustable blades are preferred for one-off or for small batches of
ACHEs.

3 BLADES FOR LARGER FANS

Figure 2 illustrates a typical fan blade cross section, defining the pitch angle
and chord length. Blades are available in aluminium (Figure 3) or in glass
fibre-reinforced plastic (Figure 4). Other materials - wood, stainless steel - are
seldom used in process ACHE’s. Aluminium blades may be cast (rarely
nowadays), built up of sheet, or of extruded section(s). Blades will often be
twisted, increasing the angle of attack to the air near the hub, where the blade
relative velocity is lower.
Limitations in the section of extrusions, and the strength of built-up metal
blades, limit the chord of aluminium blades (not often exceeding 400 mm). If a
slow-running fan is required, 12 or more blades may be used.
Plastic blades can be manufactured with a chord of a metre or more. Both
chord and angle of attack can be increased near the hub and the performance of
the blade is thus kept almost constant over the span. A better aerodynamic
performance is possible with such a blade but this advantage may be lost with a
less favourable stall characteristic (see HTFS Handbook Sheet AP4).
Especially in induced draft units, the life of plastic blades may be shortened by
exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun, or excessive air temperatures. In all
configurations, radiation from the fin tube bundle may raise the temperature of
plastic blades unduly. This is unlikely to affect aluminium blades.

Figure 2 Typical fan blade cross section

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Figure 3 Aluminium blade fan

Figure 4 Fibre-reinforced plastic fan

4 HUBS
Fan hubs rarely give trouble. They are usually of steel or cast iron.
Larger fans invariably have a type of blade fixing which permits the
adjustment of blade angle when the fan is stopped. This is less common on
smaller fans. Plastic blades are rather heavy and their attachment is often
clumsy, so assembly and accurate adjustment of blade angle may be more
difficult than with aluminium blades.
On installation, it is often the case that the fan power deviates from that
specified. In such circumstances, the blade pitch angle should be adjusted until
the specified power is achieved, rather than using the manufacturer’s
recommended blade angle.
For process control, or for power saving when 100 per cent airflow is not
required, fans with a mechanism to reduce blade pitch angle, in service, are often
fitted. Such devices are usually pneumatically operated and are known as

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Auto-variable Hubs. The air acts on a piston, which sets the blade angles through
cranks. The system should incorporate a positioner to avoid hysteresis in the
blade movement. The device may be rotating (Figure 5), or fixed above or below
the fan and connected to the blades via a bearing. The latter construction
facilitates maintenance whilst the fan is running.

Figure 5 Auto-variable Hub (rotating)

5 DRIVES AND SPEED REDUCERS

It is uncommon for fans to be driven by other than synchronous electric
motors. Totally enclosed motors will usually be specified for outdoor location or
explosion-proof for a hazardous area. Airstream rated motors with the cooling
fans removed are not usually practicable, as the air velocities are insufficient to
cool the motor windings. Motors should be installed ‘drive shaft up’ so that the
cooling fan and main fan do not oppose each other.
Steam turbine drives are occasionally used to ensure rundown cooling in case
of power failure.
Hydraulic drive gives good controllability but is becoming less popular with the
wider availability of variable frequency power supplies.
Up to 22 kW power belt drive speed reducers are commonly used. Wedge ‘Vee’
belts are most common, but maintenance problems with these have made
‘PolyVee’ banded belts, or toothed ‘timing’ belts, popular.
For greater shaft powers, gearboxes are often specified. Spiral bevel or helical
gears are usually chosen. If worm drives are specified, care should be taken that
these do not present difficulties on shutdown, due to reverse rotation failure,
particularly when partly worn.
It is important that fan support bearings should be robust and rigidly mounted
on the ACHE. To ensure good bearing reliability, purchasers may specify as much
as 100,000 hours of life.

6 INSTALLATION
A number of factors should be noted with regard to installation of fans within
ACHEs.
(a) For forced draught units the fan should typically cover 40 per cent of the
bundle face area it serves. More complete recommendations for this may be

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found in HTFS Handbook Sheet AM19 which relates plenum depth, bundle
resistance and relative fan and bundle dimensions.
(b) For forced draught it is recommended that an inlet bell should be fitted to
the fan ring. A bell as deep as 0.15D, where D is the fan diameter, is preferable.
With induced draught units a transition plenum is preferred. However, if a box
plenum is used then an inlet bell may be fitted.
(c) The radial clearance between the fan blade tip and the fan ring should not
exceed the manufacturer’s recommendation. In the absence of such guidance, it
is recommended that the clearance should not exceed 0.005D, where D is the fan
diameter.
(d) In induced draught, care should be taken to avoid overheating of the fan
motor and drive mechanism in the warm air leaving the bundle. With fans shut
down and the exchanger operating in natural convection, air leaving the bundle
approaches the product inlet temperature. In such cases, consideration may be
given to mounting the drive and motor outside the fan ring.
(e) Fan service walkways should be of open grid-type construction.
(f) The blockage effect of fan support structures near to or within fan inlet or
discharge bells should be taken into account.
(g) Induced draught ACHEs may have the motors mounted below the bundle
with fan drive shafts passing between the bundles. This simplifies motor and drive
maintenance and avoids problems of motors overheating.

C.M.B. Russell
Russell Heat Transfer
October 1987

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