Blog | Advanced Design Technology

How to Develop Efficient Compact Fan Guide Vanes?

Written by Mehrdad Zangeneh | 13-Jan-2021 11:24:05

Today, with approximately 10,000 people in 57 subsidiaries and 17 production facilities worldwide, ebm-papst produces high quality fans and motors for many markets such as heating and air-conditioning, ventilation, refrigeration, automotive, IT/telecom and drive technology.

In this case study, the R&D Engineers Aerodynamics department at ebmPapst St. Georgen has designed compact fans guide vanes with the highest level of efficiency using a 3D inverse method. The possibility to generate different designs in a fast and robust way makes TURBOdesign1 an integral part of the work flow for designing multi-row fans with guide vanes at ebm-papst St. Georgen.

 

 

Fig. 1. Efficiency improvement (Blue: guide vanes, Red: same rotor without guide vanes) and Circumferentially averaged velocity profiles downstream the rotor, used as an TURBOdesign1 input parameter.

 

“After using TURBOdesign1 for numerous years, we now consider it our standard design tool for radial, diagonal and axial fans.”


Compact fans are used for cooling of electronic components. Key industries are IT and Telecom. High requirements concerning durability and noise and high efficiency are the drivers in these markets. Also, To gain a high level of static pressure recovery, the guide vane design is very important. On one hand the aerodynamic loads between the rotor blades and the guide vanes have to be balanced on the other hand the incident air flow to the guide vanes is important to minimize losses.

Discover the advantage of using a 3D inverse design method in the case study.