Fan Outlet Velocity Distributions and Calculations

Eli Gurevich, Michael Likov - Intel Corporation, Israel Design Center, Haifa, Israel

David Greenblatt, Yevgeni Furman, Iliya Romm Technion Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

March 5, 2012

Abstract
This paper presents a new single empirical formula for calculating fan air velocity at any given distance
away from the fan at any point on the fans face. The results are valid for standard axial fan sizes used in
the electronics industry ranging from 15x15 mm to 140x140 mm. Additionally, Velocity Profile curves are
presented so engineers can easily decide the best position of the target being cooled relative to the fans
cross-sectional area.

1 Introduction
During the design of thermal solutions for PCBs, it is often critical to determine how far away a fan can be
placed from the target that is being cooled in order to still meet the required air velocity. The current
methodology available in the technical literature (see bibliography references 1, 2 and 3) relies on jet
velocity theory originally measured on water jets. This theory does not accurately represent air velocity
distributions and profiles from fans, resulting in inaccurate calculations possibly causing poor thermal
solutions or extensive over engineering. A new single empirical formula for calculating fan air velocity at any
given distance away from an axial fan at any point on the fans face was developed, as long with graphs of
velocity distributions across the fans cross-sectional area.
A selection of standard fans has been measured in an isolation chamber using a hot-wire anemometer.
Velocities have been measured in X and Y directions across the center of the face of the fan and in the Z
direction away from the fan. Measured data has been calibrated and organized into plots arranged based
on dimensionless relationships of fan parameters commonly used in boundary layer theory. Resulting
curves have been extrapolated to common fan sizes, ranging from 15x15 mm to 140x140 mm, and then
compared to measured fan data. Finally a single empirical formula for air velocity has been derived based
on curve fits. This formula describes the air velocity of the fan at any given distance away from the fan at
any given point across the face of the fan for the whole range of fan sizes. In addition to the formula Velocity
Profile curves are available for engineers to decide the best position of the target being cooled relative to
the fans cross-sectional area.
This paper summarizes existing solutions for calculating air velocity, followed by a description of the
experimental setup and derivations of equations used to calculate maximum air velocity and velocity profile
curves. Finally the results for a simple, but accurate, set of equations are presented.

2 Problem Statement
In many electronic systems there are devices for which the datasheet specifies a required air velocity
(usually in LFM) in order to keep the device cool. In many cases, it is not possible to place a fan directly in
front of the component due to the lack of space. Engineers are faced with a dilemma of how to quickly
figure out how far away from the device a fan can be placed and how powerful it needs to be. Due to the
lack of simple equations to calculate this distance, designers over engineer their thermal solution, which
results in wasted space on the system due to an extra-large fan, excessive noise due to a fan that is too
powerful for the application, or extra cost due to unnecessary fans.

3 Solution Details

3.1 Summary of Existing Solutions in the Technical Literature

An extensive search of current technical literature has resulted in 3 sources that provide a simple formula
for air velocity from an air blowing source, such as a fan, a duct, or a vent.

1.2

(Equation 1)
0.41

1
Vx Velocity at distance x away from nozzle
Vo Initial Velocity at nozzle
a 0.13 for round nozzle
x Distance away from nozzle
Bo Diameter of nozzle in Free Plane Jet (open area), Diameter of nozzle in Near Wall Jet
Source: ACGIH Industrial Ventilation A Manual of Recommended Practice, 25th Edition, ACGIH, 2004, Chapter 3, Local
Exhaust Hoods, p. 3-19, eq. 3.7.

(Equation 2)

Vx Velocity at distance x away from nozzle

Vo Initial Velocity at nozzle
K1 Constant that varies between 6.7 and 7.76 between different sources
x Distance away from nozzle
Ao Cross-Sectional Area of nozzle
Source: Howard Goodfellow, Esko Tahti, Industrial Ventilation Design Guidebook, Academic Press, 2001, p. 451, eq.
7.45.

5
(Equation 3)

Vx Velocity at distance x away from nozzle

Vo Initial Velocity at nozzle
x Distance away from nozzle
d Diameter of nozzle
Source: Benoit Cushman-Roisin, Environmental Fluid Mechanics, Future Wiley Publication, March 2010,
http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/~cushman/books/EFM.html, p. 157, eq. 9.4.

Unfortunately, all of these formulas are based on jet theory, which was originally developed based on flow
from a nozzle and do not accurately represent the problem of air flow from a fan for the following reason.
The velocity distribution of a jet is very different than that of an air fan. In a jet the peak velocity is located at
the center of the jet and goes down to zero at the edges of the jet. In an air fan the peak velocity is located
on the edges of the blades and goes down to a minimum at the center of the fan and on the far out edges
of the flow outside of the fans cross-sectional area.

Figure 1. Velocity distribution of air flow from a fan. Figure 2. Velocity distribution of fluid flow from a nozzle.

Besides the fact that the formulas in the literature describe a jet flow and not a fan flow, the results of these
formulas vary by over 30% between each other, and over 100% from reality. In some cases, as for example
with eq. 1, the results can be unrealistic as shown in Table 1, where for eq. 1, Vx is higher than Vo, which is
impossible.

2
 Vo(LFM) d(ft) A(ft2) x(ft) Vx(LFM) %Difference
Equation1 1066 0.13 0.0135 1 1081 0%
Equation2 1066 0.13 0.0135 1 962 11%
Equation3 1066 0.13 0.0135 1 700 35%
Table 1. Variation in results of equations 1, 2 and 3.

The lack of accurate, easy to use, equations for fan air flow velocity in the literature has prompted us to
derive our own equations based on experimentation.

3.2 Experimental Setup

A cube test chamber of 1 m length was constructed out of wood. One side of the chamber was left without
a solid wall and was covered with a thin flexible screen to allow free flow of outgoing air, but preventing
outside air from coming in. On the opposite side a metal plate was placed with a cutout for the fan. Fans of
different sizes required a new metal plate in order to exactly match their cross-sectional area. Inside the box
a hotwire anemometer probe was mounted on top of a XY linear stage. The stage would move the probe
across the area of the fan along its center and away from the fan. The probe was connected to an
anemometer which in turn was connected to a data acquisition card. The card was connected to a PC with
LabView software which would process the data. Post processing of the data into meaningful plots and
function derivation was done in MatLab.
Equipment List:
1) XY Linear Stage: OWIS GmbH LTM 80, operated with two PS 10 position controls
2) Hotwire Probe: Dantec Dynamics Probe Type 55
3) Anemometer: A.A. Lab Systems Anemometer AN 1003
4) Data Acquisition Card: National Instruments Analog to Digital USB-6009 Card
5) Software: National Instruments LabView, MatLab, Excel

Figure 3. Test chamber setup.

Since the anemometer measures differences in voltage and not velocity a calibration procedure had to be
performed before measuring a new fan or restarting measurements on a new day in order to create
calibration curve function which would correlate measured voltage to air velocity. The calibration was
performed using an airtight box connected to a compressed air source at 4 ATM through a valve and a
volumetric flow rate meter. Since the box had a single opening with a known diameter the velocity of air
leaving the box could be easily calculated. Measuring the air exiting the box at a known velocity with an
anemometer allowed creating a second order polynomial calibration function.

3
 y = 0.0107178x2 - 0.2166470x + 1.1564115
R = 0.9977082
Velocity vs. Voltage

5
4.5
4

Calculated Velocity (m/s)

3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15
Voltage (V)

Figure 4. Sample Anemometer Calibration Function

Once the anemometer was calibrated for a specific fan it was placed inside the chamber and connected to
the linear stage. The measurements were made at a step of 0.5 1 mm depending on fan size, and at
each point 60,000 samples were taken. The temperature sampling rate was 1 Hz for the duration of the
entire velocity measurement.
The data was measured in 3 different configurations:

1) Vertical placement
Figure 5
of the hotwire

2) Horizontal
placement of the Figure 6
hotwire

3) Horizontal
placement of the
hotwire and a 90
Figure 7
degree turn of the
fan (Phase
Placement)

Horizontal and Vertical probe configurations were necessary in order to capture the swirl of the air flow.

4
 Figure 8. Vector representation of Vswirl

(Equation 4)

The 3rd configuration, 90 degrees rotation of the fan, or the Phase, was done in order to measure the
asymmetry of the air flow. The reason that there is asymmetry in the flow is because the fans are not
manufactured perfectly symmetrical. On the face of each fan there is a wide vane which is used to pass the
wires through. This vane creates an asymmetry in the air flow as it comes out of the fan.

Wide vane with wires

Figure 9. Asymmetry of the fan

Four fans from Jaro Thermal were used in all measurements.

Fan outer diameter Radial step Axial step Starting Ending

(mm) (mm) (mm) distance (mm) distance (mm)
25 0.5 15 14 170 11
40 0.5 15 14 89 6
60 1 15 14 164 9
90 1 30 14 284 9
Table 2. List of fans measured in the experiment.

5
The reason the ending distance is different for each fan is because the fans were analyzed at a different
/ ratios (see Data Analysis section for an explanation), which were dimensionless parameters required
for similarity analysis used in the derivation of the final equation.

3.3 Data Analysis

Each run of the hotwire resulted in 60,000 samples taken at each of the 200 500 points along the traverse
direction. Each of these sample sets was averaged to a single value, thus creating a set of discrete voltage
readings. This set was calibrated using the calibration function discussed above, which turned it into a
velocity profile. Thus, for every fan, there now were a number of velocity profiles for each configuration.
Once all the velocity profiles were made, each profile was averaged around the zero point to make it
symmetrical. Since each fan is not perfectly symmetrical, as was explained above, this created an error in
the final function of the velocity profile. This error was a small price to pay in return for the ease of use of the
profiles.
As a requirement for the similarity analysis, dimensionless parameters were needed to standardize the
function for all fans regardless of their dimensions. Therefore all profiles, which were measured at specific
axial distances away from the fan, were linearly interpolated to find their value at different values of the
dimensionless distance parameter, / , which was defined as the axial distance x (away from the fan)
normalized by the outside diameter of the fan d.
As can be seen from the following curve if the velocity profiles are normalized by converting them into
functions of unitless parameters, such as / , which is a ratio between any axial velocity and the
maximum axial velocity for that profile, and / . , which is a ratio between any radial distance and the
radial distance from the fans center to the point where maximum velocity was halved, then it can be seen
that all unitless velocity profiles curves fall on top of each other thus indicating that they can be
approximated into one curve. This implies that there should be one equation that can describe the velocity
profile of a fan regardless of its dimensions.

Normal Velocity Profile for a 60mm Fan at various X/D

1
X/D=0.5
0.9 X/D=0.9
X/D=1.25
0.8
X/D=1.5
X/D=1.8
0.7
Figure 10. Similarity
0.6
between all normalized
u/umax

0.5 velocity profiles for various

/ values. All curves
0.4
basically fall onto the
0.3 same curve.
0.2

0.1

0
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
r/r0.5u
max

Finally each symmetrical profile had to be phase averaged in order to take account for the swirl of the air.
The horizontal and phase profiles were averaged together to create a final, symmetrical, velocity profile for
each cross section.

6
 Mean Velocity Profile for a 60mm Fan, With a Horizontal Placement, at a Radial Distance of 44(mm) from the Fan
2.5

Velocity (m/sec)
1.5
Figure 11. Sample
measured velocity profile.
1 Notice the asymmetry.

0.5

0
-150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150
Radial Distance - r (mm)

Averaged Mean Velocity Profile for a 60mm Fan, With a Horizontal Placement, at a Radial Distance of 44(mm) from the Fan
2.5

2
Velocity (m/sec)

1.5

Figure 12. Sample averaged

1
velocity profile.

0.5

0
-150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150
Radial Distance - r (mm)

Averaged Mean Velocity Profile for a 60mm Fan, With a Horizontal Placement, at X/D=1.2, meaning a Radial Distance of 72(mm) from the Fan
2

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2
Figure 13. Sample averaged
Velocity (m/sec)

1 velocity profile at a given

0.8
/ . Notice that the profile is
perfectly symmetric.
0.6

0.4

0.2

0
-150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150
Radial Distance - r (mm)

7
 Phase Averaged Mean Velocity Profile for a 60mm Fan at X/D=1.2, meaning a Radial Distance of 72(mm) from the Fan
2.5

Velocity (m/sec) 1.5

Figure 14. Sample

symmetrical phase
1 averaged profile.

0.5

0
-150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150
Radial Distance - r (mm)

Phase Avereged Velocity Profiles of a 25(mm) Fan, at Various X/D

2.5
X/D=0.9
X/D=1.2
X/D=1.5
2 X/D=1.8
X/D=2
X/D=2.3
X/D=2.6
Velocity (m/sec)

1.5
X/D=3 Figure 15. All phase
X/D=4 averaged profiles for a
X/D=5
1 X/D=6
25 mm fan at various
/ .

0.5

0
-80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80
Radial Distance - r (mm)

3.4 Finding the generic function for maximum velocity

In order to come up with the final equation a theoretical model of the flow had to be developed.
Each velocity profile was divided into two parts, the part between the velocity peaks, and the part
outside of the peaks.

The part of the data between the peaks was assumed to act as the wake behind a row of cylindrical
bars. The solution to this problem is defined as follows:

u
r
cos(2 )
(Equation 5)
u 1
8 l x
3

Figure 16. Flow pattern behind a row

of bars.
Flooding velocity (i.e. the wind velocity that blows on the bars)

8
u Air velocity in the wake
Velocity defined as
Distance between two velocity peaks
l Mixing length (a flow dynamics value that represents how efficient the energy transfer is in a fluid)
x Axial distance
r Radial distance
th
Source: Hermann Schlichting, Boundary-Layer Theory, 7 edition, McGraw-Hill, 1979, p. 744, eq. 24.41.

The part of the data outside of the peaks was assumed to act as a circular turbulent jet the solution
to which is defined as follows:

3 K 1
u
8 0 x 1 2 2
1
4 (Equation 6)
1 3 K y

4 0 x
Figure 17. Streamlines in
a circular turbulent jet.
u Velocity in the jet
Dimensionless distance coordinate
K Constant kinematic momentum
o The virtual kinematic viscosity of the fluid
x Axial distance
y Since velocity u is maximum when 2, Schlichtings variable y is defined as 2, which is
the center of the jet
r Radial distance
th
Source: Hermann Schlichting, Boundary-Layer Theory, 7 edition, McGraw-Hill, 1979, p. 748, eq. 24.46.

3.5 Finding the generic function for the data inside the peaks

Equation 5 can be rearranged in the following manner, since velocity u umax when r /2:

u 1
2 2

u u 3 1 u umax (Equation 7)
8 l x 8 3 l x

For simplicity, an arbitrary parameter A can be defined, when r /2:

1
2

A 3 (Equation 8)
8 l x
Which then can be substituted into equation 7:

1
2

umax 1 3 u 1 A u (Equation 9)
8 l x

9
Finally, equation 9 can be rearranged into the following form:

1
2
r
u 1 3 cos(2 ) u
8 l x

1 A r
cos(2 ) umax (Equation 10)
1 A 1 A
A A r
1 cos(2 ) umax
1 A 1 A
To further simplify the problem an arbitrary parameter B can be defined:

A
B (Equation 11)
1 A
Which then can be substituted into equation 10:

u r
1 B cos(2 )B (Equation 12)
umax
Equation 12 is the unitless velocity parameter for the wake part of the velocity profile.

3.6 Finding the generic function for the data outside the peaks

It can be seen that at maximum velocity 0 in equation 6. The definition for as defined in
equation 6 can be substituted back into that equations definition for u which will result in the
following equation:

umax
u 2
3 K 1
2
(Equation 13)
1 2
r
64 0 x
2
2

To further simplify the problem an arbitrary parameter C can be defined:

3 K
C (Equation 14)
64 0 2
Which then can be substituted into equation 13:

u 1
2
umax C
2
(Equation 15)
1 2 r
x 2

Equation 15 is the unitless velocity parameter for the jet flow part of the velocity profile.

3.7 Derivation of the equation for the maximum air velocity

For any fan its maximum volumetric flow rate Q 3

is provided by the manufacturer in the
fans datasheet, usually in the form of a fan performance curve. But it can also be calculated, which

10
is what was done in this study. (See Appendix B, Step 2, for details.) Using that as a known
parameter maximum air velocity can be derived as follows:

Q uA (Equation 16)

u Air velocity
A Cross-sectional area of the flow
The momentum of an air flowing system is defined as follows:
J u2 A (Equation 17)

Air density
Which further can be defined as kinematic momentum as follows:
J
K u2 A (Equation 18)

Equation 18 can be further simplified as follows, thus defining the kinematic momentum in terms of
volumetric flow rate, Q:

2
Q Q2
K A (Equation 19)
A A
Din
2 2
Dout
A Dout Din
2 2
(Equation 20)
2 2 4
4Q 2
K
Dout 2 Din 2
(Equation 21)

Dout d - The outer diameter of the fan at the edge of the blades
Din - The inner diameter of the fan, where the blades begin (i.e. the diameter of the fans hub)

Besides the definition in equation 21 the Kinematic Momentum of a fluid is also defined as follows:

2
K 2 u 2 rdr uwake
2
rdr 2 u 2jet rdr (Equation 22)
0 0
2
th
Source: Hermann Schlichting, Boundary-Layer Theory, 7 edition, McGraw-Hill, 1979, p. 748, footnote.

Equation 22 can be solved using standard methods of integration, such as integration by parts.
(See Appendix A for the detailed derivation.) Then the result can be inserted into equation 21 which
results in the following equation:

1
2 4 2 3 2 16 2 2 2

2
Q
umax B B 15 x C 32 x 2
out in
D 2
D 2
16 8 32 384C (Equation 23)

B and C are empirical constants. However, B is a constant that is always the same regardless of fan
sizes and axial distance, whereas C changes with fan size and axial distance away from the fan.

It was necessary to find the numerical values of B and C.

By applying the similarity principal described above in section 3.3 a single set of curves was
derived for the four fans measured and then averaged into a single curve.

11
 Average velocity profiles for different fan diameters The Curve Fitted to the Average Velocity Profile Curve
1 1

Fan diameter -25(mm)

0.9 0.9
Fan diameter -40(mm)
0.8 Fan diameter -60(mm)
0.8
Fan diameter -90(mm)
0.7 0.7

0.6 0.6

u/umax
u/umax 0.5 0.5

0.4
0.4

0.3
0.3

0.2
0.2
0.1
0.1
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
0 r/r0.5u
-2.5 -2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 max
r/r0.5u
max

Figure 18. Average velocity profiles for 4 fans Figure 19. Single fitted average velocity
measured. profile.

The final fitted curve in figure 19 is described by the following function:

r u r
0.57705 : 1 0.22982 cos 5.44423 0.22982
r0.5umax umax r0.5umax

u
r 0.57705 : u 1
umax r umax 2 2
0.5umax
1 2.3169 r
0.57705
r0.5u
max
(Equation 24)

The analysis was further normalized by creating dimensionless parameter , which was in turn
normalized verses dimensionless parameter / . The results of this normalization can be
seen on the following plot:

/D vs. X/D for the different fans

5
Fan Diameter - 25
Least squares linear regression, /D=0.29086(X/D)+0.68973, R2=0.91089
4.5
Fan Diameter - 40
Least squares linear regression, /D=0.32712(X/D)+0.64845, R2=0.85834
4
Fan Diameter - 60

3.5 Least squares linear regression, /D=0.68479(X/D)+0.13073, R2=0.9745

Fan Diameter - 90

3 Least squares linear regression, /D=0.73289(X/D)+0.28375, R2=0.93774

/D

2.5

1.5

0.5

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
X/D

Figure 20. normalized verses / for different fans.

From each curve in figure 20, linear regressions were extracted, as shown on figures 21 and 22.

12
 0.9 Slope of the Linear Regression 0.8 Offset of the Linear Regression

Linear Fit to the Slopes: Slope=0.0075935D+0.10077; R2=0.84471 Linear Fit to the Offsets: Offset=-0.0074483D+0.83851; R2=0.58181

Offset of the Linear Regression for the Various Fans

Slope of the Linear Regression for the Various Fans
0.8 0.7

0.7 0.6

0.6 0.5

0.5 0.4

0.3
0.4

0.2
0.3

0.1
0.2 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Fan diameter - D[mm]
Fan diameter - D[mm]

Figure 21. Slope extraction. Figure 22. Offset extraction.

s 0.0075935d 0.10077 (Equation 25)

s Slope of the curve as a function of d

o 0.0074483d 0.83851 (Equation 26)
o Offset of the curve as a function of d

The linear regressions for slope and offset can be used to calculate as follows:
x
o s
d d (Equation 27)
sx od 0.0075935d x 0.10077 x 0.0074483d 2 0.83851d
Even though the fit of each individual slope and offset function seems to be rather off, the
overall regression of remains accurate as can be seen on figure 23. The error grows
as x grows, but for x 3, the fit is rather good as can be seen on figure 24.

The Linear Regressions for /D for Various Fans vs. The Linear Fit to these Regressions
3
Linear Regression - 25mm Fan
Linear Fit - 25mm Fan, R2=0.82108
2.5 Linear Regression - 40mm Fan
Linear Fit - 40mm Fan, R2=0.80922
Linear Regression - 60mm Fan
2
Linear Fit - 60mm Fan, R2=0.90753
Linear Regression - 90mm Fan
Linear Fit - 90mm Fan, R2=0.93121
/D

1.5

0.5

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
X/D

Figure 23. Comparison between actual linear regression of vs. calculated one.
(The linear regression is the measured trend line, while the linear fit is the calculated trend line.)

13
 r0.5U /D vs. X/D for the different fans
max
2.5

1.5

r0.5U /D
max
1

Fan Diameter - 25(mm)

Fan Diameter - 40(mm)
0.5 Fan Diameter - 60(mm)
Fan Diameter - 90(mm)
Least squares linear regression, r0.5U /D=0.36953(X/D)+0.47291, R2=0.89491
max
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
X/D

Figure 24. Linear Regression of . as a function of x for different fan diameters

From figure 24 the formula for . can be extracted, which in turn was used to calculate the
values of B and C. Note that units for . , x, and d in the following equations are mm, since the
data on the graphs was measured and correlated as such.

r0.5umax x
0.36853 0.47291 (Equation 28)
d d
By using equations 12 and 24, when r 0 the value for B can be calculated:

u
1 B cos(0) B 1 2 B 0.54036
umax
(Equation 29)
1 0.54036
B 0.22982
2

u 1
is picked arbitrarily for simplicity, and then by using equation 24 it was calculated that
umax 4
r
1.234 . Then equation 28 can be used to get a simplified equation for C in terms of x
r0.5umax
and d since . and are functions of x. Both x and d must be in the units of mm in this
equation.

14
1 1 1
2

4 2 2
C r
2
C
1 2 r 1 2 r0.5umax
x 2
x r0.5umax 2

2
C r
2 1 2 r0.5umax
x r0.5umax 2
(Equation 30)
x2
C 2

r
r0.5umax
r0.5umax 2
x2
C
0.404385 x 0.164315d 3.72415d 3.7967 x 103 d
2

4 Results
A single equation that describes the maximum air velocity, umax, from a fan was derived:
1
2 4 2 3 2 16 2 2 2

2
Q
umax B B 15 x C 32 x 2
D 2
out Din 16
2 8 32 384C (Equation 23)

B 0.22982
x2
C
0.404385 x 0.164315d 3.72415d 3.7967 x 10 d
3 2

d = The outer diameter of the fan at the edge of the blades units: mm
x = Axial distance away from the fan where velocity of air is being obtained units: mm
To calculate C use x and d in mm. The resulting value for C is a unitless number.

0.0075935d x 0.10077 x 0.0074483d 2 0.83851d

d = The outer diameter of the fan at the edge of the blades units: mm
x = Axial distance away from the fan where velocity of air is being obtained units: mm
To calculate use x and d in mm. But when the calculated value for is plugged back into equation for
umax (eq. 23) convert it to meters, since the units of umax are meters/sec.
Dout - The outer diameter of the fan at the edge of the blades units: meters
Din The inner diameter of the fan, where the blades begin (i.e. the diameter of the fans hub)
units: meters
Q - Volumetric flow rate (know from the fan datasheet) units: meters3/sec

In order to recreate the complete velocity profile plot the value for umax needs to be substituted back
into the equations for wake (equation 12) and jet flow (equation 15). is known from equation 27
and r and x are given by the definition of the problem, since they are locations at which the velocity
profile needs to be calculated. Note that , r, and x must be in meters and umax must be in
meters/sec when plugged back into equations 28 and 29.

r
u umax 1 B cos(2 ) B (Equation 28)

15
 umax
u 2
C
2
(Equation 29)
1 2 r
x 2

Plotting equations 28 and 29 on the same graph results in the complete velocity profile as shown
on figure 25 in red.

Comparison between Measured and Calculated Data for a 25mm Fan, at X=14mm
3
Measured Data
Calculated Data, R2=0.77919
2.5

2
Velocity (m/sec)

1.5

0.5

0
-40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40
Radial Distance - r (mm)

Figure 25. Comparison between measured and calculated velocity profiles for a 25 mm fan.
The maximum error of the calculated velocity profile when compared to the measured one is roughly 16%.
This is a much more accurate correlation to actual measurements than the existing solutions summarized
in section 3.1, which could deviate from reality by over 100% and did not represent the actual type of air
flow from a fan. It is possible to further reduce this error by performing more measurements of various fans,
which would result in tighter phase average profiles thus improving the overall equations and constant
values for B and C.

5 Summary
A clear methodology was shown for deriving equations for maximum velocity of air blown from a fan, as
well as equations to plot the velocity profile. Engineers can easily port these equations into a spreadsheet
which will quickly calculate for them the maximum velocity of air at any given distance from the fan as well
as tell them what kind of air velocity a specific electronic component will see when positioned in front of the
fan. The error margin of these calculations will be roughly 16% and can be further improved by more
measurements of fans.

Bibliography/References
[1] ACGIH Industrial Ventilation A Manual of Recommended Practice, 25th Edition, ACGIH, 2004.
[2] Howard Goodfellow, Esko Tahti, Industrial Ventilation Design Guidebook, Academic Press, 2001.
[3] Benoit Cushman-Roisin, Environmental Fluid Mechanics, Future Wiley Publication, March 2010,
http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/~cushman/books/EFM.html
[4] Hermann Schlichting, Boundary-Layer Theory, 7th edition, McGraw-Hill, 1979.
[5] J. Hennissen, W Temmerman, J Berghmans, K Allaert, Modeling of Axial Fans for Electronic
Equipment, Eurotherm Seminar No. 45: Thermal Management of Electronic Systems, September 20-
22, 1995, IMEC, Leuven, Belgium.

16
 Appendix A

Kinematic Momentum Integral (eq. 22) Solution

Step 1: K 2 u rdr u
2 2
wake rdr 2 u 2jet rdr
0 0
2

r
Step 2: uwake umax 1 B B cos 2

2
r
uwake 2
umax 1 B B cos 2

Step 3:
r r
umax 2 1 2 B B 2 2 B B 1 cos 2 B 2 cos2 2

r r
u
2
rdr umax 2 (1 2 B B 2 r 2 B ( B 1) r cos 2 B 2 cos2 2 )dr
Step 4:
wake

r r
2
umax 1 2 B B 2 rdr 2umax
2
B B 1 r cos 2 dr umax

2
B 2 r cos2 2 dr

Step 5:
umax
2
1 2B B 2 I1 2umax
2
B B 1 I 2 umax
2
B2 I3

r2
Step 6: I1 rdr C1
2

r
Step 7: I 2 r cos 2 dy Integration by parts is used to solve this integral

r
u r , v ' cos 2

r
Step 8: sin 2
u ' 1, v sin 2 r
2
2

r
2
r r r
I 2 uv u ' vdy r sin 2 sin 2 dr r sin 2 cos 2 C2
Step 9: 2 2 2 2

17
 r
Step 10: I 3 r cos 2 2 dr

Substitute this trigonometric identity into the integral:

Step 11: 1
cos 2 x 1 cos 2 x
2

r 1 r 1 1 r
r cos 2 dr r 1 cos 4 dr rdr r cos 4 dr
2

2 2 2
Step 12:

Integration by parts is used to solve this integral

2 uwake
2
rdr 2 umax
2
1 2 B B 2 I1 2umax
2
B B 1 I 2 umax
2
B 2 I 3
Step 13:
r2 r 2 r
r sin 4 cos 4 C3
4 8 32
2

2 uwake
2
rdr 2 umax
2
1 2 B B 2 I1 2umax
2
B B 1 I 2 umax
2
B 2 I 3
r2 r 2 r
r sin 4 cos 4 C3
4 8 32
2

2 2 r
2
r
umax 1 2 B B 2umax B B 1
2 r 2
r sin 2 cos 2
2
2 2 2
Step 14: C
u 2 B 2 r r sin 4 r cos 4 r
2 2

4 8
32
max 2

3 2 2 r B 2 r
1 2 B 2 B r 2 B B r sin 2 4 r sin 4
2

2
2 umax C
2 2

B B cos 2
r B r
2
cos 4
16

3 2
2
2
1 2 B B 0 2 B B sin 2 0
2

2 2 2



2
B 2 2 2
2 2
2 uwake rdr sin 4 0 B B cos 2 cos 0 umax
2 2

0 4 2
Step 15:

2 2
B cos 4 2 cos 0
16



4 2 3 2 16 2 2 2
B B umax
4 2 8

18
 umax
u jet 2
Step 16: C
2

1 2 r
x 2

2
umax
u 2jet 4
Step 17: C
2

1 2
r
x 2

2
umax
u rdr
2
jet 4
rdr
C
2

1 2 r
x 2
Step 18:

This integral is too complex to solve analytically, so a mathematical software package, such as
Mathcad, Maple, or Mathematica needs to be used to arrive at the following solution

15 C r 40 C r 33 C r 16
5 3

3 2

x 2umax
2
x 6 2

x4

2

x2

2
3
96 C C
2

u jet rdr 2 r 1
2
Step 19:

x 2

2
5umax x C
32 C arctan x r 2 C

The integration boundaries are between and . The first term is zero for and is
2
x 2umax
2

Step 20: for , and so:
6C 2

x 2umax

2
5u 2 x 1
u jet rdr
2
max tan 1 tan 1 0 15 x C 32 x 2 umax
2

6C 32 C 192C
2
Step 21:

2 u jet 2 rdr
96C
15 x
C 32 x 2 umax
2

19

2
K u 2
wake rdr 2 u 2jet rdr
0
Step 22: 2

4 2 3 2 16 2 2 2

2
B
8
B
15 x C 32 x 2 umax
4 96C

4Q 2
K
Dout 2 Din 2
Step 23:

4 3 2 16 2 2 2

2
4Q 2
B B 15 x C 32 x 2 max
u
Step 24:
4 2 8 96C Dout 2 Din 2

1
4 3 2 16 2 2
4Q 2

2
u 2
B B 15 x C 32 x 2
Dout Din 4 2 8
max

2 2
96C
Step 25: 1
2 4 2 3 2 16 2 2 2

Q2

Dout 2 Din 2 16 8
B
32
B


384C

15 x C 32 x 2

1

2 4 2 3 2 16 2 2 2

2
Q
Answer: umax B B 15 x C 32 x 2
Dout 2 Din 2 16 8 32 384C

20
 Appendix B
Sample solution of Maximum Air Velocity using the equations presented
in this paper

This example illustrates how to calculate the maximum air velocity and the velocity profile for a 25
mm fan at an axial distance of 14mm.

Step 1: Fan dimensions are measured:

Dout = d = 25 mm = 0.025 m
Din = 15 mm = 0.015 m

Step 2: Q is calculated in one of two ways:

Option 1: Fan flow rate, Q, can be taken directly from the manufacturers datasheet.

Typical Fan Performance Curve from the fan manufacturers datasheet. Maximum flow
rate Q is shown for different fan types on the x axis of the plot.

21
Option 2: Q can be calculated using the velocity profile measured for x = 14 mm using the following
chart:
Mean Velocity vs. Radial Distance for a 25mm Fan, at an axial distance X=14mm
3

2.5

2
Velocity (m/sec)

1.5

0.5

0
-40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40
Radial Distance - r (mm)

From this chart values for radial distance r and velocity u can be picked off at every point. For the
sake of this example we assumed that there are approximately 400 points on the chart. These
values can be used in solving the integral in equation 22 by recalling equations 16 - 19:

Momentum of a fluid, J, is defined as:

J Au 2

Density of the fluid

A Cross sectional area through which the fluid is flowing
u Velocity of the fluid

Kinematic momentum of a fluid, K, is defined as:

J
K Au 2

Volumetric flow rate, Q, is defined as:

Q uA
And therefore by substitution

Q2
K
A
By using equation 22 and the data from the velocity vs. radial distance chart K can be solved for.
Since there are 400 data points on the chart and for each data point there is a value of u and r, the
integral becomes the sum of all of those data points. dr is defined as r the measurement step
between each point which was equal to 0.5 mm. This leads us to the following equation:

22
 400 400
K 2 u 2 rdr 2 ui2 rdr
i 2 ui2 ri (0.5)
0 i 0 i 0
It is not practical to solve this sum by hand, but it can be easily done in MatLab.
A is the cross sectional area of the fans blades (without the hub), which is known as well:
A Dout 2 Din 2

Dout The outer diameter of the fan at the edge of the blades
Din The inner diameter of the fan, where the blades begin (i.e. the diameter of the fans
hub)

The equation can now be rearranged to solve for Q:

Q KA Dout 2 Din 2 K 2 2 Dout 2 Din 2 ui2 ri (0.5) 9.9202 10 4 m 3 sec

400

i 0

Step 3: Calculate maximum velocity using equation 23:

x2
C
0.404385 x 0.164315d 3.72415d 3.7967 x 103 d
2

14 2

0.404385 14 0.164315 25 3.72415 25 3.7967 14 103 25
2

1.68725

0.0075935d x 0.10077 x 0.0074483d 2 0.83851d
0.0075935 25 14 0.10077 14 0.0074483 252 0.83851 25
20.4mm 0.0204m

1
2 4 2 3 2 16 2 2 2

2
Q
umax B B 15 x C 32 x 2
Do2 Di2 16 8 32 384C
1
2 4 2 3 2 16 2

0.22982 0.22982 2 0.0204 2

0.00099202 16 8 32

0.025 0.015
2 2 2

384 1.68725 15 0.0204 0.014 1.68725 32 0.014
2

2.1m sec

Step 4: Recreate the velocity profile:

Insert umax into equations 28 and 29:

r r
u umax 1 B cos(2 ) B 2.1 1 0.22982 cos 2 0.22982
0.0204
1.617378 0.482622 cos 308r

23
 umax 2.1
u 2
2

C
2
1.68725 0.0204
2

1 2 r 1 r
x 2 0.0142 2

2.834 108

r 0.0204r 2.202 104
2 2

Step 5: Plot both functions for u on the same plot creating a complete velocity profile:

Calculated Data for a 25mm Fan, at X=14mm

2.5
Calculated Velocity Profile for a Cylinder Wake
Calculated Velocity Profile for a Circular Jet

2
Velocity - u (m/sec)

1.5

0.5

0
-0.04 -0.03 -0.02 -0.01 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04
Radial Distance - r (mm)

24