2010

Mining Ventilation
Fans
Mining Equipments
http://mourad.110mb.com
Mourad.Hosni@hotmail.com

Mourad Hosni
Mourad.Hosni@hotmail.com

Surface Fans:

Centrifugal Ventilation Fans:

Basic Principles:

 In a centrifugal (or radial) fan the rotation of the impeller causes

the air to travel through it in a radial direction, developing
pressure as it does so. The impeller, which does most of the work
within the fan, and located in the centre of the casing, are all of a
similar shape. A sketch of a large aerofoil bladed centrifugal fan is
shown below.

 Centrifugal fans may be single or double inlet. A double inlet

impeller consists of two single inlet impellers back to back on the
shaft sharing a common backplate, providing almost double the
flow of a single inlet fan.

 Output can be controlled by variable vanes in the casing close to

the impeller inlet - inlet vane control, or by a louvre damper in the
fan inlet box - box vane control

Centrifugal Fan - Exploded View

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Flow through a centrifugal fan impeller

Centrifugal Fans Casing:

 The centrifugal fan casing is a large structure, generally

manufactured from steel plate, which is used to guide the air flow
into the "eye" of the impeller in a controlled fashion. It may have
an open inlet, but more commonly it will have a right angled bend
to allow the motor to sit outside the ductwork.

 The casing also collects the air or gas which exits the outer
circumference of the impeller. It then allows it to expand to
reduce the velocity of the flow and convert kinetic energy into
useful static pressure, then guides it out through the discharge
flange of the casing.

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Flow through the casing

Centrifugal Fans Impeller

 The main impeller structural member is a disc fixed to the shaft:

the backplate of a single inlet fan or the centreplate of a double
inlet fan
.
 Blades are welded to the centre/backplate, and these may be
radial, forward curved, backward inclined or backward curved.
Each type has its own characteristics, in terms of strength,
efficiency, resistance to dust build-up, etc.

 The structure is completed by a sideplate and inlet ring.

Aerofoil bladed centrifugal fan impeller

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Backward inclined blade geometry

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Centrifugal Fans In Brief:

 are generally high pressure, low volume fans

 consist of a multi-bladed, "squirrel cage" wheel in which the
leading edge of the fan blades curve toward the direction of
rotation
 have low space requirements, low tip speeds, and are relatively
quiet

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Axial Fans

Basic Principles

A common example of an axial fan is a typical desk fan. The name "axial"
comes from the fact that the air passing through the fan does not
change direction and flows parallel to the fan axis. An axial fan is
normally used when the flow requirements are high and the pressure
demand is low.

An axial fan blade works in a similar manner to an aircraft wing.

However, whilst in the latter case the lift force acts upwards on the wing
and supports the weight of the aircraft, the axial fan is fixed in position
and causes the air to move.

Axial fan blades are generally aerofoil in cross-section. The blade can be
fixed in position or it can rotate around its longitudinal axis. The angle of
the blade to the airflow, or blade pitch, can be fixed or adjustable.
Changing the blade angle, or pitch, is one of the major advantages of an
axial fan. Small blade pitch angles produce lower flows while increasing
the pitch produces higher flow.

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Mixed Flow Fans

As the name suggests the mixed flow (or axial impulse) fan combines
features of an axial and a centrifugal fan, although it looks more like the
conventional axial machine.

Curved plate blades are welded to a conical steel hub. Flow is varied by
changing the angle of vanes in the inlet casing just upstream of the
impeller.

The casing may have an open inlet, but more commonly it will have a
right angled bend to allow the motor to sit outside the ductwork. The
discharge casing gently expands to slow down the air or gas flow and
convert kinetic energy into useful static pressure.

The larger machines, of the type shown below, can be used for as boiler
draught fans in power stations.

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Variable Pitch Axial Fans

At its heart, the variable pitch axial fan has a sophisticated hub which
carries the blades. Each blade is connected to a spindle, which is rotated
by a lever. A servo-controlled hydraulic cylinder moves all the levers
simultaneously while the fan impeller is rotating. This varies the output
of the fan.

The blade/hub assembly is mounted on a shaft which rotates in a casing,

and is then referred to as the rotor.

The casing may have an open inlet, but more commonly it will have a
right angled bend to allow the motor to sit outside the ductwork. The
discharge casing gently expands to slow down the air or gas flow and
convert kinetic energy into useful static pressure.

To satisfy higher pressures two impellers can be mounted on the same

shaft. This is termed a two-stage fan.

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Jet Fans

Jet fans are commonly used in relatively short road tunnels. They impart
a high velocity to some of the air in the tunnel which then gradually
mixes with the remaining air moving it along the tunnel length in the
same direction as the traffic flow.

Normally banks of fans are installed at intervals on the tunnel roof to

produce an effective airflow from one end of the tunnel to the other. To
save power they operate when the air quality deteriorates sufficiently to
require ventilation assistance.

The fan impeller is mounted directly on the electric motor shaft. To meet
environmental noise regulations, the fans are usually fitted with simple
tubular silencers on either side of the fan as shown in the diagram
below.

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Axial Fans In Brief:

 are generally high volume, low pressure fans

 can be either directly driven by the motor shaft, with the motor
inside the tube body, or remotely driven through the use of belts
with the motor outside the tube body
 are generally adjustable for volume by setting the pitch of the
adjustable blades on the rotor and, in some cases, motor speed
can be tailored to adjust volume and pressure

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ventilation provides a flow of air to the underground workings of a mine

of sufficient volume to dilute and remove noxious gases (typically NOx,
SO2, methane, CO2 and CO). The source of these gases are equipment
that runs on diesel engines, blasting with explosives, and the ore body
itself. The largest component of the operating cost for mine ventilation
is electricity to power the ventilation fans, which may account for one
third of a typical mine's entire electrical power cost.

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The following are three basic fan laws showing relationship between the
speed (N in rpm) of the fan to flow-rate (Q in M3/sec. or CFM), change in
the total pressure ( D P in Kg/Cm2 or psi ) & the shaft power (P in kW or
HP) required for driving the fan:

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References:

http://www.howden.com/en/Library/HowThingsWork/Centrifu
galFans/default.htm

http://www.howden.com/en/Library/HowThingsWork/AxialFa
ns/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_mine_ventilation

http://www.tifac.org.in/index.php?option=com_content&view
=article&id=547:energy-efficient-frp-axial-flow-fans-
&catid=85:publications&Itemid=569

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