FAN/ BLOWER COMPUTATION

INDUSTRIAL PLANT ENGINEERING

ENGR. GERALD SANQUI ROBLES, MEM

FAN/ BLOWER FORMULAS:

1_FAN CAPACITY, Ṽ
where:

Ṽ -- fan capacity or rate of discharge or volume of gas (air) handled

𝜹𝒈𝒂𝒔 per unit time by the fan, m3/ sec; ft3/ min
A -- area of duct or passageway where the gas (air) is being made to
pass through, m2; ft2
v -- speed or velocity of gas (air) being handled by the fan,
m/ sec; ft/ min
V -- volume of gas (air) being handled by the fan, m3; ft3
t -- time it takes for the gas (air) to pass through the duct or
passageway until being discharged, sec; min
Ẁt -- weight flow rate of gas (air) being handled, kN/ sec; lbf/ min
δgas -- unit weight of gas being handled, kN/ m3; lbf/ ft3
= δair (with air being usually being handled)
= ρair (mass density of air if there are no changes in gravity/ no
given gravitational acceleration; go = go standard = 9.806 m/s2
Density of air at standard conditions..
@ 101.325 kPa & 21.1oC: ρair = δair = 1.21 kg/ m3
@ 14.696 psi & 70 o F: ρair = δair = 0.075 lb/ ft3

2_FAN STATIC PRESSURE HEAD, hs:

where:

𝜹𝒈𝒂𝒔 hs -- static pressure head given-off by the flowing gas (air), m; ft

= is the potential energy given-off by the flowing gas along the
ducting.
hliquid --
manometer reading along the ducting with the gauge
liquid usually water being used, m of H2O; ft of H2O
δliquid -- Unit weight of liquid (water) used in the manometer,
kN/ m3; lbf/ ft3
δgas -- Unit weight of gas (air) being handled, kN/ m3; lbf/ ft3
= δair (with air being usually being handled)

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 = ρair (mass density of air if there are no changes in gravity/ no
given gravitational acceleration; go = go standard = 9.806 m/s2
Density of air at standard conditions..
@ 101.325 kPa & 21.1oC: ρair = δair = 1.21 kg/ m3
@ 14.696 psi & 70 o F: ρair = δair = 0.075 lb/ ft3

3_FAN VELOCITY PRESSURE HEAD, hv:

where:

hv -- velocity pressure head given-off by the flowing gas (air), m; ft

v2 -- speed or velocity of gas (air) at the point of discharge or
outlet, m/ sec; ft/ sec
go -- gravity or gravitational acceleration, m/s2; ft/ s2
If not given, refer to standard value, gs:
go = gs = 9.806 m/ s2 = 32.174 ft/ s2
3_TOTAL PRESSURE HEAD, htotal:

where:

htotal -- total pressure head or head required to move the gas (air)
being handled, m; ft
hs -- static pressure head given-off by the flowing gas (air), m; ft
hv -- velocity pressure head given-off by the flowing gas (air), m; ft

4_AIRPOWER, AP:

where:
𝜹𝒈𝒂𝒔 AP -- air power or power output of the fan or fan power rating (input)
less losses, kW; hp
Ṽ -- fan capacity or rate of discharge or volume of gas (air) handled
per unit time by the fan, m3/ sec; ft3/ min
δgas -- Unit weight of gas (air) being handled, kN/ m3; lbf/ ft3
= δair (with air being usually being handled)
= ρair (mass density of air if there are no changes in gravity/ no
given gravitational acceleration; go = go standard = 9.806 m/s2
Density of air at standard conditions..
@ 101.325 kPa & 21.1oC: ρair = δair = 1.21 kg/ m3
@ 14.696 psi & 70 o F: ρair = δair = 0.075 lb/ ft3
htotal -- total pressure head or head required to move the gas (air)
being handled, m; ft

5_MECHANICAL EFFICIENCY OF A FAN/ BLOWER, ղm:

where:

AP -- air power or power output of the fan or fan power rating (input)
less losses, kW; hp
BP -- power input of the fan or power output of the prime mover
(motor/ engine), kW; hp

6_ TOTAL PRESSURE HEAD, htotal (VIA BERNOULLI’S FLUID FLOW EQUATION):

𝜹𝒈𝒂𝒔

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 where:

p2 + p1 -- if p1 is below atmospheric or negative (-) or given as vacuum

pressure
p2 - p1 -- if p1 is above atmospheric or positive (+) pressure
P2 -- fan outlet or discharge pressure, kPa; psf
P1 -- fan inlet or suction pressure, kPa; psf
δgas -- Unit weight of gas being handled, kN/ m3; lbf/ ft3
= δair (with air being usually being handled)
= ρair (mass density of air if there are no changes in gravity/ no
given gravitational acceleration; go = go standard = 9.806 m/s2
Density of air at standard conditions..
@ 101.325 kPa & 21.1oC: ρair = δair = 1.21 kg/ m3
@ 14.696 psi & 70 o F: ρair = δair = 0.075 lb/ ft3
v2 -- air discharge speed or velocity, m/ s; ft/ s
v1 -- air suction speed or velocity, m/ s; ft/ s
go -- gravity or gravitational acceleration, m/s2; ft/ s2
If not given, refer to standard value, gs:
go = gs = 9.806 m/ s2 = 32.174 ft/ s2

FAN/ BLOWER AFFINITY LAWS:

1_FAN SPEED VARIATIONS (Constant fan size & constant density with variations in rotational speed or rpm):

2_FAN SIZE VARIATIONS (Constant speed & constant density with variations in fan wheel diameter, D):
.

3_GAS DENSITY VARIATIONS (Constant fan size & constant speed with variations in gas densities, δ):
.

where:

sub1 -- refers to the suction/ inlet conditions

sub
. 2 -- refers to the discharge/ outlet conditions
V -- volume flow rate or capacity or rate of discharge of the fan,
m3/ sec; ft3/ min; gal/ min; Li/ sec
N -- rotative or synchronous speed; rpm; rps
h -- total head or total static head, m; ft
D -- impeller or fan wheel diameter, m; ft
Ap -- Air power or fan power output or fan power input less losses,
kW; hp
δ -- Unit weight or specific weight or weight density of gas (air)
being handled, kN/ m3; kg/ m3; lbf/ ft3; lbf/ in3

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SAMPLE PROBLEMS:
1. A large forced-draft fan is handling air at 1 atm and 43.3oC under a total head of 26.6cm water
gage. The power input to the fan is 224 kW and the fan is 75% efficient. Compute the volume of
air handled per minute.
A_3,862.87 m3/ min C_4,862.87 m3/ min
3
B_2,862.87 m / min D_4,567.97 m3/ min

2. A fan has an efficiency of 40% and capacity of 60, 000 ft3 per hour at 60 oF and barometric pressure
of 30” Hg and gives a static pressure of 2” of water column on full delivery. What size of electric
motor shall be used to drive this fan?
A_1/2 hp B_1 hp C_2 hp D_1 ½ hp

3. A fan is designed to deliver 900 m3/ hr of air with a static pressure of 5cm of H2O on full delivery.
What is the air power?
A_102.6 watts B_122.6 watts C_0.1026 watts D_0.1226 watts

4. Air is flowing in a duct with a velocity of 7.62 m/s and a static pressure of 2.16 cm water gage. The
duct diameter is 1.22m, the barometric pressure is 99.4 kPa, and the air temperature is 30oC. What
is the total pressure of air against which the fan will operate in cm of water?
A_3.25 B_2.5 C_3.75 D_1.25

5. A ventilation system includes a fan of 570 m3 per minute capacity discharging thru a 122 cm x 91
cm air duct against 25.98 m of air static pressure. Air temperature is at 21oC and atmospheric
pressure is at 730 mm Hg. What power input will be required to give the fan an efficiency of 44.3%?
A_5 hp B_10 hp C_3 hp D_ 7 hp

6. An induced draft fan is used to extract 270, 000 m3 of flue gas per hour from a boiler furnace. The
fan is to deliver at a total pressure of 250mm water gage. Determine the size of the electric motor
if a mechanical efficiency of 55% is considered.
A_186 kW B_249 kW C_334 kW D_447 kW

7. What horsepower is supplied to air that is moving at 30 fpm through a circular duct with a radius
of one foot under a pressure of 6” water gage?
A_0.0891 hp B_0.891 hp C_4.901 hp D_49.01 hp

8. An industrial fan operating at standard conditions of 1 atm and 21.1oC, develops a power output
of 0.1MW at a head of 200mm water gage. Calculate the brake power required, if the fan is
operated in an environment of 97 kPa and 27oC at the same speed and size.
A_0.94 kW B_9.40 kW C_94.0 kW D_940.0 kW

9. A fan used to provide ventilation in a tunnel requires a 3 kW motor to deliver 360 m3/ min at a
static pressure of 300 mm of water when operated at a speed of 500 rpm. It was later found that
the air to be delivered needs to be increased to 420 m3/ min. If the fan size remains constant,
account for the pressure in meters of water.
A_0.0384 m H2O B_0.0834 m H2O C_0.3048 m H2O D_0.4083 m H2O

10. Air enters a fan through a duct at a velocity of 6.3 m/ s and an inlet static pressure of 2.5 cm of
H2O less than atmospheric pressure. The air leaves the fan through a duct at a velocity of 11.25 m/
s and a discharge static pressure of 7.62 cm of H2O above atmospheric pressure. If the specific
weight of air is at 1.20 kg/ m3 and the fan delivers 9.45 m3/ s, what is the fan efficiency when the
power input to the fan is 13.75 kW at the coupling?
A_71.81% B_61.81% C_52.34% D_72.34%

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