FANS &

BLOWERS

Villarosa, John Bernard

FANS
Definition

▪ Is a machine used to apply

power to a gas to increase its
energy content thereby causing
it to flow or move.

▪ a fan is machine that is used

to create flow within a fluid,
such as air. It consists of
vanes or blades that rotate
and act on air.
TYPES OF FANS
Types of Fans

1. Axial or propeller fans

There are three basic types of axial fans: propeller, tubeaxial,

and vaneaxial. Propeller fans are most commonly used for
dilution ventilation or cooling. These fans are often mounted
in a wall or ceiling. Common examples are your automobile
radiator fan or a free standing room fan. The basic
characteristics of these fans include that they:

• can move large amounts of air if there is little resistance,

and
• are not suited for local exhaust ventilation because they
do not provide enough suction to draw air through the
system.
Types of Fans

2. Tubeaxial Fans

A tube axial fan is a type of industrial fan comprising a disk

type of wheel or a propeller, which is contained within a
cylindrical tube-like structure. This fan is much similar to a
vane axial fan, another popular axial flow fan variant, with the
only difference that it has no straightening guide vanes. The
propellers or wheels are organized such that there is a small
gap between the housing and blade, which helps improves
the fan efficiency.

Tube axial fans have typical performance characteristics due

to their propellers and fan designs.
The fans exhibit high airflow efficiency up to 65%.
Owing to their durable construction, these fans can withstand
4" water pressure gauge.
Generally made of durable materials, these fans can easily
withstand up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit.
Types of Fans

3. Vaneaxial Fans

Vaneaxial Fans are designed for applications where large

volumes of air are required at moderate to high pressures.
Direct and belt driven models, with fixed and adjustable
blade impellers, are available. The tubular design and high
impeller efficiency provides maximum performance while
using minimal space.

It consists of a disk type wheel within cylinder, a set of air

guide vanes located either before or after the wheel.
Types of Fans

4. Centrifugal Fans

A centrifugal fan is a mechanical device for moving air or

other gases in a direction at an angle to the incoming fluid.
Centrifugal fans often contain a ducted housing to direct
outgoing air in a specific direction or across a heat sink; such
a fan is also called a blower, blower fan, or squirrel-cage
fan (because it looks like a hamster wheel). Tiny ones used
in computers are sometimes called biscuit blowers. These
fans move air from the rotating inlet of the fan to an outlet.
They are typically used in ducted applications to either draw
air through ductwork/heat exchanger, or push air through
similar. impellers.
FAN CHARACTERISTICS
The most important characteristic of a fan or a
system is the relationship that links the primary
variables associated with its operation. The most
commonly used fan characteristic is the relationship
between pressure rise and volume flow rate for a
constant impeller speed (RPM). Similarly the
relationship between pressure loss and volume flow
rate is the most commonly used system
characteristic. Fan pressure rise characteristics are
normally expressed in either total pressure (TP) or
static pressure (SP), with static pressure being the
units most commonly used in the United States. The
fan volume flow rate (airflow) is commonly expressed
in cubic feet per minute, or CFM. Therefore, the
system pressure loss and volume flow rate
requirements are typically expressed as a certain
value of static pressure (SP) at some CFM.
FAN APPLICATIONS
Clean Air Handling
Air handling process fans support your operations and the ambient air in the vicinity. Processes span from
industrial system components to makeup air units and removing to refreshing. We design and build
industrial centrifugal fans specifically for your clean air handling application.
Light Dust Loading
Light dust loading and fume extraction fans are part of the overall dust collection system for air quality
improvement and safety. Process blowers move the air and materials through the system to capture,
collect and convey the particles through various parts of the system. 
Material Handling
Industrial centrifugal fans can process particles such as sand, plastic pellets, sawdust, wood chips, grain,
paper trim, pet food, and countless others. AirPro innovates based on customer input and builds industrial
material handling process fans with efficiency and durability. 
Saturated Air Fans
Centrifugal exhaust process fans frequently process saturated air, meaning there is moisture from humidity
or various gasses in the air. When we engineer custom fans, we start with an appropriate fan type and
tweak the materials, finishes and other specifications. 
High Temperature
Operations like heat treating, stress relieving, industrial furnaces and ovens use convection to circulate
heated air within the chamber. These process airstreams require specially designed process blowers. Fans
not properly designed for this purpose will catastrophically fail when used at temperatures above their
design.
Customizing a Fan
Industrial centrifugal fans need to meet a specific set of design criteria. We recommend working with an
AirPro fan selection expert to design the best fan for your application. You will be working with industry-
leading fan engineers to create customizable solutions to match your project requirements and budgets.
BLOWERS
Definition

A blower is a device that pushes out gases by

imparting energy to increase its pressure and
speed.

They range from the large blowers found in

applications such as production machinery and
clean rooms, to the small blowers built into devices
such as home appliances or personal computers,
and are used to blow air for exhausting ventilation
or cooling.
TYPES OF BLOWERS
Types of Fans

1. Rotary Lobe Blowers

A positive displacement blower has a function that’s

straightforward yet effective. Air or gas enters through an
expanding section on one side and exits through a
decreasing section on the other side. To put it simply, positive
displacement blowers trap and then release the air.

Positive displacement blowers maintain a constant speed

and flow regardless of changes in pressure. You can use
these blowers to move both air and neutral gases.

If the discharge valve is closed, positive displacement

blowers will continue to flow and could burst the line. That’s
why safety valves are crucial for this blower.
Types of Fans

2. Helical Screw Blowers

Each helical screw blower has a main rotor with two lobes.
This rotor fits into the flute of a second rotor. The two rotors
turn in a helical pattern that is carefully timed so they do not
contact each other.

Helical screw blowers typically produce air at higher

pressures than rotary lobe blowers do. They also perform
more quietly than rotary lobe blowers.

These intricate blowers are energy-efficient options as well.

The sealed design of helical screw blowers leads to a
smooth air flow and limited air leakage. Helical screw
blowers are used to move both air and gas, depending on
the application.
 Types of Fans
3. Centrifugal Blowers
Centrifugal blowers are the most common blowers used in
ventilation systems. They’re also used to transport gas and
control air pollution.

When an air stream passes through this blower’s rotating

impellers, it increases in both speed and volume. Centrifugal
blowers actually change the airflow’s direction as well. The
air or gas enters the fan wheel, turns 90 degrees, and
speeds up before exiting the blower.

One specific kind of centrifugal blower is called a multistage

centrifugal blower. This blower is used for creating pressure,
circulating air, and creating suction. It can handle high
pressure and high flow rates and is ideal for creating high
pressure from small volumes of air. You can use it for fish
tank aeration, gas meter testing, and even powering artificial
lungs.
Types of Fans

4. Regenerative Blowers

Regenerative blowers create pressure by displacing air

molecules. The impeller spins to draw in and then capture
the air between every blade. As the impeller continues to
spin, it pushes the air forward, where it goes back to the
bottom of the blade.

These types of blowers are good choices if you need to

move large air volumes at a low pressure. Plus, they are
easy to maintain because they are self-lubricated and
contain no oil. Oil-free blowers are important if you don’t
want oil released in the air. They are especially important
in sensitive environments like food manufacturing facilities
and hospitals.
CHARACTERISTICS OF
BLOWERS
Blowers, fans and compressors are classified by a measure called the
pressure ratio — the outlet pressure divided by the inlet pressure. Fans have
the lowest pressure ratio, compressors the highest, and blowers are in the
middle. The flow rate of a blower depends on the system resistance: The
lower the resistance, the higher the flow rate and the power requirement.
The efficiency of the blower is highest at some intermediate flow that should
correspond with the normal operating flow.
BLOWER APPLICATIONS
Air Handling:
Industrial blowers provide high and even airflow through the ductwork of a building. Air movement is
achieved by large angle blades connected to the hub of the blower.
Dust Loading:
Dust loading industrial blowers collect dust to improve air quality. For some industries, dust collection is an
essential part of their operations as well as being a legal requirement under Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) regulations. Air quality regulations are for the protection of workers since air particulates can
lead to a variety of health conditions.
Fume Extraction:
A wide variety of industrial processes produce fumes, smoke, and chemicals that have to be removed from
the air. The fumes and other contaminants are removed by scrubbers or points of emission. This is normally
achieved through the use of a system of blowers and fans.
Fume remover industrial blowers are a part of a whole system that is designed with a large capacity filtration
system. The 99% efficiency of the system guarantees that all harmful odors, contaminants, and gas fumes
have been removed.
Material Handling:
The material handling industry uses pneumatic pressure systems to move granular and powder materials to
production. Industries such as the pharmaceuticals, food processing, agriculture, chemical, and cement
producers require industrial blowers to remove fine particulates from the air.
Though normal fans can remove average particles, heavier materials have to be handled by abrasion
resistant, heavy duty industrial blowers that are specifically designed to withstand the wear of such
materials. Blowers for these types of operations are made of exceptionally sturdy materials and are capable
of enduring the severe abuse from removing the chips, particles, and granular residue.
Saturated Air:
Saturated air contains moisture or gases. The term saturated air refers to when the humidity in the air is at
its highest possible point in regard to the pressure and temperature. Above the established point,
condensation occurs. The danger of such concentration is damage to equipment from corrosion and rust,
which requires the air to be removed and cleaned.
To produce the needed results of removing saturated air, customized industrial blowers are made that are
corrosion and rust resistant, which means the use of stainless steel or metals coated in a moisture resistant
epoxy. The manufacture of saturated air industrial blowers requires custom designed blower blades that can
perform in wet environments.
Exhausting:
In small and enclosed workspaces where paint and vapors accumulate, industrial blowers serve the purpose
of removing and filtering the fumes and vapors to keep the air clean. Since some of the chemicals in these
applications can be combustible, exhaust industrial blowers have to be spark resistant.
A buildup of paint, lacquer, and varnish has the potential of being volatile and explosive. The spark resistant
blowers for these conditions are normally made with specially fabricated aluminum impellers.
Cooling:
Cooling industrial fans are referred to as fluid displacers due to the fact that they displace air in one location
to move it to another location through the use of rotating blades. The purpose of cooling fans is to blow in
cold air and drive out hot air, which gives them the name of industrial cooling blowers.
To accomplish the multiple operations of pulling in cool air and driving out hot air, requires a specially
designed blower. Cooling fans have a larger diameter, which allows them to move large volumes of air at low
pressure. Though this single feature distinguishes cooling industrial blowers, their other components, such
as the motor, rotor shaft, impellers, casing, and mountings, are the same as other units.
Blow-Off:
In the manufacturing process, parts that need to be painted normally go through some form of cooling and
cleaning process that can involve water, specs of dust, granules, or other forms of abrasive materials. Before
the parts can be painted, the particulate matter has to be removed by the forceful application of streams of
air, which is provided by an industrial blower.
Industrial blowers provide a sufficient amount of force and power to remove water vapor from cooling
operations or matter that accumulates on parts prior to their being painted. Pressure blowers for this purpose
are made of materials to create the necessary pressure and drive to eliminate and clean parts.
High Pressure:
Certain air flow systems have an increased resistance to airflow and require blowers that have greater force
and power to be durable enough to provide the necessary energy. They are normally installed where there is
high static pressure and can be used for equipment cooling, material conveying, drying, ventilation, or
exhausting. High pressure blowers come with open drip proof motors to help maintain clean environments
and enclosed ones for dusty and dirty conditions.
Due to the nature of the use of high pressure industrial blowers, they are flexible enough to be used in high
temperature conditions and can be spark and corrosion resistant. For the best results, housings are welded
using high gauge steel.
Material Conveying:
Material conveying industrial blowers move air in a confined space to transfer and move various forms of
granular and powder materials. Their main function is to generate air flow in a tube by creating a vacuum to
pull granular, paper, powder, and pellet materials. The special nature of this type of blower requires that they
be enclosed in a confined system to be able to perform pneumatic conveying. The type of material transport
is considered to be the most efficient method for moving raw materials.