Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

5-2017

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Degree Program

Mechanical Engineering, MS

Committee Chair

Brehob, Ellen

Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)

Kelecy, Andrea

Committee Member

McIntyre, Michael

Author's Keywords

cross-flow fan; flow visualization; particle tracking velocimetry; airflow; computer vision; helium bubble

Abstract

A study was conducted to characterize the flow-field in the suction region of different inlet geometries of a cross-flow fan. The characterization was accomplished by correlating the static performance curves measured for each fan-inlet configuration to the streamline plot obtained using a particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) measurement system at three constant flow rates (25, 40, and 55 CFM). The PTV measurement system used was developed by the author and uses helium bubbles as tracers, an LED light sheet, a slow motion camera, and a Matlab program. Four inlet geometry design variables were defined and independently studied to evaluate the effect on fan performance. The flow visualization results showed reasonable agreement with the fan performance curves measured. For example, the appearance of large vortices and other flow structures showed a reduction in fan performance. One key result was that the distance from the center of the impeller to the inlet expansion point is a critical variable. It was verified that reducing the ratio of the vortex wall distance to the impeller outer diameter below 7.66% improves the performance of the fan, but as this ratio decreases the noise and vibration of the fan increases. Inlet geometries were identified that preserve up to 75% of the original fully-open average fan performance in constricted spaces.

Additional Files
Yoel Tanquero_Signature Page.pdf (17 kB)
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