Analysis of Radial-Flow Impellers of Different Configurations.

A.T. Oyelami, Ph.D.1*; S.B. Adejuyigbe, Ph.D.2; M.A. Waheed, Ph.D.2; A.K. Ogunkoya,
M.Eng.1; and D. Iliya, HND1
1
Engineering Materials Development Institute, PMB 611 Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria.
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria.

E-mail: [email protected]*

ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
The performance efficiency of all centrifugal
blowers that utilize radial-flow impellers depends The impeller is often considered an integral part
greatly on the mode of impelling. This work of the suction motor since its housings and the
therefore focuses on different designs of two of motor are assembled as a unit. The impeller,
the most important parts of the blower – the driven by the blower shaft adds the velocity
impeller and the volute casing – together with the component to the fluid by centrifugally casting the
evaluation of their operational performances. In fluid away from the impeller vane tips. The key
all the designs, fluid enters the inlet port at the idea here is that the energy created is kinetic
center of the rotating impeller which is the suction energy. The amount of energy given to the fluid
eye. As the impeller spins, it thrusts the fluid corresponds to the velocity at the edge or vane tip
outward radially, causing centrifugal acceleration. of the impeller. Addison (1995) established that
As it does this, it creates a vacuum in its wake, the faster the impeller revolves or the bigger the
drawing even more fluid into the inlet. The volute impeller is, the higher will be the velocity of the
casing performs the function of slowing the fluid fluid at the vane tip and the greater the energy
and increasing the pressure. The impeller, driven imparted to the fluid.
by the blower shaft adds the velocity component
to the fluid by centrifugally casting the fluid away The blower can therefore be described as a
from the impeller vane tips. device, which converts ‘driver’ energy to kinetic
energy in a fluid by accelerating it to the outer rim
The amount of energy given to the fluid is of a revolving device known as an impeller. The
proportional to the velocity at the edge or vane tip impeller is always placed directly onto the shaft of
of the impeller. Whereas two designs of the volute the Suction Motor so that it spins at a very high
casings done were essentially the same, differing speed.
only on the direction of impelling; seven different
impellers were designed and developed. The The principle involved in the design of a blower is
differences in the impeller designs are not only similar in virtually every important aspect as that
attributable to the vane profile but also on of a centrifugal pump except for the fact that the
whether the impeller is open or close. The term “centrifugal pump” is often associated with
performance evaluation carried out with the aid of liquid as its working fluid while the blower is
an anemometer revealed that the closed impeller meant to work on air (Edward, H.S. 1995). The
with backward curved vanes has the best effects of centrifugal force acting upon the
performance cum efficiency with respect to the spinning air within the impeller create the suction.
output speed and flow rate. The designed and As the impeller rotates, the spinning air moves
developed closed-impellers include backward and outward away from the hub, creating a partial
forward curved vanes while the open-impellers vacuum which causes more air to flow into the
comprise of backward and forward curved; impeller.
backward and forward inclined; and radial vanes.

(Keywords: radial-flow impeller, volute casing, suction

eye, vane, anemometer)

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 The most important impeller parameters can be
grouped into three categories:

Geometrical Parameters: Tip diameter, hub

diameter and tip width;

Operating conditions: Inlet total pressure, inlet

total temperature and fluid density;

Performance characteristics: mass flow

parameter, pressure ratio and specific speed.

Figure 1: Sectional Drawing of a Blower.

Technical Performance Data

Figure 1 illustrates a cross-section of the blower

designed. Fluid enters the inlet port at the center
of the rotating impeller, or the suction eye. As the
impeller spins in a counter-clockwise direction, it
thrusts the fluid outward radially, causing
centrifugal acceleration. As it does this, it creates
a vacuum in its wake, drawing even more fluid
into the inlet. Centrifugal acceleration creates
energy proportional to the speed of the impeller
(Csanady 1981). The faster the impeller rotates,
the faster the fluid movement and the stronger its
force. Impellers are the rotating blades that
actually move the fluid. They are connected to the
drive shaft that rotates within the blower casing.
The impeller is designed to impart a whirling or
motion to the air in the blower. Figure 2: Impeller Cross-Section in the Blower
Volute’s Casing Showing the Velocity Diagrams.

IMPELLER’S BASIC THEORY Figure 2 shows the velocity triangle of the air flow
As the impeller rotates, it creates vacuum at its leaving the impeller. Since there are no inlet
inlet suction side through centrifugal force. In guide vanes, the entering flow has no tangential
turn, the impeller creates a positive pressure, component of motion. The entering flow is
inducing a force of air on the discharge side. therefore in radial direction, and vr1 which is the
Impeller is the most important part of the blower radial component of the absolute velocity is the
components because of the fact that its same as the inlet velocity, V1.
performance inadvertently determines the
blower’s performance. That is vr1 = V1.

An impeller is essentially a disk shaped structure It is assumed that the flow is completely guided
with vanes that create the actual suction in a by the blades and that the flow angles coincide
blower. The impeller is always placed directly with the blade angles.
onto the shaft of the electric motor so that it spins
at a very high speed. The effects of centrifugal Inlet Vane Angle 1 29 0
force acting upon the spinning air within the
impeller create the suction. As the impeller
rotates, Von Cube and Steimle (1981) confirms Outlet Vane Angle 2 310
that the spinning air moves outward away from
the hub, creating a partial vacuum which causes Volute Inside radius r1=0.08m
more air to flow into the impeller.
Volute Outside radius r2=0.335m

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Vane Width at the Suction Eye b1=0.0355m U 2v U 1v
2 1
But ( ht )1 2
Vane Width at the tapered end b2=0.024m g
(Alan M. 1979).
Rotational Speed N=3430rpm
where v is the tangential component of the fluid
Linear Speed at the inlet is:
absolute velocity.
2 3430 0.08
U1 r1 28.74m / s Since the flow enters radially, v 1 0,
60
( ht )1 2
v 2
V1 v r1 U 1 tan 1 28.74 tan 29 15.93m / s U2
The expected flow rate is: where,
.
Q 2 r1b1v r1 2 0.08 0.0355 15.93 0.2842m 3 / s 2 N 2 3430
U2 r2 r2 0.335 120.33m / s
60 60
Applying continuity concept at the blower
discharge:
.
.
Q 0.2842 Q 0.2842
vr 2 5.625m / s
V3 15.83m / s 2 r2 b2 2 0.335 0.024
A3 0.134 0.134

Applying Bernoulli equation between the room vr 2

and blower discharge at 3: tan 2
U2 v 2
2
Patm Patm V3
( ht )1 2 vr 2
g g 2g 5.625
v 2 U2 120.33 110.97m / s
tan 2 tan 31
where,

V3 = the discharge velocity V2 v 22 vr22 110.97 2 120.332 163.69m / s

.
Q = Fluid flow rate
The power input to the blower is:
A3 = Cross-sectional area at the discharge end
.
Patm = Atmospheric pressure P Q gh 1.239 0.2842 9.81 12.77 44.11W

( h)1 2 = The total head change

METHODOLOGY
ρ = Air density
Apart from dimensions and materials used for
g = acceleration due to gravity construction, what essentially differentiate two
impellers from each other are:
The total head change imparted to the flow by the
blower is then: 1. Shape / Profile of the Vane

2. Presence / Absence of Guiding Vanes

V32 15.83 2
( ht )1 2 12.77m
2g 2 9.81 3. Whether the impeller is closed or open

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Since the aim of this work is to evaluate
performance of blowers of different impeller/vane
profiles, seven different possibilities of impeller
designs were explored. They all had same base-
plate dimensions without guiding vanes. These
include
1. Backward-Curved-Vane Open Impeller

2. Forward-Curved-Vane Open Impeller

3. Backward-Curved-Vane Closed Impeller

4. Forward-Curved-Vane Closed Impeller

Plate 2: Backward Curved Impeller under
5. Backward-Inclined-Vane Open Impeller Construction.

6. Forward-Inclined-Vane Open Impeller

7. Radial-Vane Open Impeller

(See Plates 1 – 4)

Two volute casings were constructed to allow for

clockwise and anticlockwise rotation of the
impellers (Figures 3 – 6 and Plates 5 – 6). Each
of the impellers was subjected to dynamic
balancing (Plate 7) where out-of-balance mass
was added to ensure stability and minimize
vibration (Plate 8). Plate 3: Radial Impeller under Construction.

Plate 1: Forward-Inclined Impeller under

Construction. Plate 4: Newly Constructed Backward Curved
Closed Impeller.

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 Figure 6: 3D Assembly Drawing of the developed
Figure 3: 3D Drawing of Backward-Curved-Vane Blower (Shaded).
Open Impeller [1) base-plate; 2) Backward-
Curved-Vane; 3) Coupler].

Plate 5: Anti-Clockwise Volute Casing under

Construction.
Figure 4: 3D Drawing of Backward-Curved-Vane
Closed Impeller.

Plate 6: Clockwise and Anti-Clockwise Volute

Casings under Construction.
Figure 5: 3D Assembly Drawing of the developed
Blower (unshaded).

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 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

As previously explained, the impeller is the most

important part of the blower components because
of the fact that its performance inadvertently
determines the blower’s performance. It is the
impeller’s vanes that create the actual suction in a
blower. The effects of centrifugal force acting
upon the spinning air within the impeller create
the suction. As the impeller rotates, the spinning
air moves outward away from the hub, creating a
partial vacuum which causes more air to flow into
the impeller. The impeller speed, which
determines the suction rate, was measured at
different points, for different vane types/ profiles,
from the outlet/discharge of the blower and the
results are as shown in Table 1.

Plate 7: Radial Impeller undergoing Dynamic The measurements were done with the aid of an
Balancing. Airflow Anenometer (see plates 10 – 13). The
graph showing Blower Speed Variations with
different types of Impeller is shown in Figure 7.

Plate 10: Anenometer Used for Blower

Plate 8: Out-of-Balance Mass added for Impeller Performance Characterization (for Airflow,
Dynamic Balance. Temperature, Relative Humidity and Air Velocity).

Plate 9: Blower Being Assembled for Test Plate 11: Blower Performance being Measured at
Running. a Distance X.

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 Table 1: Blower Performance Characteristics

Speed (m/s) at various distances (0m – 5m) from the outlet

Vane Impeller
S/N Vane Type
Profile Type
0m 0.5m 1m 1.5m 2.0m 2.5m 3.0m 3.5m 4.0m 4.5m 5.0m

Backward
1. Open 58.9 43.8 34.7 26.5 20.1 18.8 16.3 15.2 13.4 11.8 9.9
Curved

Forward
2. Open 49.6 41.8 29.0 21.7 17.6 14.8 12.2 10.7 9.2 8.1 7.2
Curved

Backward
3. Closed 63.8 49.9 38.3 30.2 23.2 21.5 19.1 17.4 15.1 14.5 12.7
Curved

Forward
4. Closed 54.7 45.2 34.8 24.6 19.8 17.9 15.2 13.2 11.1 9.7 8.6
Curved

Backward
5. Open 56.3 39.1 29.3 23.3 18.2 17.7 15.8 14.8 12.5 11.2 9.5
Inclined

Forward
6. Open 50.7 40.3 27.9 19.6 17.1 15.0 12.1 9.9 8.7 7.8 7.0
Inclined

7. Radial Open 53.2 41.7 28.1 20.9 17.0 16.4 12.4 11.8 10.7 9.4 9.1

Plate 12: Blower Performance being Measured at Plate 13: Blower Performance being Measured at
a Distance Y. a Distance Z.

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 Table 2: Analysis Results of the developed
Impellers.
Principal System of Units:
Length: mm Force: N
Time: sec Temperature: C

Model Type: Three Dimensional

Points: 2650
Edges: 12865
Faces: 17869
Mass Moments of Inertia about WCS Origin:
Ixx: 2.63955e+02
Ixy: -6.11663e-03 Iyy: 2.63948e+02
Ixz: -5.80896e-03 Iyz: 3.34848e-03
Izz: 5.24559e+02

Principal MMOI and Principal Axes

Relative to WCS Origin:

Max Prin Mid Prin Min Prin

5.24559e+02 2.63959e+02 2.63945e+02

WCS X: -2.22907e-05 8.66545e-01 4.99100e-01

WCS Y: 1.28491e-05 -4.99100e-01 8.66545e-01
Figure 7: Blower Speed Variations with Different
WCS Z: 1.00000e+00 2.57289e-05 9.03738e-09
Types of Impeller.
Center of Mass Location Relative to WCS Origin:
(-4.39156e-02, 2.53674e-02, -3.29316e+00)
The Impeller with backward curved vane under
Mass Moments of Inertia about the Center of Mass:
close configuration gives the best performance
among the blowers designed and developed. Ixx: 2.63808e+02
Graphs of the mechanical efficiency versus the Ixy: -6.13174e-03 Iyy: 2.63801e+02
flow coefficient for various speeds (revolutions Ixz: -3.84810e-03 Iyz: 2.21581e-03
per minute) of the impeller of the blower are as Izz: 5.24559e+02
shown in Figure 8.
Principal MMOI and Principal Axes Relative to COM:
The mechanical efficiency at a particular flow Max Prin Mid Prin Min Prin
5.24559e+02 2.63812e+02 2.63797e+02
coefficient is noted to be higher for lower rpm
because of the tendency for more instability at WCS X: -1.47580e-05 8.66543e-01 4.99102e-01
higher rpms. As established in literature WCS Y: 8.49793e-06 -4.99102e-01 8.66543e-01
(http://www.flowmetric.com/products/ 2006 and WCS Z: 1.00000e+00 1.70298e-05 1.92473e-09
http://www.fanair.com 2006), the flow and S/N Name Value Convergence
pressure coefficients are dependent on blades 1. max_disp_mag 5.130001e-01 0.7%
angles and blade widths. 2. max_disp_x -5.123789e-01 0.7%
3. max_disp_y -5.101572e-01 0.8%
Results of simulation of the Failure Analysis using 4. max_disp_z -3.277257e-02 0.7%
finite elements approach are as shown in Table 2 5. max_prin_mag 7.723517e+02 8.6%
and Figures 9 to 11. 6. max_stress_prin 7.723517e+02 8.6%
7. max_stress_ vm 6.497699e+02 7.8%
8. max_stress_xx 1.935540e+02 16.6%
9. max_stress_xy 6.749337e+01 0.9%
10. max_stress_xz 1.502379e+02 17.2%
11. max_stress_yy 1.908066e+02 6.8%
12. max_stress_yz 1.497421e+02 20.5%
13. max_stress_zz 7.263497e+02 7.8%
14. min_stress_prin -4.043473e+02 13.8%
15. strain_energy 2.893968e+03 1.2%

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 CONCLUSION

The performance evaluation of the developed

blower with different impeller/vane profiles
revealed that:

the performance differences in the seven (7)

impeller designs are not only attributed to the
vane profile but also on whether the impeller
is open or close.

the closed impeller with backward curved

vanes has the best performance cum
efficiency with respect to the output speed
and flow rate.

Figure 8: Variation of Blower Mechanical

Figure 1: Variation of Blower Mechanical Efficiency with Flow Coefficient for different RPMs

Efficiency with Flow Coefficient for different

RPMs.

Figure 9: Failure Analyses of the Developed Impellers.

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 REFERENCES

1. Addison, H. 1995. Centrifugal and Other

Rotordynamic Pumps, 2nd ed. Chapman & Hall:
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2. Alan, M. 1979. Engineering Fluid Mechanics.

McGraw-Hill Int. Book Co.: Auckland, New
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3. Budynas−Nisbett. 2006. Shigley’s Mechanical

Engineering Design. 8th Edition. McGraw−Hill
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4. Csanady, G.T. 1964. Theory of Turbomahines.

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Figure 10: Test of Convergence through 5. Dryden, I.G.C. 1982. The Efficient Use of
maximum Von Mises with P-Loop. Energy. Butterworth: Surrey, England.

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Butterworth: London, England.

7. Edward, H.S. 1995. Mechanical Engineers

Reference Book, 12th Edition. The Bath Press:
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8. Oyelami, A.T. and Adejuyigbe, S.B. 2006. “The

Design of a Radiation-Recuperative Heat
Exchanger for a 200kg Capacity Rotary Furnace”.
AU J.T. 10:100-4.

9. Tuton, R.K. 1984. Principles of Turbo-Machinery.

S & FN Spon: London, UK.

10. Von Cube, H.L. and Steimle, F. 1981. Heat Pump

Technology. Butterworth: London, UK.

11. http://www.engineeringpage.com (2005)

12. http://www.fanair.com (2006)

13. http://www.flowmetric.com/products/ (2006)

Figure 11: Strain Energy along the Length of the SUGGESTED CITATION
Vane.
Oyelami, A.T., S.B. Adejuyigbe, M.A. Waheed,
A.K. Ogunkoya, and D. Iliya. 2012. “Analysis of
The level of convergence of results obtained from Radial-Flow Impellers of Different Configurations”.
the failure analyses equally indicate the reliability Pacific Journal of Science and Technology.
of the results that the impeller will not fail in 13(1):24-33.
service. Therefore, the data obtained can serve
as a tool in selecting blower design type for Pacific Journal of Science and Technology
different applications. The qualitative and
quantitative analyses have also shown that
backward curved vanes have the best
performance cum efficiency in industrial blowers
applications.

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