Numerical study on the effect of the tip clearance of a 100 HP axial fan on the aerodynamic performance and unsteady stall characteristics

In this study, a numerical analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of the tip clearance on the aerodynamic performance, internal flow characteristics, and stall region characteristics of an axial fan. Three-dimensional steady and unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) calculations were conducted with a shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model. Tip clearance ratios of 0, 0.01, and 0.02 were applied to the impeller. As the tip clearance ratio increased, the aerodynamic performance of the axial fan decreased at both the design and the off-design conditions. The correlation between the tip leakage vortex (TLV) and the flow angle of the velocity triangle was presented for the difference in the tip clearance and flow rate. As the flow rate increased, the differences in the aerodynamic performance induced by the tip clearance ratio decreased. As the tip clearance ratio increased, the size of the TLV increased and gradually moved in the circumferential direction to interfere with the main flow at the low flow rate. Meanwhile, the size of the TLV was similar and gradually moved in the axial direction even if the tip clearance ratio increased at the high flow rate. The pressure fluctuations were observed by the fast Fourier transformation (FFT) analysis to compare and analyze internal flow characteristics at the stall region and design point. The static pressure was converted to the appropriate magnitude. The locations of the highest magnitude were shown to be different at the stall region and the design point, respectively.