Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Blades Effect on Aerodynamic Performance of Small Axial Flow Fan

To explore the effect of blade numbers on aerodynamic performance and noise of small axial flow fan, the steady flow field and the unsteady flow field of fan models with 6 different blade numbers (such as 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15) are numerically calculated. Then the internal flow distribution, static characteristic and aerodynamic noise are analyzed among six different fan models. The analysis results show: (1)Total pressure and efficiency generally maintain the trend of first increasing and then decreasing with increasing blade numbers, and it is the maximum when fan blade number is 11. The flow rate coupled with the maximum efficiency has never changed with increasing the blade numbers. (2)With increasing blade numbers, overall sound pressure level of the aerodynamic noise is gradually decreasing near the outlet of fan tip, while it is first decreasing and then increasing before decreasing again at 1 meter away from the central axis of the impeller along the outlet. When fan blade number is 11, overall sound pressure level of the aerodynamic noise is the greatest. Furthermore, the aerodynamic performance tests of fan models with 6 different blade numbers are carried out, the results of between the tests and the numerical calculations are roughly consistent. The research results will provide the proof of the parameter optimization and the structure design for high performance and low noise small axial fans.