Experimental Investigation on Ducted Counter-Rotating Axial Flow Fans

An experimental study on counter-rotating axial-flow fans was carried out. The fans of diameter D = 375 mm were designed using an inverse method. The counter-rotating fans operate in a ducted-flow configuration and the overall performances are measured in a normalized test bench. The rotation rate of each fan is independently controlled. The axial spacing between the fans can vary from 10 to 50 mm by steps of 10 mm. The results show that the efficiency is strongly increased compared to a conventional rotor or to a rotor-stator stage. The effects of varying the rotation rates ratio on the overall performances are studied and show that the system is highly efficient on a wide range of flow-rates and pressure rises. However, the change of the axial distance between rotors from 10 to 50 mm does not seem to change the overall performances. This system has thus a very flexible use, with a large patch of high efficient operating points in the parameter space. Further local studies including velocity measurements and wall-pressure fluctuations in the space between the rotors are needed to better understand the interactions between the rotors and to optimize the system.