Application of Airfoil Impeller for Enhancement of Aerodynamic Performance of High Speed Centrifugal Fan

This paper presents the application of airfoil impeller for enhancement of aerodynamic performance of a high speed centrifugal fan. Three airfoil impellers are proposed, considering the maximum thickness and the location of maximum thickness of the airfoil. C4 airfoil thickness distribution is applied to the three airfoil impellers. The impellers are evaluated using CFD (computational fluid dynamics) and suction power test. From the results, it is confirmed that flow separations on the pressure side of the impeller blades and the pressure side of diffuser blades are reduced when airfoil blade is applied to the impellers. It is also confirmed that with the centrifugal fan having airfoil impellers, there is an increase in fan efficiency by approximately 3% and reduction in specific sound level by approximately 1.3 dB(A).