Stability of multiple fans in mine ventilation networks

In large mines,single fan is usually not enough to ventilate all the working areas.Single mine-fan approach cannot be directly applied to multiple-fan networks because the present of multiple pressures and air quantities associated with each fan in the network.Accordingly,each fan in a multiple-fan system has its own mine characteristic curve,or a subsystem curve.Under some consideration,the conventional concept of a mine characteristic curve of a single-fan system can be directly extended to that of a particular fan within a multiple-fan system.In this paper the mutual effect of the fans on each other and their effect on the stability of the ventilation network were investigated by Hardy Cross algorithm combined with a switching-parameters technique.To show the validity and reliability of this algorithm,the stability of the ventilation system of Abu-Tartur Mine(one of the largest underground mine in Egypt)has been studied.

Causes of Odor in Kitchens,Bathrooms,and Toilets of Multi-story Residential Apartments with Natural Ventilation

The causes of an offensive odor in the kitchens,bathrooms,and toilets of residential apartments in multi-story buildings with natural ventilation in Tomsk,Russia,are discussed in this paper.This problem exists in other cities and countries.Wall electric fans can be installed in ventilation grills in kitchens,bathrooms,and toilets of apartments in multi-story residential buildings.Typically,these fans turn on with the light in the bathroom or toilet,so the problem is periodic.Forced airflow from a fan in one apartment disrupts the natural outflow of air in the ventilation system of a residential building designed and built according to building codes and regulations and can cause an unpleasant smell in neighboring apartments.In many cases,it is difficult to determine which apartments have fans and force the neighbors to remove them.Locally,on the scale of one apartment,the problem is solved by installing an air check valve in the ventilation grill,which will block the nuisance airflow from the ventilation system into the bathroom.Globally,the problem is solved by modification and subsequent compliance with building codes and regulations,the implementation of which is controlled by local authorities.

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF TIP CLEARANCE FLOW FOR AN AXIAL FLOW FAN ROTOR

The flow field in the tip region of an axial ventilation fan is investigated with a particle image velocimeter （PIV） system at the design condition. Flow fields with three different tip clearances are surveyed on three different circumferential planes, respectively. The phase-locked average method is used to investigate the generation and the development of a tip leakage vortex. The result from PIV system is compared with that from a particle dynamics anemometer（PDA） system. Both data are in good agreement and the structure of the tip leakage vortex for the rotor is illustrated. The characteristic of a leakage vortex is described in both velocity vectors and vortical contours. The unsteadiness of the leakage vortex and the position of the vortex are surveyed in detail, which interprets the discrepancy between the numerical simulation and PDA experimental results to a certain extent. The center loci of tip leakage vortex at different times and the mean center loci of the leakage vortex are displayed particularly. Finally, the trajectories of the tip leakage vortex by the experimental measurement are compared with predictions from the existing models for high speed and high-pressure compressors and turbines when appropriately interpreted. A good agreement is obtained.

PLAIN CASCADE RESEARCH ON A REVERSIBLE COMBINED BLADE

A new type fully reversible combined blade is presented, which can fully reverse airflow during the inverse ventilation by simply reversion. It is suitable for reversible axial flow fans used in tunnel and mine ventilation. The optimal parameters such as overlap ratio and pitch ratio are determined through cascade experiment. Experiment results also show a big promotion of maximum lift coefficient C1,max and stall attack angle a1,max compared to the existing bi-directional symmetry airfoils.

Characterization of ventilation fans as sources of structure-borne sound

An experimental study for the characterization of ventilation fans as sources of structure-borne sound has been carried out. A source descriptor is proposed which is proportional to power and involves both the free velocity and the source mobility at the contact point. The measurement methods for the free velocity and the source mobility for three degrees of freedom are presented and the estimation of the source descriptor is demonstrated. A comparison of force excitation source descriptors and moment excitation source descriptors has been made and the results indicate that both force descriptor and moment descriptor decrease with increased frequency but the moment descriptor decreases more slowly. Moment induced emission may predominate at high frequencies.

Mechanical and natural ventilation systems in a greenhouse designed using computational fluid dynamics

The aim of this study was to analyse air exchange and temperature distribution in a greenhouse with combined mechanical and natural ventilation and to design more efficient mechanical ventilation systems.For this purpose,a computational fluid dynamics(CFD)model of the greenhouse was used.Three configurations were considered:Configuration 1(mechanical ventilation and closed roof ventilators),Configurations 2 and 3(mechanical ventilation and roof ventilators open 30%and 100%,respectively).After validation,the CFD model was used to improve the design of the greenhouse mechanical ventilation system in each of the three configurations analyzed.Four greenhouse lengths,28 m,50 m,75 m and 100 m,were used in the simulations.Compared to fan ventilation only,roof ventilation improved the climate of fan-ventilated greenhouses in terms of the air exchange rate(22%)and climate uniformity because the internal air was mixed better than with mechanical ventilation only.As the greenhouse length increased,more advantages were achieved with natural ventilation compared to mechanical ventilation.For most configurations,there was a strong linear correlation between temperature gradient and greenhouse length.The greenhouse whose regression line had the steepest slope was the one with closed roof ventilators.Increasing the fan capacity produced a general reduction in temperature,but the effect was less intense for the greenhouses with open roof ventilators.Compared to box inlet ventilators,an enlarged continuous inlet in the wall opposite the fans increased overall system performance because it eliminated backflow recirculation zones,which are prone to produce high temperatures.