The air moving capacity of a transverse-inlet multiple-disk fan has been measured experimentally and the results successfully collapsed with a simple scaling law. The disk fan studied was an array of several hundred closely spaced plastic disks that rotated about a common axis inside an approximately semicylindrical housing. A splitter plate lying parallel to the axis of rotation and tangent to the disks separated the inflow and outflow streams. The volume flow rate of air per unit length along the axis of rotation was measured using standard LDV techniques. For disk spacings greater than 1 mm, the volume flow rate was found to be essentially proportional to , where ω = radian rotation rate of the disks, h = disk spacing, and R = disk radius. This scaling law was derived from a simple force balance for a small fluid element moving between rotating disks. The Reynolds number of the experiments, , was varied from 2 × 102 to 103. In addition, the air-moving capability of the disk fan was found to be nearly independent of the geometrical placement of the rotating disks within the fan housing.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
December 1996
Technical Briefs
Volume Flow-Rate Measurements and Scaling Laws for a Transverse-Inlet Multiple-Disk Fan
M. G. Schlutt,
M. G. Schlutt
Whirlpool Research and Engineering, Monte Road, Benton Harbor, MI 49022
Search for other works by this author on:
D. R. Dowling
D. R. Dowling
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Search for other works by this author on:
M. G. Schlutt
Whirlpool Research and Engineering, Monte Road, Benton Harbor, MI 49022
D. R. Dowling
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
J. Fluids Eng. Dec 1996, 118(4): 857-860 (4 pages)
Published Online: December 1, 1996
Article history
Received:
January 15, 1996
Revised:
August 21, 1996
Online:
January 22, 2008
Citation
Schlutt, M. G., and Dowling, D. R. (December 1, 1996). "Volume Flow-Rate Measurements and Scaling Laws for a Transverse-Inlet Multiple-Disk Fan." ASME. J. Fluids Eng. December 1996; 118(4): 857–860. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2835520
Download citation file:
12
Views
Get Email Alerts
Cited By
Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Rake on a Bluff Body Equipped With a Diffuser
J. Fluids Eng (April 2025)
Related Articles
Preswirl Blade-Cooling Effectiveness in an Adiabatic Rotor–Stator System
J. Turbomach (October,1989)
Laminar Flow Over an Enclosed Rotating Disk
Trans. ASME (February,1958)
Theoretical Investigation on Inflow Between Two Rotating Disks
J. Fluids Eng (November,2017)
Flow Phenomena of Partially Enclosed Rotating Disks
J. Basic Eng (September,1960)
Related Chapters
Introduction
Turbine Aerodynamics: Axial-Flow and Radial-Flow Turbine Design and Analysis
Nonlinear Analysis of a Tapered Disk Thermal Fatigue Specimen
Thermal Fatigue of Materials and Components
Pulsating Supercavities: Occurrence and Behavior
Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Cavitation (CAV2018)