EVG Development of a one-Megawatt centrifugal fan
Actiflow is EVG’s knowledge partner, in the past years we have worked together for a series of large fans and its applications
The EVG Group is a German company with more than 40 years of experience in the development and the production of ventilation systems and large industrial fans. EVG develops individual solutions for its customers, which are then built in small series, or even one-off projects.
Actiflow is knowledge partner of EVG, so we cooperated in several projects in which we modified existing fan designs for very specific applications. Special applications require tailored solutions. In some cases, only the design of the fan housing must be changed, but sometimes also the fan design needs to be modified to cope with the operational conditions requested by the end user.
In this project, Actiflow worked on the design of a one-Megawatt centrifugal fan. These fans, of a diameter of 3 meters and more, are designed on the limits of material properties of steel. For an increase of performance or efficiency scaling the fan up is no longer an option as it would succumb to its centrifugal forces. Reinforcing the blades with more material only worsen this problem. Solving these problems require a thorough integration of aerodynamics and structures.
We usually start with a simulation of an existing fan, to identify the areas in which the fan/housing design needs to be modified to achieve a certain working point. Then, step by step, modifications are drawn up, the practical feasibility of the proposed modifications is checked with EVG, and the effect of the modifications is evaluated by new flow simulations. At the same time, we involve FEM simulations to monitor the strength and stiffness of the fan blades during the iterations. The result of every design iteration gives us new insights and ideas to finally reach a new design of the fan and/or housing that meets the requirements.
