Effects of Fan Blade Forward-Swept and Inclined Amounts in Electric Motors

This paper studies the effects of blades' forward-swept amount in the rotation direction and forward-inclined amount in the intake direction on the flow around the fan blades of a large open-type motor. The authors have previously clarified this flow separation on the blade surface under high ventilation resistance from flow analysis and visualization experiments. To prevent flow separation, they proposed forward-swept and inclined blades, together with reduction of the air path's ventilation resistance. In this study, numerical fluid analyses were performed on the flow around forward-swept and inclined blades of axial fans for large open-type motors. Several combinations of forward-swept and inclined amounts were studied. The relationship between forward-swept and inclined amounts and flow was evaluated quantitatively, and an ideal combination was obtained. The study revealed that an axial fan with this combination showed much higher flow rate than a conventional fan without forward-swept and inclined blades. Furthermore, it significantly decreased fluid noise and axis power.