How Do Industrial Exhaust Fans Work?

Industrial fans, also referred to as blowers, are large-scale fans used to supply high amounts of air flow or gas flow to a building or other structure. The term blower refers to any fan in which the resistance to the flow is primarily on the downstream side of the fan. Similar to a common house fan, industrial fans comprise blades, a hub and shaft, and a motor or turbine; however, they reach much higher flow rates, ranging from 200 cubic feet to an impressive 2 million cubic feet per minute. Specifically, industrial exhaust fans are a relatively inexpensive, medium-duty, steeply inclined flat-bladed option for exhausting gasses. For your better knowledge of exhaust fans and other fans used for industrial applications, this blog will explore the blowers available on the market and the components that comprise a reliable industrial fan.

Much can be accomplished with the air flow generated by industrial fans, including uses like combustion, ventilation, aeration, and many more. Due to their versatility, industrial fans are used across a myriad of industries, some of which include power production, metal manufacturing, and cryogenics. While there are various uses for industrial fans, most can be placed in one of two categories: centrifugal fans or axial fans. The characteristic differentiating the two designs is the method they use to produce movement. While the former uses centrifugal force to rotate blades that are mounted at right angles to a rotating disk, the latter uses axial force to spin blades that extend radially from its outer diameter. Regardless of build, both accomplish the movement of air and gas. If you are in the market specifically for industrial exhaust fans, these will be found in the form of centrifugal fans.

Industrial fans of either category can be further specified in design to function best for particular applications. For basic use or average size requirements, one might procure a pre-engineered design with a diameter of around 4 feet; however, if the application involves more complex specifications or a larger fan, then a design based on an existing model configuration will often satisfy the requirements. Despite this, sometimes fans must be custom built. Regardless of configuration, all fans must be accurately engineered to meet the demands of the user with an ideal balance of flow and pressure. Furthermore, the design of the fan should take into account any chemicals the fan will be exposed to or other extreme environments it might face. Usually, when industrial fans are built, computer modeling programs are used like computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA). Then, most are subject to laboratory scale model testing.

Regardless of the design of the fan, all industrial fans can be controlled by a variable speed driver, that of which allows the user to control the rate of flow. A speed driver will save large amounts of power as it can be used to lower speeds when parts of operation require reduced flow operations. One might also employ an industrial damper to moderate the flow of an industrial fan, but this method is typically less smooth and less efficient.

When you are looking to purchase an exhaust fan, Industrial Automation Parts is your trusted supplier of parts from leading industrial fan manufacturers like Air King, Panasonic, and Broan. Owned and operated by ASAP Semiconductor, we invite you to browse our ever-expanding inventory of new, used, obsolete, and hard-to-find items until you find a part you wish to procure. Then, simply submit a Request for Quote form to receive a custom quotation for your comparisons within 15 minutes or less. To learn more about our services, contact us at any time via phone or email; we are available to help 24/7x365!