Blower POC Final - DG

Final Year Undergraduate Student Project, 2008
Active Separation Control in a Radial Blower:

Proof of Concept
Guy Arzuan
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
Advisor: Dr. David Greenblatt
Abstract
This project was undertaken as a proof-of-concept study for active separation control in a
radial blower. Experiments were performed on a modified 0.5kW radial blower, where
acoustic perturbations were introduced into the impeller housing of fully stalled blades.
Increases in plenum pressure of up to 40% were achieved and, based on tuft-based flow
visualization, it was concluded that the pressure increases were brought about due to
excitation and deflection of the leading-edge separated shear layer. Optimum dimensionless
control frequencies were found to be O(0.5), irrespective of the blade orientation or number
of blades. Equally important, the maximum control effect (pressure rise) was achieved at
only 2% of the fan input power. Backward bladed impeller blades exhibited slightly larger
increases in pressure coefficients due to their being fully stalled at zero flowrate conditions.
The dependence of blower performance on reduced frequency was remarkably similar to
that seen on airfoils at similar Reynolds numbers under periodic excitation. To the best of
our knowledge, these data are the first and only demonstration of shear layer or separation
control on the blades of a rotating machine.
Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Objective & Scope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3. Experimental Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4. Governing parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5. Experimental Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
6. Discussion of Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
6.1 Effect of Actuator Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
6.2 Effect of Reduced Frequencies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
6.3 Flow Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
6.4 Error estimation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
7. Main Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Appendix A - Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1. Introduction
It has been known for several decades that flow separation from solid surfaces can be
controlled by the introduction of periodic perturbations. Initial demonstrations were made
on airfoils by introducing acoustic signals into the test sections of wind tunnels. This was
typically achieved using conventional loud speakers or specialized acoustic drivers.
Typically, significant post-stall lift coefficient increases are observed on airfoils, as much
as 50% of the post stall lift coefficient value. Two basic mechanisms were identified for lift
enhancement: forcing of laminar-turbulent transition; and direct control of separation (see
Greenblatt & Wygnanski, 2000). In recent years, investigators have dispensed with acoustic
drivers and prefer to use actuators that are mounted on the airfoil or wing itself. This
approach is far more effective and efficient because the perturbations can be applied only
where they are needed and much larger hydrodynamic perturbations are possible with a
much smaller power input. Common methods of actuation include surface mounted
actuators and zero mass-flux blowing. An extensive review of modern techniques can be
found in Greenblatt & Wygnanski, 2000. In recent years perturbations have been
introduced by means of surface-mounted plasma actuators (e.g. Corke et al, 2008). They
are light and easy to affix to an aerodynamic surface, but their momentum production
seems somewhat limited.
Despite the rapid increase in active separation control studies, coupled with advances in
actuation, control of separation on rotating machinery has received very little attention.
This is surprising because blade stall is a major factor leading to reduced efficiency,
vibrations, damage and noise. Moreover, fans and blowers consume approximately 20% of
the total energy in the European Union and in the US (e.g. Cory, 2004). It is therefore clear
that effective control of blade stall would impact dramatically on performance, leading to
potential large energy savings. In the context of rotating machinery, all studies appear to be
confined to stationary simulated turbomachinery flows (e.g. Hultgren & Ashpis, 2003;
Ramakumar & Jacob, 2007). In fact, active separation control on turbine blades invariably
involves a simulated static pressure gradient or studies performed in a linear cascade. This
is because considerable technical difficulties are encountered when attempting to apply
active control on rotating fan blades. Firstly, it is difficult to establish, a priori, where to
place actuators on the blades when very little is known about the nature of stall. Secondly,
the implementation of actuators would require either electrical or pneumatic modification
to the blading system. Thirdly, the actuators themselves would be subjected to significant
centrifugal forces.
2. Objectives & Scope
The global objective of this study was to assess the viability of separation control on the
blades of a radial blower. A radial blower was selected because the flow is known to be
partially stalled specific blade configuration throughout their operational envelope. The
specific objectives were:
2
1. To select a small commercial blower on which to conduct the experiments. The

main requirement was that the impeller could be replaced.
2. To design and construct a new impeller with a variable set of blades, thereby
allowing adjustment for a large number of configurations.
3. To assess the separation control potential of the configuration by introducing
periodic acoustic perturbations into the impeller housing. The increase in the blower
plenum pressure was used to assess the separation control potential.
3. Experimental Setup
In order to fulfill the first objective, a 500-Watt commercial squirrel-cage-type blower was
acquired (see fig. 1; courtesy Danciger Laboratories, Technion), where the blower back-
plate and squirrel-cage impeller could be removed, albeit with some difficulty.
Fig. 1: The O.ERRE 500-Watt commercial squirrel-cage-type used in this study
Once the original squirrel cage impeller was removed new back-plate and impeller were
designed. The Impeller was designed to be flexible with the option of either 2-bladed or 4-
bladed configurations. Furthermore, the blades could be deployed in backward bladed
configurations and forward bladed configurations form –45° to +45° in steps of 15°. A
schematic of the conceptual design is shown in fig. 2a and a photograph of the final 4-
bladed configuration, installed in the blower, is shown in fig. 2b.
3
Fig. 2a: CAD assembly of the four-bladed configuration and mounting; preliminary
design.
Fig. 2b: The final 4 bladed configuration is installed in the blower case.
In order to enforce separated flow at the blade leading-edges (innermost part of the
impeller), the blades were constructed from thin (2mm thick) plates. In addition, the blades
were not curved in any way in order to eliminate the effects of curvature for the purposes of
the pilot study. A grating and photovoltaic diode were attached to the motor shaft in order
to measure rpm. The output was attached to a frequency counter. The blower was attached
to a variable transformer and the supply voltage (Vac) and current (Iac) were monitored.
Power supplied to the blower was calculated according to the relation: Wb =Vac Iac.
4
A plenum, constructed from wood, was bolted onto the outlet of the blower. The plenum
was equipped with four circumferentially distributed static pressure ports, was constructed
and attached to the blower outlet. A fine wire mesh was located between the outlet and
plenum to equilibrate the plenum pressure. A side view schematic of this assembly is
shown in fig. 3.
blower housing
wire mesh
flange location
plenum
acoustic
speaker
impeller
pressure
ports
Fig. 3. A schematic of the experimental setup, showing the blower, plemum and
speaker.
The pressure ports were joined and connected to an inclined alcohol-based U-tube
manometer, measuring the plenum pressure pp. The manometer was referenced to the
atmospheric pressure p and hence a standard pressure coefficient:
pp p
CP (1)
1
2 ( b Ri ) 2
was defined, where is the air density, b is the rotational frequency (c.f. rpm) of the
impeller blades 2 fb and Ri is the impeller inner radius.
A 100mm circular hole was drilled into the downstream end of the plenum and a 60 Watt-
rated “woofer” acoustic speaker was placed over the hole (see Fig.4).
5
Fig. 4: A photograph of the “woofer” acoustic speaker at the end of the plenum.
A function generator and amplifier were used to drive the speaker at frequencies ranging
between 20Hz to 200Hz. The excitation voltage supplied to the speaker (Ve) was measured
using a hand-held digital voltmeter; the speaker impedance Z was measured directly and
thus the excitation power was calculated using We Ve2 / Z . Based on this calculation,
power inputs were limited to 40-watts to avoid damaging the speaker. Thus the blower
blades were driven in a fully stalled state, while simultaneously periodic perturbations were
introduced in an attempt to control stall. No integer relationship, and hence no phase
relationship, was enforced between the blower frequency and speaker excitation
frequencies. Initial experiments showed that, for a wide range of speaker frequencies, the
pressure within the plenum corresponding to the stalled fan blades increased with
increasing speaker power input. Following this a detailed systematic parametric study was
conducted, and this is described in section 5. The maximum sound level in the plenum was
recorded using a calibrated microphone at 123 dB.
4. Governing parameters
The main parameter governing the control of separation from a stationary airfoil or blade in
a two-dimensional flow is the dimensionless frequency:
fe X
F (2)
U
where fe is the excitation (or forcing) frequency, X is the distance from the position of
actuation to the trailing-edge of the wing or blade (here blade chord) and U is the free-
stream velocity. A wide range of different investigation indicate that the reduced frequency
6
which produces the largest improvements lift coefficient CL are mainly in the approximate
range 0.3 Fopt 2 . For separation control on flat plates at low Reynolds numbers with
leading-edge separation, the optimum reduced frequency is Fopt ~ 0.5 .
In the case of blades within a radial blower, the characteristic velocity is a vector
combination of the rotation speed bRi and the flowrate through the blades Q/A, where Q is
the volumetric flowrate through the blower and A is the blower outlet area. For the purposes
of this investigation, as shown in the previous section, we enforced the conditions of zero
flow rate (Q=0) and hence equation (2) can be written:
fe X X
F f* (3)
b Ri 2 Ri
where
f* fe / fb (4)
is the excitation to fan-blade frequency ratio.
5. Experimental Method
Following initial observations described in section 3, a systematic parametric study was

carried out in the following manner:
1. Fan blades were set in a 45° backward-bladed configuration.
2. The fan was driven using a variable transformer at its design speed, namely fb=2760rpm
( b=289 rad/s).
3. Voltage (Vac) and current (Iac) supplied to blower were recorded.
4. Using equation (3), a speaker excitation frequency fe was selected, corresponding to a
value in the reduced frequency range 0.3 F 2.
5. At this frequency, the power supplied to the speaker was gradually increased from zero
until 40Watts (rms). This was ascertained from a direct voltage measurement described
above.
6. Steps 1 to 3 were repeated for a different frequencies in the range described in item 4
above.
7. Full selected experiments were repeated for the following conditions:
Blower rotation speed fb=1680rpm.
Two impeller blades instead of four.
Fan blades were set in a 30° forward-bladed.
8. Tuft-based flow-visualization was carried out using a high-speed camera. This is
described in section 6.6 below.
9. Additional experiments were performed for a wide range of perturbation frequencies,
and these are discussed in sections 6.2.
7
6. Discussion of Results
6.1 Effect of Actuator Power
Based on the procedure described in items 1-6 above, the plenum pressure was considered
as a function of power supplied to the speaker. Fig. 5 shows the controlled pressure
coefficient as a function of the speaker excitation power for a range of relevant reduced
frequencies, defined in equations 3 and 4. All data show the same basic trend: namely that
the plenum pressure increases with increasing excitation power and then saturates. The
maximum overall pressure rise is approximately 40% and occurs at reduced frequencies in
the range 0.33 F 0.59 . At lower frequencies and higher frequencies, lower plenum
pressure increases are observed.
45° backward-bladed impeller

3
Cp
2 F+=0.25
F+=0.33
F+=0.42
F+=0.59
1 F+=0.75
F+=0.68
F+=0.91
F+=1.08
0
0 10 20 30 40
excitation power (watts)
Fig. 5: Plenum pressure coefficient as a function of actuator excitation power input
for a backward-bladed impeller; rotational speed = 2760rpm.
In order to gain a clearer perspective on the relative pressure rise and the relative speaker
power, the same pressure data is shown where pressure change, namely
Cp Cp(controlled)–Cp(uncontrolled) is plotted as a function of the relative actuator power,
i.e. the We / Wb (see fig. 6). The graph shows that the 40% pressure rise due to control is
achieved with an increase of only 2% of the fan power input. For the present case, the
8
flowrate Q is zero and hence the air power is also zero. However, for small Q similar
results may be expected and hence the air power pQ will also increase by 40% with an
increase in actuator power of only 2%. Moreover, because the actuator power is so low, the
overall fan efficiency will also show approximately 40% improvement, where overall fan
efficiency is defined as:
air power pQ
measured fan power actuator power Vac I ac Ve2 / Z
At larger Q no clear conclusions can be anticipated regarding the pressure increase because
it is not clear how excitation will affect the flowfield at a different operating point.
Nevertheless, the significant increase in fan pressure under fully stalled conditions as
presented here is very encouraging.
The possibility that the pressure rise was caused by an acoustic standing wave was ruled
out due to the fact that the acoustic wavelength =a/fe was always very much larger than
the largest blower dimension. Nevertheless, data was acquired for the entire excitation
frequency range with no fan rotation, and no measurable effect was observed on the plenum
pressure.
1
45° backward-bladed impeller F+=0.25
F+=0.33
0.8 F+=0.42
F+=0.59
∆Cp F+=0.75
F+=0.68
0.6 F+=0.91
F+=1.08
0.4
0.2
0
0 2 4 6 8
relative power (%)
Fig. 6: Change in the plenum pressure coefficient as a function of the relative actuator
excitation power input We / Wb for a backward-bladed impeller; rotational speed =
2760rpm.
9
The identical procedure was followed for the impeller blades oriented in a 30° forward-
bladed configuration and the data are shown in figs. 7 and 8. The overall trends are similar
with some relatively minor differences. The forward bladed configuration achieves a lower
maximum plenum pressure without control and when control is applied the plenum
pressure increase is smaller. The net result therefore is a similar percentage increase,
namely 40%. The differences in pressure rise can be seen by comparing the stall
mechanism of backward- and forward-bladed impellers (fig. 9). All “operating points”
enforced in this experiment is for (Q=0), corresponding the data points intersecting the
pressure axis. We notice that as Q decreases from its maximum, the forward-facing blades
stall visibly and then pressure begins to rise again as Q 0. The backward-facing blades
exhibit a much gentler stall with pressure continuously decreasing as Q 0. In the former
case the flow attaches partially to the blades while in the latter case the flow becomes more
separated. Hence when perturbations are introduced, as was performed in this investigation,
the more separated flow shows the largest gain in pressure as the effect on the separated
shear layer is largest. Conversely, the less separated shear layer shows a smaller increment.
It should be expected, however, that at intermediate Q the effect of perturbations will be
greatest on the forward-facing blades in the vicinity of the onset of stall. This could be the
subject of a further investigation of this work.
30° forward-bladed impeller

3
Cp
2
F+=0.24
F+=0.41
1 F+=0.57
F+=0.73
F+=0.89
F+=1.06
0
0 10 20 30
power (watts)
Fig. 7: Plenum pressure coefficient as a function of actuator excitation power input
for a forward-bladed impeller; rotational speed = 2760rpm.
10
1
30° forward-bladed impeller F+=0.24
F+=0.41
0.8
F+=0.57
∆Cp F+=0.73
0.6 F+=0.89
F+=1.06
0.4
0.2
0
0 2 4 6 8
relative power (%)
Fig. 8: Change in the plenum pressure coefficient as a function of the relative actuator
excitation power input We / Wb for a forward-bladed impeller; rotational speed =
2760rpm.
11
Fig. 9: Measured blower characteristics fir forward and backward bladed impellers –
arbitrary linear units (from ????) .
6.2 Effect of Reduced Frequencies
Based on the above results, additional data was acquired for a range of perturbation
frequencies corresponding to 0.2 F 2 . At each frequency, the saturation pressure was
acquired, i.e. the pressure at which no further increases are observed with additional
speaker power. Changes in the pressure coefficient as a function of reduced frequency for
the backward bladed impeller at two fan speeds is shown in fig. 10. The data indicate that
there is clearly an optimum frequency in the approximate range 0.3 F 0.6 and that this
frequency is independent of the fan speed. At higher frequencies, a reduction on pressure is
observed for F+>1 at the lower fan speed.
12
Fan speed
0.8
1680 rpm
∆Cp
2800 rpm
0.4
-0.4
0 0.5 1 F+ 1.5 2
Fig. 10: Pressure coefficient rise as a function of reduced frequency for the backward-
bladed impeller at two different fan speeds.
The identical experiment was performed, but this time with the forward-bladed
configuration at the maxim rpm and the data are shown, together with the backward bladed
impeller, in fig. 11. The dependence of the pressure coefficient on reduced frequency is
similar but seems to exhibit a sharper peak at F+~0.4. Nevertheless, the data for F+>0.7 is
almost indistinguishable, within experimental uncertainty, for the backward and forward
bladed configurations. The figure also shows data acquired with only two blades. In general
the pressure rise is slightly smaller, but the over trend as a function of reduced frequency is
similar. This suggests that the pressure increases are not dependent on the internal geometry
of the blower impeller, but rather that the perturbations are interacting with the shear layer
over the blades. Evidence of this is presented in section 6.3 below.
13
30° forward blades

0.8 45° backward blades
∆Cp 30° forward blades (2 blades)
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 F+ 2
Fig. 11: Pressure coefficient rise as a function of reduced frequency for the backward-
bladed and forward bladed impellers at 2760 rpm.
It is instructive to compare the pressure rise of the blower with the pressure difference (lift)
across a flat plate airfoil (two-dimensional section) of the same geometry as the impeller
blades. Airfoil data acquired by Greenblatt et al (2008) indicating lift coefficient as a
function of reduced frequency is shown in fig. 12 and selected corresponding smoke-based
flow visualization is shown in fig. 13. In this instance perturbations were supplied at the
leading-edge of the airfoil by means of a plasma-based body-force. Notwithstanding the
different methods of perturbation, the similarities between the pressure rise (figs. 10 and
11) with the lift coefficient increase (fig. 12) are remarkably similar, with both showing an
optimum around F+~0.5.
0.5
=20°, Re=6,000, <Cµ>~0.5%
0.4 =20°, Re=9,000, <Cµ>~0.2%
∆Cl =20°, Re=20,000
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 0.5 1 + 1.5 2
F
Fig. 12: Flat plate airfoil lift data as a function of reduced excitation frequency.
Perturbations are supplied by plasma-based actuators at the airfoil leading-edge
(Greenblatt et al, 2008).
14
(a) Baseline
(b) F+=0.42
(c) F+=2.1
Fig. 13: Flat plate airfoil flow visualization for the baseline case and two reduced
excitation frequencies. Perturbations are supplied by plasma-based actuators at the
airfoil leading-edge (Greenblatt et al, 2008).
Fan speed
0.8
1680 rpm
∆Cp
2800 rpm
0.4
-0.4
0 1 2 3 * 4 5
f
Fig. 14: Pressure coefficient rise as a function of frequency ratio for the backward-
bladed impeller at two rotational speeds.
15
It is evident from equation (3) that the reduced excitation frequency F+ and the
dimensionless frequency f * f e / f b are linearly related by the factor X/2 Ri. The data
plotted on this basis are shown in fig. 14. It is evident, therefore, that for a given blower
geometry an optimum physical excitation frequency can be established that is only a
function of the rotation speed. This result is important as it could be used to establish a
relatively simple feed-forward control loop in order to maximize blower pressure. A
feedback loop could also be introduced to automate the system fully.
6.3 Flow Visualization
As mentioned in the previous section, it was believed that the measured increases in
plenum pressure were due to excitation of the separated shear layer over the leading-edges
of the blades. In order to investigate this, 1.5cm long cotton tufts were glued to two
opposite blade leading-edges (see the locations of tufts 1-3 in fig. 15). The fan was run at
2760 rpm and filmed under two conditions: (1) no excitation frequency introduced
(baseline case) and (2) a control frequency of 70Hz corresponding to F+=0.6 introduced
(controlled case). The leading-edge region of the blades was then filmed for both cases with
a high speed digital camera (4kH), that was triggered by the photovoltaic diode attached to
the motor shaft (described in section 3). A white triangle was placed on the impeller back-
plate to indicate the relative position for comparisons.
Fig. 15: A CAD rendering of the impeller showing the location of the cotton tufts.
Eight representative phases of the rotation are shown in figs. 16-23. Initial observations
indicated that the phase-dependent tuft direction was significantly affected by the
perturbations. Before describing the effects it is important to note that the blades tested here
16
are essentially low aspect ratio semispan wings and not two dimensional airfoils. In
stationary flows over low aspect ratio wings, only the inboard close to the wall can be
considered quasi-two-dimensional. In such cases control deflects the shear layer closer to
the wall. For the present experiments, this corresponds to the impeller back-plate. On
stationary low aspect ratio wings, the tip flow is dominated by a strong vortex. The vortex
strengthens when control perturbations are introduced (see Greenblatt & Washburn, 2008).
It should be appreciated that the present flowfield is more complex due to rotation of the
blades and because the blades are in a fully separated state.
It is convenient to discuss the first three phases together (figs. 16-18) as the show a similar
tuft behavior. Here we initially consider tuft furthest inboard (number 3– yellow highlight)
in order to obtain a qualitative sense of the effect of control. A visual comparison of the
baseline and controlled cases shows that the tuft is deflected closer to the wall by the
perturbations. The inherent stiffness of the thread does not allow it to bend fully in the
direction of the flow, but the observed deflection indicates that, in a mean sense, the flow
must be deflected closer to the wall. In contrast, the tuft located close to the tip is deflected
further from the surface, while the midspan tuft shows no meaningful change. Clearly, the
effect of control is not uniform along the span and in this sense it is very different from our
principal experiences in two-dimensional flows. The differences between corresponding
tufts of the controlled and uncontrolled cases become successively smaller as the tufted
blade moves to the top of the blower housing. This is because the acoustic perturbations are
weaker in this region, being further from the speaker and not directly impacted by the
assumed plane acoustic wave at the blower outlet.
In the fourth phase (fig. 20), the opposite-bladed outboard tuft is highlighted in purple {this
should be purple!} In this instance the tuft near the tip is deflected closer to the blade, while
the opposite is true for the inboard tufts. This trend continues from phase 4 though phase 8.
It is difficult to explain because it is precisely the opposite trend observed on the opposite
blade when it was in the same physical location and indicates a lack of absolute symmetry
within the blower casing. Simultaneously, on the opposite blade (discussed above, right
hand side tufts in figs. 21-23) shows the same trend, namely that the outboard tuft is closer
to the blade with control, while the inboard tufts are furher.
17
(a) Baseline
(b) Controlled
Fig. 16: Individual frames of high speed photographs of the impeller leading-edge
region. Tuft number 3, the furthest inboard, is highlighted. Phase 1.
18
(a) Baseline
(b) Controlled
19
(a) Baseline
(b) Controlled
20
(a) Baseline
(b) Controlled
21
(a) Baseline
(b) Controlled
region. Tuft number 3, the furthest inboard, is highlighted in yellow; Opposite blade:
tuft number 1, closest to the tip, highlighted in purple. Phase 5.
22
(a) Baseline
(b) Controlled
region. Both tufts number 1, furthest outboard, are highlighted in purple. Phase 6.
23
(a) Baseline
(b) Controlled
24
(a) Baseline
(b) Controlled
25
6.4 Error estimation

All uncertainties were approximated in the following manner. Consider the function:
ff ( x, y , z , ) (4)
x y z
f f ( ) (5)
x y z
For example:
p g h sin( )
Cp
1 1
v2 v2
2 2
h v
Cp Cp ( 2 ) (6)
h v
7. Main Conclusions
The present investigation established the viability of using periodic perturbations to

improve performance in radial blowers whose blades are fully stalled. Increases in plenum
pressure of up to 40% were achieved and, based on tuft-based flow visualization, it was
concluded that the pressure increases were brought about due to excitation and deflection of
the leading-edge separated shear layer.
The following specific conclusions were drawn:

1. Optimum control reduced control frequencies were found to be F+~0.5 irrespective
of the blade orientation, number of blades or fan speed.
2. At optimum control frequencies, the control effect (pressure rise) saturated at
relatively low relative power, typically around 2%.
3. Under fully stalled or close to fully stalled conditions, air power and fan efficiency
can be expected to increase by up to 40%.
4. Backward bladed impeller blades produced a larger change in pressure coefficients
due to their being fully stalled at zero flowrate conditions.
5. The dependence of blower performance on reduced frequency was remarkably
similar to that seen on airfoils subject to periodic excitation at similar Reynolds
numbers.
6. Tuft-based flow visualization showed a significant effect of control at the blade
leading-edges. However this effect did not appear to be symmetric in the absolute
frame.
To the best knowledge of the authors, these data are the first and only demonstration of
shear layer or separation control on the blades of a rotating machine. They show great
promise for more sophisticated control techniques. These more advanced techniques can
then be exploited to achieve significant energy savings on large industrial machines. This
will also have a major impact on the control of separation on axial fans, which also suffer
from debilitating blade stall, as well as axial turbines where advanced techniques could be
used to reduce compressor stages.
26
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discharge plasma actuators,” AIAA Paper 2003-1025, 41st AIAA Aerospace Sciences
Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, Nevada, January 6–9, 2003
Acknowledgement
The author would like to gratefully acknowledge the staff of the Danciger Laboratories for
their assistance at all stages of this project.
27
Appendix A
Engineering Drawings of components manufactured for this project.
28

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Final Year Undergraduate Student Project, 2008

Active Separation Control in a Radial Blower:

Advisor: Dr. David Greenblatt

2. Objectives & Scope

1. To select a small commercial blower on which to conduct the experiments. The

Fig. 1: The O.ERRE 500-Watt commercial squirrel-cage-type used in this study

is the excitation to fan-blade frequency ratio.

Following initial observations described in section 3, a systematic parametric study was

6.1 Effect of Actuator Power

45° backward-bladed impeller

30° forward-bladed impeller

6.2 Effect of Reduced Frequencies

45° backward-bladed impeller

30° forward blades

0.4 =20°, Re=9,000, <Cµ>~0.2%

∆Cl =20°, Re=20,000

45° backward-bladed impeller

6.3 Flow Visualization

6.4 Error estimation

The present investigation established the viability of using periodic perturbations to

The following specific conclusions were drawn:

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