Blower Impeller Shroud Integration for Surging Suppression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Blowers face challenges in reducing size while maintaining high pressure and flow rate, leading to increased thrust load, reduced bearing lifetime, and potential surging issues due to the need for a separate shroud, which increases parts and assembly complexity, causing performance and noise issues.
Innovation Solution
A blower design where the impeller and rotor are assembled within a housing with a first and second housing, featuring a flow path with a narrow section at the outer peripheral end of the blades in the radial direction, formed by a first housing-side shroud and impeller-side shroud, without increasing the number of parts, to suppress pressure fluctuation and surging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a separate shroud is installed to separate the impeller and blowing passage, then blower performance is improved, but the number of parts increases and assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the shroud function with the impeller by forming an integrated impeller-shroud structure. The shroud is no longer a separate component but is integrated into the impeller body, eliminating the need for separate assembly while maintaining the flow separation function. This resolves the contradiction by achieving both performance improvement and part reduction through structural integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The impeller structure is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as both the rotating element that moves air and as the shroud that defines the blowing passage. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for a separate shroud component while maintaining blower performance, thereby reducing part count and assembly complexity.
2Volume of moving object
If the impeller diameter is reduced to decrease blower size, then blower compactness is improved, but thrust load increases and bearing lifetime decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the local geometry of the impeller blades and flow path to improve aerodynamic efficiency. By carefully designing the blade shape, angle, and distribution, the system achieves high pressure and flow rate performance with a smaller impeller diameter, thereby reducing overall blower size without proportionally increasing thrust load on the bearings.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes key geometric parameters of the impeller and flow path to optimize performance. By adjusting blade angle, chord length, and flow path cross-section, the system achieves efficient air movement with reduced impeller diameter, maintaining acceptable thrust loads while achieving compact dimensions.
3Power
If high pressure and high flow rate are achieved, then blower performance is improved, but thrust load increases and bearing lifetime decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes geometric parameters including blade angle, blade curvature, and flow path cross-section to maximize aerodynamic efficiency. These parameter changes enable the system to achieve high pressure and flow rate with minimized thrust generation, protecting bearing lifetime while maintaining high performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potentially harmful effect of high thrust load into a benefit by optimizing the flow path geometry to reduce turbulence and recirculation. The designed flow path minimizes pressure fluctuations and axial thrust while maintaining high discharge pressure and flow rate, effectively transforming what would be a harmful condition into an advantageous operating state.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design effectively suppresses fluid pressure fluctuation and surging, maintaining performance while reducing noise and assembly complexity by altering the blower shape without adding parts, thus enhancing durability and operational stability.
Implementation Method 1
outside air is sucked from an intake port provided at a central part in an axial direction inside the first housing by rotation of the impeller and discharged from a discharge port provided on an outer side in a radial direction
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a blower capable of suppressing fluctuation of a flow path and suppressing occurrence of surging in a use rotation range of the blower by changing a shape without increasing the number of parts. A flow path is formed by a first housing-side shroud 3e connecting to an intake port 3a and an impeller-side shroud 2c connecting outer peripheral sides of blades 2b being adjacent to each other in a radial direction in a blowing passage 8a connecting the intake port 3a and a discharge port 8b, and a narrow part 16 where a cross-sectional area of the flow path becomes the minimum is provided on an outer side of outer peripheral end portions of the blades 2b in the radial direction.