Ventilator Wheel Elliptical Transition for Flow Guidance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Radial ventilator wheels experience efficiency losses due to flow diversion from radial to axial direction in practical installations, affecting the performance of volume flow conducting elements.
Innovation Solution
A ventilator wheel design featuring a bottom disk with an elliptical transition from radial to axial extension, combined with a Z-shaped axial step and a cover disk, enhances airflow guidance and stiffness, improving efficiency by at least 0.1 compared to prior art.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a radial ventilator wheel is installed in a volume flow conducting element, then the ventilator can move air from intake to outlet, but the flow diversion from radial to axial direction causes efficiency losses
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom disk features an elliptical transition zone with curved geometry that smoothly guides the airflow from radial to axial direction. This curved transition reduces flow separation and turbulence, minimizing energy losses while maintaining the ventilator's air moving capability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an axial extension dimension to the bottom disk, creating an elliptical transition that extends in both radial and axial directions. This dimensional approach allows the flow to gradually change direction from radial to axial, reducing the abruptness of the turn and associated energy losses
2Ease of manufacture
If the bottom disk has a simple radial extension, then the structure is simple, but the airflow guidance is poor and losses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom disk incorporates an elliptical curved transition zone instead of a simple radial extension. This curvature optimizes airflow guidance by creating a smooth transition path, reducing flow separation and energy losses while remaining manufacturable
Solution Approach 2:
The bottom disk geometry is modified by introducing an elliptical transition with specific half-axis lengths (a and b), where the ratio a/b is optimized to balance flow guidance performance with manufacturing considerations. This parameter optimization reduces losses without excessive complexity
3Loss of energy
If the bottom disk is extended axially with an elliptical transition, then flow guidance improves and losses reduce, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The elliptical transition zone provides effective flow guidance through its curved geometry, reducing flow separation and energy losses. The elliptical shape, while more complex than a simple radial extension, remains a standard geometric form that can be manufactured using conventional processes
Solution Approach 2:
The complexity is managed by optimizing the elliptical transition parameters (half-axis lengths a and b) within specific ranges. By controlling the ratio a/b, the design achieves effective flow guidance while limiting geometric complexity to manufacturable levels
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a ventilator wheel which is produced in the form of a radial or a diagonal ventilator wheel, and comprises a bottom disc and a plurality of ventilator blades arranged, on said bottom disc, so as to be distributed about an axial rotational axis, said bottom disc comprising a circumferential radial outer edge section that, when viewed in cross-section, extends in a curved shape in at least some sections and thus forms an elliptical transition of said bottom disc from a radial extension into an axial extension.