Flexible Connectors, or flex connectors, are very effective for protecting the fan wheel and ductwork, and they can also be a highly cost-effective alternative to costly design adjustments during installation.
Power plants and other industrial operations that involve combustion often use Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems for pollution control and environmental compliance. SCR systems pull flue gas out of the gas stream and inject it with a reagent (usually Ammonia or Urea) to reduce Nitrogen Oxide (NOx ) levels before exhausting to the atmosphere. SCR systems are a critical part of meeting acceptable emissions levels put forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
When your industrial process application moves toxic or hazardous gas, you need to ensure gas-tight fans so that there is no leakage.
Once upon a time, direct-drive industrial fans could only go one speed. With the invention of the Variable Frequency Drive (VFD), industrial manufacturers gained a great degree of control and the ability to overspeed the fan for optimal operation in the application through which it is moving process air.
Industrial fan noise directivity is an indication of how the fan surroundings contribute to the sound level in the field. It is a small but important factor in specifying the right accessories, insulation, housing, and enclosures for noise reduction in your application.
Fan bearing protection is always a high priority, especially with high-temperature fans. That’s because most high-temperature fan failures happen at the inboard bearing. But why? What’s special about that spot? To understand that, you need to understand some nuances of high-temperature fan design and common mistakes made during installation.
It’s common to apply an industrial coating on the external airstream to make a fan more resistant to heat, fire, particles, etc. and to protect it from corrosion. But there’s more to it than slapping on a coat of paint. There are special considerations for high-temperature fan coating, particularly when you add insulation to the mix. The choices are based entirely on the fan material of construction, namely what kind of steel is used.
Industrial fan fires are unlikely, but they can create sparks that can cause fires if you’re not careful. What causes sparks in industrial fans? The answer to that question is moving parts and ferrous materials.
In the world of centrifugal fans and blowers for industrial process applications, “what’s the difference between a fan and a blower” is a trick question. That’s because there actually is no difference at all. That’s right. Whether you need an industrial fan or blower for your operation, the product designs are the same.
Which industrial fan type do you need in your process to achieve both optimal static efficiency and reliable operation? Considerations include what the fan is processing from clean air to mild particulate to highly abrasive materials, as well as volume and static pressure. Once you know those variables, you can make the fan static efficiency calculation to select the right fan.
If you’ve ever seen, heard or felt a pressurized industrial fan pulsing, you’ve probably also seen how damaging the resulting vibrations can be. Surgeless fan design moderates volume to avoid that costly scenario.
Controlling fan speed for optimal efficiency and performance is as easy as having the right equipment and making a few simple calculations. The ability to control fan speed rests on your motor drive. On direct-driven fan applications, the most common way to change speeds is with a variable frequency drive (VFD). On belt-driven fan applications, a VFD is also useful for simple speed changes. In the absence of a VFD, simple sheave ratio modifications should do the trick. And of course, you need to know the input frequency of the motor and a few simple ratios.
People always want to know about process fans, but it’s really all about process air. The term “process air” means air movement needed in an existing or new process to produce something else such as paper or chemicals. It’s a required element at some point in many industrial production operations.
