IQS Newsroom Articles on Centrifugal Blowers
Centrifugal Blowers
Centrifugal blowers are impeller-based blower systems which provide air and gas movement in ventilation, circulation and drying applications. Centrifugal blowers move air through the centrifugal force generated by rotation of the fan's impeller. Available in a wide range of configurations such as inline centrifugal fans, centrifugal blowers can be backward-facing, forward-facing or multi-staged. Ideal for cooling equipment that air cannot easily flow through and for providing airflow through ducts, centrifugal blowers are used in industries such as commercial, industrial, residential, military, automotive, textile, food processing, photography and agricultural. Centrifugal blowers are also useful for applications including vacuum conveying, waste water treatment, air and gas handling, paper dewatering, air purging, bio-gas recovery and pneumatic bulk conveying. Centrifugal blowers can also be used in reverse to provide vacuuming action in packaging applications.
Centrifugal blowers are one of the few blowers to utilize impellers, which are generally flat plates with 4 - 10 blades arranged in a spoke pattern on one side. The flat plate mounts the impeller onto a shaft through a hub, or the point on the impeller from which the blades extend. The next step in the design varies depending on size: small units have impellers mounted directly to the motor shaft; and large units have a drive shaft, which is driven by a v-belt drive. The units are housed by a circular welded assembly that is typically constructed from heavy-gauge sheet metal. When the impeller rotates, air is sucked into the input at the center of the centrifugal blower and forced out at a perpendicular outlet into the plenum, which is the airway through which air is forced out of the centrifugal fan's output. The output is used to direct the expelled air into a single direction, which increases airflow pressure and velocity. Construction materials for centrifugal blowers include durable plastics, metals or a combination of both.