* Axial fan wind speed distribution
A Corp. handles ICT equipment, control equipment and power supplies. When the company started development of a new ICT equipment, they were also challenged to improve the issues that the conventional model had been facing. Mr. H, manager of the company's development department said:
"With our conventional equipment, there were cases where foreign objects such as dust and dirt adhered to the filters of the vents, while outdoor products had the problem of fallen leaves adhering to the filters. Any foreign objects adhering to the vents would reduce airflow, and this could lead to risk of thermal problems. So, we selected fans with sufficient margin in cooling performance from the catalog values. But in some cases, noise issues occurred due to excessive performance, and the evaluation method needed to be reviewed. We thought that if we could quantify the airflow of the fan under a variety of conditions when it is mounted, it would help us design a more appropriate housing and select the right fan, even in the early stages of development."
However, quantifying the airflow was much more challenging than expected.
"We considered simulation, but decided against it due to the high cost of implementation and lack of employees with know-how. We tried to measure the airflow with a commercially available anemometer, but the air velocity of the fan showed variations depending on the measurement point, and we were concerned about its accuracy in measuring the airflow in a limited time."
* Axial fan wind speed distribution
A Corp., stuck in their attempt to quantify the airflow, watched SANYO DENKI's "Selecting the Best Fan" webinar. They were interested in the San Ace Airflow Tester presented during the webinar, and consulted with SANYO DENKI about it.
"A sales representative explained in detail that it is possible to easily measure the operating airflow of the fan and the system impedance of the device. Later, we actually made measurements using a demo unit and found it much easier to obtain highly accurate measurement results than with an anemometer," he said.
Soon after, A Corp. decided to use the Airflow Tester after confirming that measurements of the fan's operating airflow could be made with ease and accuracy.
Mr. H told us how the use of the Airflow Tester changed the way he works.
"By measuring the operating airflow, we were able to collect data on airflow assuming various conditions, such as when foreign objects adhered, when protective covers were used, and when the shape of the vents were changed. Using the measured data, we are able to design the housing and select fans that more closely correspond to the actual environment."
Finally, he says that the Airflow Tester also has a variety of other benefits.
"Measuring the system impedance of the device and collecting its data can also be useful for verifying the system impedance for when the filter of the vents or the layout of the parts in the device are changed. Also, by calculating the operating point from the measurement results, we can estimate whether or not cooling can be achieved, and this will help select a more appropriate fan. Now that we are able to acquire data that could not be quantified before, we believe it will be useful in various ways in our future development."
Date of publication: May 20, 2022
