Effects of a kind of non-smooth blade on the performance of an axial fan

This paper presents an experimental investigation of effects of a kind of streamwise-grooved blade on the performance of an axial-flow fan. The flow field at 25% chord downstream from the trailing edge at hub was measured using a 5-hole pressure probe at different mass-flow conditions. The fan performance of the groove blades was compared with that of the smooth blades. The measurement results indicate that: (1) the non-smooth blades increase mass flow of the fan at the same throttle conditions except a near stall condition; (2) the non-smooth blades reduce the relative total pressure loss in the rotor passage and increase the fan's total pressure rise at the test mass-flow conditions except the near stall condition; (3) Negative benefits are obtained at a near stall condition when the smooth blades are replaced by the non-smooth ones. The fan mass flow decreases 0.9% while the total-pressure rise decreases 2.4% at the near stall condition.