Author : Tushar .C. Ambdekar, Shivprakash B. Barve, B. S. Kothavale and Nilesh T. Dhokane

Engine cooling fans are an essential component of the engine cooling system which is used to dissipate the excess heat generated by the combustion of fuels inside the engine. This project consists of designing the fan and analyzing it for its strength in structure using the Finite Element Method (FEM) approach and the flow of air around it using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach. An important factor for successful fan design is to fully understand the complex flow field within the fan. This understanding enables optimization. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques can be beneficial to provide insight to the fan design process. Not only can velocity vectors and pressure contours be computed, CFD can also provide critical information such as efficiency, flow uniformity at the exit, circulation or separation zones, locations of potential cavitations and noise generation. The design of the fan was conducted in phases, starting with calculating all the required dimensions followed by analytical models to prove the concept. Accordingly, finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamics were performed on simulation models. The overall shape of the first iteration was conceptualized with the aid of the above guidelines. The results obtained from the analytical studies indicated a potential for a successful design that met most of the above outlined parameters.

Keywords: Axialfan,ICEM CFD, Fluent, Structural Analysis, ANSYS APDL, ANSYS WORKBENCH