On Static Pressure Fluctuation between Sirocco Fan Blades in a Car Air-Conditioning System

Abstract

In this study, special attention is directed to static pressure fluctuation in a sirocco fan for a car air-conditioning system, because it is expected that there is a close connection between the fluid noise and the pressure fluctuation. The final purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between the static pressure fluctuation between fan blades and the sound noise emitted to the outside of the fan, and to develop an air-conditioning system with highly low noise level. For this purpose, first of all, a new micro probe for the measurement of static pressure fluctuation has been developed. This new micro probe is composed of an L-type static pressure tube (the outer diameter is 0.5 mm and the inner diameter is 0.34 mm) and a very small pressure transducer. This probe exhibits a flat frequency response until approximately 2,000 Hz, and it is set between the blades of the fan rotating at 1,500 rpm. The measurements of the static pressure fluctuation between the blades have been performed, and the intensity of sound source was quantified from the second derivative of the phase-averaged static pressure fluctuation signals on the basis of Ribner's formula (Ribner 1962). The experiments have been made in two different modes, i.e., the cooling mode (FACE MODE) and the heating mode (FOOT MODE). It is shown that the static pressure increases rapidly as the blade approaches to the nose of the casing. It is also found that the sound source for FACE MODE shows the larger value than that for FOOT MODE as a whole. In particular, the largest intensity of sound source is observed when the blade approaches to the nose. From these results, it is confirmed that the present new static pressure probe is useful to specify the distributions of sound source in a sirocco fan.