Case Study: High Temperature Fans

Overview:

Daniels Fans was approached by a French company that supplies a wide variety of aluminium coil and sheet products, and serves customers in the automotive and building/architecture industries. The company was looking to increase output and improve the product quality achieved with its aluminum heat treatment operation. A solution was needed to address the low performance of the existing fans, as well as high maintenance issues created by the fans.

By replacing the existing unidirectional fans with the Daniels high efficiency reversible flow impeller design, furnace cycle times improved 25%, with subsequent increases in product output, improved product quality, as well as reductions in energy and operating costs. The reversible airflow helps to achieve temperature uniformity across the load in the furnace, in a shorter amount of time, which reduces cycle time and increases productivity.

Problem:

The unidirectional fans that were originally being used in this application underperformed, resulting in an inability to circulate higher volumes of air at the operating temperatures of 600°C / 1112°F. This in turn led to longer cycle times for the processing of heat treated aluminum in the furnaces. The longer cycle times meant that production schedules could not be met.

Adding to the problems with the unidirectional fans, costly and excessive maintenance was required to keep the fans and the process operational.

Solution:

The solution delivered had to work within the application size limitations, based on the original equipment dimensions. The Daniels Fans engineering team was able to develop a tailored solution to deliver the required reversible air flow and meet the space requirements.

Daniels Fans offered the combination of experience and capability needed to deliver custom designed fans to meet the requirements of the application.

Result:

The previous fans, which were very old, suffered from impeller failure and bearing problems.  Also, their operating speed was restricted at higher temperatures. Around three to four weeks after the completion of the new fan retrofit, the customer reported successful results. They benefited from a reduction of 25% in the operating cycle of the furnace, as well as increased productivity and enhanced product quality. They also experienced reductions in energy and operating costs. The dependable, trouble-free design of the new fans virtually eliminated the maintenance issues, as well.

The improvement allowed the company to delay capital investment in an additional furnace by 18 months. Also, the company had initially believed that six fans would be needed for the job, but decided to start the project with only four new fans.  Since the four fans were able to do the job so efficiently, they were able to postpone the order for additional fans.

The company was so satisfied with the upgrade results, they have specified Daniels Fans for all future rebuild projects, as well as new furnace production.