Fan Materials of Construction
Key Considerations for Industrial Fan Materials of Construction
Fan Materials are a major component of engineering and manufacturing a centrifugal fan. The materials of construction can affect weight, cost, sanitation, durability, maintenance, and appearance.
AirPro offers a wide range of materials to construct the fan wheel, airstream accessories, or the entire fan. Whether your application involves high operating temperatures, caustic contaminants, or explosive environments, AirPro has the appropriate, highest-quality materials, including:
- All carbon steel grades
- All stainless steels
- Nickel-based alloys (625, C22, C276, etc.)
- Titanium
- Monel
- Aluminum
When our application engineers are working on a consultation to determine and design the right fan for your application, they will specify the right materials for your specific situation. We won’t cover every possible choice or combination here but instead will cover two types of preferred fan material as an example.
Aluminum Fans
We often build our fans using different types of aluminum. While not used to build the entire fan, aluminum can be used to build some of the most critical fan components – the wheel and housing.
Aluminum Fan Application Example
Spark Resistant Construction: Spark Resistant Construction (SRC) is the technical term for industrial fans classified as explosion-proof. Spark Resistant Construction including Aluminum is an AMCA requirement or recommendation when dust, fibers, gases, vapors, or liquids could cause an explosion in the case of any kind of spark.
Stainless Steel Fans
Stainless steel is how we refer to a family of corrosion-resistant steels like chromium, nickel, and molybdenum. They appear in varying combinations. Austenitic stainless steel (for example 304 and 316) features minimum levels of certain components and is popular in industrial stainless steel fans.
Adding elements such as molybdenum or titanium can modify the properties to make the steel more corrosion resistant and more suited to high-temperature applications
Stainless steel fans also rely on many of the other positive properties beyond corrosion resistance and high temperature when compared with other forms of steel, including higher ductility, higher strength and hardness, lower maintenance and more attractive appearance.
Stainless Steel Fan Application Examples
Food & Dairy Processing: The majority of dairy and food processing applications require stainless steel fans. For some, only the fan airstream parts are stainless, while others dictate the entire fan be stainless steel, including the motors and safety guards. Induced Draft Fans, often used in Dairy applications, process the hot air at the outlet of the dryer using 304 Stainless Steel airstream parts (APIC).
Corrosive gases: are common in applications for biomedical, pharmaceutical, fume exhaust, and many other industries. Depending on the corrosive properties of the gas stream, the industrial fan can be built with an epoxy coated carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, or a nickel alloy..
Scrubbers: Scrubbers commonly require fans to handle caustic materials. These fans are frequently built with 316 Stainless Steel materials and other alloy options.
