Axial Vs Centrifugal Fans in PCs!

[Raudel Solis]

Why are Centrifugal fans not used in Computers?

I can think of one reason and that is because of

1. Size

2. Noise

3. RPMs needed for higher flow

 

Would there be any benefits if Centrifugal blowers were used for computer cooling?

 

I'm interested in using a Centrifugal blower on a computer.

I took advantage of the AUTODESK education service; and downloaded Autodesk Inventor. Autodesk Simulation CFD is next for the purpose of testing this out.

 

I'm interested in this because the use of a centrifugal blower will let air flow more uniformly compared to an axial fan which has dead spots "no flow" in some areas.

 

[tzframpton]

I'm interested in this because the use of a centrifugal blower will let air flow more uniformly compared to an axial fan which has dead spots "no flow" in some areas.

That's untrue. An axial fan is moving air, period.

 

But to answer your question, I personally think it's a combination of a few things. Cost, space, and efficiency needs. Centrifugal fans can in fact create high rpms and produce high pressure discharge of CFM. But it's completely unnecessary. It's bulky because of the squirrel cage design and would cost more than a simple axial fan. In fact, axial fans produce much more volume of airflow for low-pressure situations, so for a computer an axial fan is actually more ideal than a centrifugal blower.

 

The internal working temperature of a computer simply needs ventilation with a small to moderate amount of "flow" from the inlet to the discharge. This removes the heat emitted from certain components which is all that is required. Centrifugal fans only become efficient when there's a need - like an exhaust fan for a kitchen hood. A kitchen is generating a lot of temperature and gases in a small, confined area, thus needing the high-pressure centrifugal fan design to pull the air away from the space and out of the building.

 

Bottom line is, you most certainly can do this but it would be totally unnecessary. A water cooled system would be much more cost effective and efficient, versus completely modifying your entire case to make something like that fit for such low CFM requirements. Ugh... and the noise, haha! It'd be like putting a Z06 Corvette motor on a go-cart. Bulky, not cost effective and completely unnecessary.

 

Edited June 9, 2013 by tzframpton

[Raudel Solis]

A water cooled system would be much more cost effective and efficient, versus completely modifying your entire case to make something like that fit for such low CFM requirements. Ugh... and the noise, haha! It'd be like putting a Z06 Corvette motor on a go-cart. Bulky, not cost effective and completely unnecessary.

 

 

Understood, I'm still interested in implementing a centrifugal blower on a small scale for PC cooling; out of pure curiosity.

With all the 3d printing companies popping up and driving prices straight to the ground, getting a few builds wont be too expensive.

 

About water cooling I do plan on using a water cooling system on a future Intel Haswell build.

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[Raudel Solis]

Out of pure boredom I tried doing a quick run in 3ds max, "It's something"

 

[video=youtube;LZDevn3gp-4]

[tzframpton]

Awesome animation!! I'm learning 3ds Max Design right now and I definitely will be venturing off into animating scenes soon.

[neophoible]

Awesome animation!! I'm learning 3ds Max Design right now and I definitely will be venturing off into animating scenes soon.

Yes, that's pretty cool. But I couldn't tell if it's a '6' or a '9', or a 'b' or a 'q'.

[Raudel Solis]

Awesome animation!! I'm learning 3ds Max Design right now and I definitely will be venturing off into animating scenes soon.

 

Thank you, I wish you luck on your venture.

[Raudel Solis]

Yes, that's pretty cool. But I couldn't tell if it's a '6' or a '9', or a 'b' or a 'q'.

 

Thank you; The shape is composed of a 9 and a q.

[spittle]

I don't know the answer to the orig question but I just moved house - it's a bit warmer in my office so I upped the case size for one machine that was crammed into an old case. I've also added two extra regular 120mm fans in each of them and they're running much cooler. I did a quick render test and they've dropped min 10 degrees in each machine.

[budmanlxxix]

I know this topic is pretty old but I thought I'd just add that centrifugal blowers are already used in PCs. Laptops.