Process cooling in industry is an important part of manufacturing. The cooling of products and removal of large amounts of heat throughout the year increases the efficiency of production processes and operations of equipment ranging from
food processing, packaging, plastic injection molding to medical imaging equipment.
With continuous innovation, there is often a reduced requirement for mechanical cooling. Processes are often cooled using just air. This has a number of benefits including a reduced operating cost.
Airflow helps accelerate cooling by blowing away the heat layer and bringing the object back into contact with the cooler, ambient air, in a process known as forced convection. This is the same thing you experience when walking in a cold breeze.
The rate and extent to which an object’s temperature can drop via convection depend on several factors. One of the most influential is the temperature of the surrounding air. The greater the temperature difference — known world as delta T, or ΔT — between an object and its immediate surroundings, the faster the rate of heat transfer.
Therefore, lowering the temperature of the surrounding air will reduce the cooling time. This can be achieved by adding air conditioning or in well ventilated areas, extraction fans, which lower the ambient room temperature.
There are several factors which need to be taken into account when designing the process cooling system:
- Size and surface area of the object being cooled
- What material the object is composed of (e.g. steel, cast iron, plastic)
- Typical ambient temperature of the factory
- Desired final temperature of the object
- Desired total cooling time
Knowing the exact air speeds a fan can deliver at different points within its coverage area (known as its air-velocity profile, or AVP), a company can place fans to maximise cooling using the correct amount of airflow. The calculated average air speed requirements and fan AVP are what should ultimately determine the fan layout recommendation for any successful process cooling application.
Fans blowing cooling air down onto a conveyor belt or blowing across racks of cooling products may need different types of fan and mounting solutions. Axair has a wide range of products for factory process cooling, such as,
plate axial fans and accessories.
Contact our team of sales engineers to discuss your requirements on 01782 349 430 or email
[email protected].
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