Process Barron is capable of engineering, designing, manufacturing and erecting mechanical draft fans from 100 to 7000 horsepower for primary air, forced draft or induced draft service. We specialize in new, heavy duty centrifugal fan fabrication for severe industrial applications, including airfoil fans, forward curved fans, backward curved fans, backward inclined fans, radial blade fans and radial tip fans. Thousands of customers have trusted us to fabricate or repair their air handling fans, fan rotors, and complicated structural support. With production facilities in Alabama, we offer turn-key mechanical draft fan solutions from design and fabrication to installation and commissioning throughout the United States and Canada.
Contact Process Barron today to speak with our mechanical draft fan sales and engineering experts.
New Centrifugal Fan Design
A centrifugal fan has a moving impeller that consists of a central shaft with a positioned set of blades. Centrifugal fans blow air at right angles to the intake of the fan, and spin the air outwards to the outlet (by deflection and centrifugal force). The impeller rotates, causing air to enter the fan near the shaft and move perpendicularly from the shaft to the opening in the scroll-shaped fan casing. Our centrifugal fan development services include temperature, abrasion, corrosion, stress and harmonics evaluation to generate the most efficient, economical and productive design for each piece of equipment. All new fans are performance rated and calculated in accordance with AMCA (Air Movement and Control Association) Standard 210-07 "Laboratory Methods of Testing Fans for Aerodynamic Performance Rating / ASHRAE Standard 51. Additional fan construction services include:
- Finite element analysis for stress analysis of rotors using ANSYS software.
- Centrifugal fan drawings provided in a CAD format (AutoCad) for easy import into existing customer electronic drawings.
- ANSYS CFX - Fluent computational fluid dynamics to analyze and accurately predict fan performance. This computer simulation technique is particularly useful when upgrading a new rotor into an existing housing.
- Modal analysis to determine natural frequencies of the as-built rotor to prevent resonance problems and premature failures.
- All rotating assemblies welded to AWS (American Welding Society) Standard D14.6 "The Specification for Welding of Rotating Elements of Equipment".
- Balance all rotating assemblies to ANSI (American National Standards Institute) Standard S2.19, Grade 6.3.
Primary Air, Forced Draft & Induced Draft Service
Process Barron brings decades of air and handling experience for a variety of industrial applications: incineration, heat recovery, baghouses, process air, combustion air, and boiler operations. Our engineers and field teams are experts in system assessment and efficiency evaluations of primary air, forced draft (FD fans) and induced draft (ID fans), and can help effectively determine whether to modify an existing fan design, repair or replace a system fan or related equipment.
Industrial Fan Construction & Materials
Process Barron implements the highest manufacturing quality standards,and hold tolerances for mechanical draft fans, impellers, housings, and components. All of our welding procedures conform to AWS D 14.6 for structural steel. To expedite fan manufacturing turn times, we keep hubs, shafts, wear materials and related component parts in stock. We are experienced with fans operating in extremely high corrosion environments, and commonly work with:
- Hastelloy
- Inconel
- Ferralium
- Austenitic stainless steels
- Duplex stainless steels
- Corten (A588)
- High strength carbon steels (A514 / A517)
- Chrome carbide
- ASTM A36
- Exotic alloys
- Rubber linings
Fan Repair and Testing Services
Process Barron also offers complete repair and testing services for any size or type centrifugal fan impeller, at our facilities or on site in the field. We are familiar with erosion, corrosion, material fatigue cracking, and a host of operational problems that can lead to catastrophic failure. Our mechanical draft fan repair, rebuild and upgrade services can provide years of additional fan service. Learn more about our full range of field and technical services, or call our 24-hour hotline for emergency service.