Reducing Horsepower and Noise of Automotive Cooling-Fans

STATING the automotive cooling-fan problem as being constituted of the delivery of more air, decrease of fan horsepower, reduction of fan noise so that it is comparable with or less than other powerplant noises and the installation of the fan in a restricted space, the author describes the testing apparatus and method used in analyzing the subject. Fan speeds and the most effective number of blades are then considered, followed by analyses of fan diameter and pitch and curvature of fan blades. The manner in which air is discharged from the fan and the adaptation of a fan to an automobile are also discussed.

Following statements concerning the desirable number of fan blades and blade spacing, noise characteristics of fans are analyzed in detail as a preface to the author's consideration of means of reducing fan noise, and a summary listing the conclusions reached as a result of the study is appended.