by 84-1074663779 » Thu Apr 08, 2004 7:54 pm
I do not have a camera, so no pictures yet unfortunately. If I win the lottery I will definitely buy a camera.
My bench is about the size of a kitchen table and is just a large box made from one inch MDF bolted to a welded heavy steel angle frame. It is divided by an internal partition into a right hand chamber (1/3) and a left hand chamber (2/3).
The centre partition has a two foot diameter round turret, fitted with eight individually removable pressed in plastic orifice plates. There is a shaft, an indexing system, and a car steering wheel on the right hand end of the bench, to position the turret. The suction test hole is in the top of the bench which leads into the right hand chamber. This right hand plenum chamber is just a large volume to allow the air to recover and slow down before it flows through the measurement orifice.
The left hand chamber contains the blower, which is a two foot diameter centrifugal forge blower with a cast iron scroll, driven at up to 6,000 RPM by a 7.5 Bhp three phase motor. The blower intake is open to the inside of the enclosure, but the blower exhaust goes through some plastic pipe to the blow test hole on the left hand top of the flow bench.
It is very simple construction compared to what some other people have built. It has only two controls, blower speed knob, and orifice selection wheel.
The whole blower module is spring mounted and is driven from a variable frequency drive. Motor speed controls flow. There are two large removable panels in the front of the bench to give access to the inlet plenum and turret on the right, and the blower plenum on the left. Both front panels are bolted and gasketed, and operate under high negative pressure, so are very easy to seal.
It is totally unlike anyone else's bench, it is my third effort so far, and a lot of thought has gone into it. The whole blower module is removable within a couple of minutes and just lifts out (it weighs 350Kg). I could easily upgrade or replace this blower in the future with something even more powerful if need be.