BULLETIN AX351

Twin City Fan & Blower

AXICO ANTI-STALL
Controllable Pitch-In-Motion and
Adjustable Pitch-At-Rest Vaneaxial Fans
Types FPAC, FPMC, FPDA

A complete product bulletin including performance

curves, sound data, and dimensional drawings is
available upon request.

July 2001

AXICO ANTI-STALL
Capabilities:
Impeller diameters from 3112" to 7834"
Capacities of 2,000 to 200,000 CFM
Static pressures to 10" w.g.

Inlet bell designed

exclusively for free
inlet applications
such as custom
air handlers (duct
configurations also
available.)

Anti-stall ring
with bypass
vanes

Vane section
provided with
removable
access panel
to provide
unimpeded
access to fan
impeller and
blade actuator
mechanism.

NEMA designed footmounted motor completely exposed for

ease of service and
accessibility.

Fan supported from a

welded steel channel base
(minimum 5" channel).

Motor supported on
structural base
upstream of propeller.

Note: Standard inlet guards have been removed for clarity.

AXICO ANTI-STALL is the only controllable pitch
vaneaxial fan designed to totally eliminate stall, system surging and increased noise levels often experienced by ordinary controllable pitch vaneaxial fans
under unstable conditions.
Normal axial fans can be forced to perform within
unstable working ranges when operating conditions
are unfavorable. This can happen when the fan system is subjected to sudden or unexpected variations
in pressure which can be caused by:
dampers that close suddenly or fail to open
hypersensitive automation control systems
improper parallel fan starting sequences
incorrect or optimistic pressure drop calculations
clogged filters, etc.
When a fan operates in an unstable range the
blades are submitted to sharp variations in pressure
which will ultimately result in blade fatigue and eventual fan failure.

AXICO ANTI-STALL provides a patented solution

to solve the problems associated with fan stall in a
simple, ingenious method, without the addition of any
moving parts or expensive electronic controls. The
secret lies in the small bypass vanes that are integrated into the chamber placed around the periphery
of the fan impeller. The bypass vanes catch turbulent airflows produced at the tips of the blades,
which normally cause stalling, and restore them to
stability in the proper flow direction.
AXICO ANTI-STALL has no stall area and no stall
limit. While this means that the AXICO ANTI-STALL
can be selected directly at any point on the performance curves in this bulletin without consideration of
any safety range against the possibility of stall, we
strongly recommend selections be made toward the
central part of the fan curve at the point of highest
possible efficiency.

2006 Twin City Fan Companies, Ltd. All rights reserved throughout the world.
AXICO ANTI-STALL is a registered trade name of Twin City Fan Companies, Ltd., Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Bulletin illustrations cover the general appearance of Twin City Fan Companies, Ltd. products at the time of publication
and we reserve the right to make changes in design and construction at any time without notice.

Twin City Bulletin AX351

VAV Control Flexibility

The AXICO ANTI-STALL fan can easily be controlled to deliver the required flow or pressure
in most situations by properly sizing the fan and then adjusting the blade angle of attack
while fan is energized. Blade pitch control can be accomplished in the following ways.

FPAC
Variable air volume fan impeller is equipped with an
internal pneumatic diaphragm and external Honeywell
industrial-grade pilot positioner assembly to simultaneously vary the pitch angle of all blades identically
while the fan impeller is rotating at motor speed. An
80 to 100 psi pneumatic supply air line is required
for pitch actuation of this fan. These fans typically
operate in a direct-acting mode in conjunction with
the building automation temperature control system.
The standard pneumatic pilot positioner receives a 3
to 15 psi control signal from the building automation
system to modulate the fan blades. An optional electro-pneumatic positioner is available that will modulate
blade pitch after receipt of an externally generated
4-20mA electronic control signal.

Pneumatic Controllable Pitch

FPMC
Variable air volume fan impeller is equipped with a
mechanical linkage system that will simultaneously
actuate the pitch angle of all blades via one of three
basic options:
1. A manual lever arm with locking quadrant mounted
external to the fan housing.
2. A right-angle gear box with manual handwheel
mounted external to the fan housing
3. A lever arm with electric motor actuator mounted
external to the fan housing and capable of automatic remote pitch actuation responding to either
a 4-20mA or a 135 ohm electronic control signal
received from the building-automated temperature
control system.

Electric Controllable Pitch

FPDA
Constant air volume fan impeller is equipped with
mechanically-fixed, individually manually-adjustable
blades that may only be re-pitched when the fan is
stopped. This fan may be operated with a variable
frequency drive unit to vary the rotational speed of
the impeller and thereby vary the air volume produced while maintaining the ANTI-STALL characteristics of the unit.

Twin City Bulletin AX351

Manual Adjustable Pitch

Construction Features

View of AXICO ANTI-STALL fan from discharge.

Honeywell industrial-gauge pilot positioner with
closed-loop feedback cable is shown standardly
mounted on top of straightening vane section. Bolton vane section allows 360 rotation to allow simple
field adjustment for improved job site accessibility of
pilot positioner.

Similar view of fan discharge with standard access

panel removed. Every AXICO ANTI-STALL fan
includes a 17.75" long by 90 of fan circumference
access panel located in straightening vane section.
Total service accessibility is provided by this exclusive feature.

As can be seen in this close-up of the inlet bell continuously welded to the patented ANTI-STALL ring,
an exclusive AXICO feature, ANTI-STALL is accomplished by welded bypass vanes without the use of
any extra moving parts or electronic black boxes.

A close-up of the pneumatic controllable pitch impeller mechanism viewed through the standard access
panel. Pneumatic supply air (80 to 100 psi) is introduced to the diaphragm through the rotary union
(center of photo with feedback cable attached) inflating the pneumatic piston forcing the spider arms to
move away from the hub and increase the blade
angle of attack.
Twin City Bulletin AX351

Fan Selection Process

CFM
(A)

FAN
SIZE
(B)

TP

HUB
SIZE
(D)

RPM
(C)

12.0
11.0
10.0

300,000

9.0
900

8.0

200,000

*200
100,000
90
80
70
60

***

40
35
25

7.0

6.0

5.0
4.0

4.0
3.0

****6-8

125

2.0
112

30

8.0

3.0

140

50

10.0
9.0

6.0

8-10

*160

SP

7.0

5.0

*180

(E)

1200

*****5-8

2.0

100

20
90
15
12
10,000
9
8
7
6

1.0
80

***Size 112 to 200 only

****Size 90 to 180 only
*****Up to size 140 only

1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6

5
4

0.5

4.0

0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
4.0

*900 & 1200 RPM only

2

0.3
1800

0.3

0.2
10,000

Step 1. Draw a line from the appropriate CFM on

vertical axis marched CFM (A) to the appropriate RPM
on vertical axis marked RPM(C). The point at which
this line intersects the vertical axis marked FAN SIZE
(B) indicates the most appropriate fan size given that
RPM and CFM. As an example, a line drawn between
60,000 CFM and 1800 RPM intersects the fan size
line almost precisely in the middle of the area noted
as 112. Based upon this, it is probable that a size
112 fan is the best selection. The same line intersects
the fan size line at the border between size 125 and
size 100. This indicates that a 125 is probably oversized and a 100 is probably undersized. There may
be circumstances where these selections should be
investigated. If that is the case, you should consult
your local sales representative.

Twin City Bulletin AX351

0.2

Step 2. Having now selected the fan, one must now

select the hub and blade combination which is appropriate. Draw a line from the vertical axis RPM(C) to
the vertical axis marked TP/SP (E). In the example
shown we have a given value of 4.25" of static pressure. Be sure that you use the same fan speed in
selecting the hub and blade as you have used in
selecting the fan. In this case, we draw the line from
1800 RPM to 4.25" static pressure and it intersects
the HUB SIZE vertical axis (D) close to the middle
of the zone marked 5-8. This would indicate that the
probable selection for 60,000 CFM and 4.25" static
pressure is 112-5-8. Note that the same line intersected the hub size vertical axis almost at the 6-8
junction. This indicates that the pressure is probably
low so that utilization of a 6 hub with 8 blades will
result in relatively low efficiencies. NOTE: See performance curve on page 6.
5

Aspects of Fan Selection

AXICO ANTI-STALL fans are characterized by
completely stable high efficiency operation over an
extremely wide operating range. The risk of stall
(surging, instability, etc.) encountered in conventional
vaneaxial fan designs has been completely eliminated.
Fan performance in this publication is presented as
Total Pressure versus CFM at standard air density
(0.075 lbs/ft3). The maximum blade angles presented
in the published performance curves are the maximum angles for which the fan is designed.
For controllable pitch in-flight fans in variable volume
situations the maximum design load should ideally
be selected to the right and slightly above the peak
efficiency ring so that normal operation at modulated
partial loads will result in operation at areas of highest efficiency on the fan curve.
Fans with manually adjustable pitch blades for applications in either constant volume or variable speed
(frequency) systems should ideally be chosen for
normal operation within the peak efficiency ring of
the fan curve to insure the highest possible energy
savings throughout the complete range of operation.
The pressure/flow characteristic of the fan is presented as a total pressure rise between the fan
inlet and the fan outlet, providing that the fan is
connected to ductwork of the same diameter as the
fan. The curves are applicable to either a free or a
duct connection at the fan inlet and no provision is
made for less than ideal fan inlet conditions within
the performance curves. The outlet side of the fan
is often connected to a conical regain diffuser that

is in turn connected to ductwork or a discharge plenum. Various system requirements and layouts result
in numerous combinations of standard or compact
fan designs often used in conjunction with a variety
of discharge options (ductwork, outlet transitions,
C-D diffusers, acoustic diffusers, etc.). The pressure
regain and or applicable discharge connection losses
for any instance other than that of a fan connected
directly to fan diameter discharge ductwork requires
the inclusion of these losses in all presentations of
Total Pressure.
The following explanation of the performance curves,
associated fan laws and formulas should be used to
determine and analyze various aspects of fan performance.
SP = StaticPressure
VP = Velocity Pressure
Pv = Velocity pressure in fan diameter duct
PvD = Velocity pressure in diffuser diameter duct
DL = Discharge Loss
TP = Total Pressure
TE = Total Efficiency
bHP = Brake Horsepower
TP = SP + VP + DL
CFM x TP
bHP =
6356 x TE

Fan chart is valid for a gas density of .075 lb/ft3.

Lwt: Total sound power level dB(A)
Pv:

Velocity pressure in fan diameter duct

PvD: Velocity pressure in diffuser diameter duct

TE:

Total efficiency

Twin City Bulletin AX351

Model Number Designation

F ___ - __ - ___ - __ - ___ - ____ - ___
AXICO = PAC
= PMC
= PDA

MOTOR HP

ARR. 4 TYPE 2
2 = HORIZONTAL FLOOR LEG
4 = HORIZONTAL CEILING CLIP
6 = VERTICAL CLIP
ARR. 4 TYPE 3
3 = FLOOR MOUNT

BLADE COUNT
8 = IF 5 OR 6 HUB
10 = IF 8 HUB

MOTOR RPM

HUB SIZE
5 = 50.0 cm Dia.
6 = 63.0 cm Dia.
8 = 80.0 cm Dia.

FAN SIZE (cm)

080, 090, 100, 112, 125
140, 160, 180, 200
NOTES:
1. Motor frame size must be specified in the body of the order and will no longer be indicated within the model number.
2. Blade pitch setting must be indicated in the body of the order.

FPDA Compact Design (Arr. 4 Type 3)

L2

D
T
TA
RO

ION

AIRFLOW
90
ACCESS
PANEL
F
(O.D.)

A
(I.D.)

.687 DIA. HOLES

1.2 TYP.

1.5 TYP.

L3
L1

APPROX.
FAN SIZE
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
L1
L2
L3

WT. (LBS.)*

080
31.50
28.00
48.50
41.50
21.65
35.43
28.00
50.78
37.15
29.13 910

090
35.43
30.00
52.70
45.40
21.65
39.37
30.00
52.35
37.15
30.70
1000

100
39.37
34.00
56.70
49.40
21.65
44.09
32.00
53.35
37.15
31.70
1080

112
44.09
37.00
62.05
54.10
21.65
49.21
35.00
59.83
37.15
38.18
1230

125
49.21
42.00
71.60
63.20
21.65
55.12
40.00
63.90
39.15
42.25
1405

140
55.12
45.00
78.55
69.10
29.53
63.00
44.00
71.78
47.03
42.25
1655

160
63.00
48.00
85.50
77.00
29.53
70.87
47.00
71.78
47.03
42.25
1880

180
70.87
53.00
93.45
84.90
29.53
78.74
51.00
71.78
47.03
42.25
2055

200
78.74
58.00
100.35
92.70
29.53
83.85
54.00
71.78
47.03
42.25
2415
DIMENSIONS ARE NOT TO BE USED FOR CONSTRUCTION.

Twin City Bulletin AX351

*SHIP WEIGHT LESS MOTOR

Unlimited Options...
Commercial Fans

Centrifugal Fans Utility Sets Inline Centrifugal Fans Plenum Fans

Radial Bladed Fans Centrifugal Roof &Wall Exhausters Filtered Supply Fans
Gravity Relief Ventilators Ceiling &Cabinet Ventilators Propeller Wall Fans
Tubeaxial Fans Vaneaxial Fans Propeller RoofVentilators
Fume Hood/Smoke &Heat Exhaust Fans Mancoolers Fiberglass Fans

Industrial Fans

Centrifugal Fans Forward Curved &Air Kit Components Inline Centrifugal Fans
Plug Fans Radial Bladed Fans Radial Tip &High Efficiency Fans
Pressure Blowers Tubeaxial Fans Vaneaxial Fans

Custom Design Fans

Easy Access Fans Insulated Fans Inlet Boxes - Integral and Detached
Inlet Box Dampers Independent Bearing Pedestals Split Housings Bolted Housings
Spark Resistant Construction Ultra Fine Balancing Modified Widths and Diameters
Variable Frequency Drives APISpecifications Special Materials Anti-Rotation Devices
Sleeve Oil Bearings Volume Control Dampers Inlet Vane Control with External Mechanisms

...One Solution.
1.5MPP11/09

5959 Trenton Lane North Minneapolis, MN 55442-3237

Phone: 763-551-7600 Fax: 763-551-7601
www.tcf.com