Howden, a leading global provider of mission-critical air and gas handling products, is pleased to promote the ExVel^TM Composite turbo fan. The key to this revolutionary technology is the ExVel turbo fan impeller engineered and produced from carbon fiber composite, which is ideally suited for glass manufacturers. Howden has over 20 years of development and installation experience with these special carbon fiber composite designs applied to the unique aerodynamic structure of the ExVel impeller. Now glass manufacturers can realise improved plant safety, reliability and lifetime over traditional steel fan impellers.

First and foremost, we’re pleased to report plant safety is substantially improved through the composite impellers’ ability to combat fatigue. They are not susceptible to cyclic fatigue failure like impellers made from steel and other metals, which reduces the potential for unplanned downtime, and more importantly, catastrophic failures that can lead to equipment damage and bodily injuries.

ExVel Composite turbo fans improve reliability with their nearly unlimited fatigue life. They also weigh substantially less than steel, consuming less energy and resulting in lower loads and wear to connected components like bearings and couplings. The higher reliability leads to less planned and unplanned downtime and reduced maintenance costs. 

Plus, there’s no practical limits on speed changes. This allows manufacturers to utilise variable speed fan control, which is the most energy efficient method, and there’s no need for guide vanes. The ExVel Composite turbo fan is able to accelerate and decelerate in as fast as three seconds. The combined potential of variable speed control and fast acceleration and deceleration provides substantial energy savings and a lower carbon footprint.

These Howden fans also offer unique performance capabilities, delivering higher pressure rise than traditional fans at excellent operating efficiencies. This allows glass manufacturers the ability to increase production and better manage seasonal temperature changes to their quench and cooling air. Optimise quench and cooling flows and pressures while minimising energy usage with Howden’s ExVel Composite turbo fans.