Cost reduction of the fan assessment numeration system through data analysis

The University of Kentucky (UK) Fan Assessment Numeration System (FANS) is a measurement system used to assess volumetric airflow of installed ventilation fans installed in confined livestock production facilities. The FANS device has either five or six anemometers equally spaced across the unit. The anemometers are moved vertically across the fan face, providing a direct measurement of the air velocity. In November 2012, ten tests were carried out in a test wind tunnel to generate data on a specific ventilation fan for varying static pressures. The data were then analyzed and compared to a calibration data set to assess the possibility of eliminating sensors in order to reduce the manufacturing cost along with eventual sensor replacement costs. The comparison showed that sensors can be eliminated with only minimal impacts to accuracy. Results indicated that removing subsets of anemometers skewed the volumetric airflow measurement of the FANS device by approximately 2%. Further work in this area will be needed to evaluate the horizontal position of each remaining sensor in order to optimize the system with a minimal quantity of anemometers.