Room air conditioning systems use centrifugal blower wheels (forward-curved, backward-curved), prop fans and tangential blower wheels (cross-flow fans) depending on model. Within the development of advanced high efficiency models at Whirlpool's Global Product Development Center in LaVergne, TN, they simulate and optimize their designs using the CFD GAMBIT/FLUENT package. The simulation results have been verified by wind tunnel experiments to within +/-3% for most cases.

The goal of integrating the CFD software into the design process at Whirlpool was to save development time and money. For example, with the established confidence level in the theoretical results, they conducted a CFD-based DOE (Design of Experiment) with sixteen different fan designs instead of a traditional experimental optimization. This task was accomplished within one fifth of the normal time frame and would otherwise not have met their project timeline.

A mini-air-system simulation for Whirlpool's room air conditioner. Courtesy of Whirlpool Corporation