In industries that work with dangerous gases and substances, risk-mitigation is critical. High quality HVAC systems provide peace of mind to those working around volatile substances, such as hydrogen. Mark Gallifant, BDM at Elta, explains how collaboration and teamwork helped solve a critical problem at Helical Technology.
World leader in the design and manufacture of acoustic and Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valves, Helical Technology, has established itself as a market leader for the provision of solutions for problems in the most challenging of conditions. Back in February 2023, Mostafa Koochak, Senior Test Engineer at Helical Technology, was tasked with designing a new test cell at the company’s Warton testing facility.
As part of the testing process, hydrogen is supplied to the engines. Being a highly explosive gas and potentially volatile substance, any hydrogen leaks or escapes from the engine must immediately be extracted from the test cell to avoid sudden ignition and explosion, mitigating potentially disastrous outcomes.
With extraction of any potential hydrogen leaks a crucial factor, Mostafa set about scoping out the specification of a fan that would sit in a fume hood above the test cell. On inspecting a label found within an existing exhaust unit as part of his research, Mostafa found an Elta fan from 2010.
From the label of the previous fan used in an older Helical exhaust unit from Elta, the sales team were able to retrospectively advise Mostafa on the specification of the fan. As part of the process, Elta also assisted Mostafa with various other elements of the project, including the running of calculations and simulations for the air flow pattern in the test cell.
The resulting product of this partnership between Elta and Helical was a bifurcated axial fan designed to sit in the fume hood, continuously running on a ‘low power mode’ during testing to extract fumes as part of a risk-mitigation strategy. If hydrogen is detected, the test cell control system will increase the fan speed to extract the leakage immediately.
The bifurcated axial fan supplied by Elta has a nominal diameter of 560 mm and hub size of 150 mm with an axial, aluminium impeller. Running at a fan speed of 2,880 r/min and with a motor power of 4.00 kW, the fan is capable of moving 3.21 m3/s of air – meeting the necessary requirements.
“The sales team at Elta were incredibly supportive, especially in the early stages of the project. From the label I found on the previously installed fan, they were able to specify retrospective solutions from the get-go. The resulting product is a technically accurate fan used in the fume hood as a crucial risk mitigation strategy. The level of care and attention that I have received in this partnership is unmatched and I look forward to working with the team again.”
You can visit Elta at Chem UK 2025 on stand G44 or for more information about Elta, please visit the website below.
