Comparative Study of Unsteady Flows in a Transonic Centrifugal Compressor with Vaneless and Vaned Diffusers
<p>To reduce vibration and noise level, the impeller and diffuser blade numbers inside an industrial compressor are typically chosen without common divisors. The shapes of volutes or collectors in these compressors are also not axis-symmetric. When impeller blades pass these asymmetric structu...
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Wiley
2005-01-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Rotating Machinery |
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| Online Access: | http://www.hindawi.net/access/get.aspx?journal=ijrm&volume=2005&pii=S1023621X03502044 |
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| author | Cui Michael M. |
| author_facet | Cui Michael M. |
| author_sort | Cui Michael M. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>To reduce vibration and noise level, the impeller and diffuser blade numbers inside an industrial compressor are typically chosen without common divisors. The shapes of volutes or collectors in these compressors are also not axis-symmetric. When impeller blades pass these asymmetric structures, the flow field in the compressor is time-dependent and three-dimensional. To obtain a fundamental physical understanding of these three-dimensional unsteady flow fields and assess their impact on the compressor performance, the flow field inside the compressors needs to be studied as a whole to include asymmetric and unsteady interaction between the compressor components. In the current study, a unified three-dimensional numerical model was built for a transonic centrifugal compressor including impeller, diffusers, and volute. HFC 134a was used as the working fluid. The thermodynamic and transport properties of the refrigerant gas were modeled by the Martin-Hou equation of state and power laws, respectively. The three-dimensional unsteady flow field was simulated with a Navier-Stokes solver using the <math alttext="$k-varepsilon $"> <mi>k</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>ϵ</mi> </math> turbulent model. The overall performance parameters are obtained by integrating the field quantities. Both the unsteady flow field and the overall performance are analyzed comparatively for each component. The compressor was tested in a water chiller system instrumented to obtain both the overall performance data and local flow-field quantities. The experimental and numerical results agree well. The correlation between the overall compressor performance and local flow-field quantities is defined. The methodology developed and data obtained in these studies can be applied to the centrifugal compressor design and optimization.</p> |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3e2aed4a106e41e38631b3e79e34c233 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1023-621X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2005-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Rotating Machinery |
| spelling | doaj-art-3e2aed4a106e41e38631b3e79e34c2332025-02-03T00:59:12ZengWileyInternational Journal of Rotating Machinery1023-621X2005-01-012005190103Comparative Study of Unsteady Flows in a Transonic Centrifugal Compressor with Vaneless and Vaned DiffusersCui Michael M.<p>To reduce vibration and noise level, the impeller and diffuser blade numbers inside an industrial compressor are typically chosen without common divisors. The shapes of volutes or collectors in these compressors are also not axis-symmetric. When impeller blades pass these asymmetric structures, the flow field in the compressor is time-dependent and three-dimensional. To obtain a fundamental physical understanding of these three-dimensional unsteady flow fields and assess their impact on the compressor performance, the flow field inside the compressors needs to be studied as a whole to include asymmetric and unsteady interaction between the compressor components. In the current study, a unified three-dimensional numerical model was built for a transonic centrifugal compressor including impeller, diffusers, and volute. HFC 134a was used as the working fluid. The thermodynamic and transport properties of the refrigerant gas were modeled by the Martin-Hou equation of state and power laws, respectively. The three-dimensional unsteady flow field was simulated with a Navier-Stokes solver using the <math alttext="$k-varepsilon $"> <mi>k</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>ϵ</mi> </math> turbulent model. The overall performance parameters are obtained by integrating the field quantities. Both the unsteady flow field and the overall performance are analyzed comparatively for each component. The compressor was tested in a water chiller system instrumented to obtain both the overall performance data and local flow-field quantities. The experimental and numerical results agree well. The correlation between the overall compressor performance and local flow-field quantities is defined. The methodology developed and data obtained in these studies can be applied to the centrifugal compressor design and optimization.</p>http://www.hindawi.net/access/get.aspx?journal=ijrm&volume=2005&pii=S1023621X03502044centrifugal compressorimpellerdiffuservoluteunsteady flowtransonic flow |
| spellingShingle | Cui Michael M. Comparative Study of Unsteady Flows in a Transonic Centrifugal Compressor with Vaneless and Vaned Diffusers International Journal of Rotating Machinery centrifugal compressor impeller diffuser volute unsteady flow transonic flow |
| title | Comparative Study of Unsteady Flows in a Transonic Centrifugal Compressor with Vaneless and Vaned Diffusers |
| title_full | Comparative Study of Unsteady Flows in a Transonic Centrifugal Compressor with Vaneless and Vaned Diffusers |
| title_fullStr | Comparative Study of Unsteady Flows in a Transonic Centrifugal Compressor with Vaneless and Vaned Diffusers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparative Study of Unsteady Flows in a Transonic Centrifugal Compressor with Vaneless and Vaned Diffusers |
| title_short | Comparative Study of Unsteady Flows in a Transonic Centrifugal Compressor with Vaneless and Vaned Diffusers |
| title_sort | comparative study of unsteady flows in a transonic centrifugal compressor with vaneless and vaned diffusers |
| topic | centrifugal compressor impeller diffuser volute unsteady flow transonic flow |
| url | http://www.hindawi.net/access/get.aspx?journal=ijrm&volume=2005&pii=S1023621X03502044 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cuimichaelm comparativestudyofunsteadyflowsinatransoniccentrifugalcompressorwithvanelessandvaneddiffusers |