Turbo-Machinery(MEng3201 )

Chapter-3

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Centrifugal Compressor
 Centrifugal Compressors

Definition
 Compressors are devices used to increase the pressure of a

fluid.
 A compressor is capable of compressing the gas to very high

pressure.
 A centrifugal compressor is mainly found on turbo chargers.

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Main components of centrifugal compressor

 Inlet pipe

 Impeller disc and impeller(a rotor having a number of vanes or

blades)

 Diffuser (with and

with out vanes or both)

 Casing

 Collection chamber

 Outlet pipe
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Working principle

 The gas enters the eye of the impeller of the centrifugal compressor

in axial direction with absolute velocity V1.

 The gas then flows radial through the impeller passage due to

centrifugal force.

 Since the impeller is rotating at very high speed(20,000 to

30,000rpm) energy is imparted to the gas by the rotating blades.

 The gas leaving from the impeller blades is turned through an angle

β2, leaves with an absolute velocity at an angle α2.

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 The gas enters the diffuser and the diffuser around the impeller

converts the KE to pressure energy.

 Centrifugal Compressor Stage and Velocity Diagrams at Impeller

Entry and Exit.

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Pressure and velocity diagram

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Velocity triangles

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Work done
 From Euler’s pump equation

 From the inlet velocity triangle V1Ɵ=0 and for radial impellers

V2Ɵ=U2;

 Slip factor is defined as V2Ɵ/U2 as there is no assurance the fluid will

leave along the impeller direction

 For radial vane impellers, the formula for s is given by Stanitz as

follows:

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 In a real fluid, some of the power supplied by the impeller

is used in overcoming losses that have a braking effect on

the air carried round by the vanes.

 These include windage, disk friction, and casing friction.

 To take account of these losses, a power input factor can

be introduced.

 This factor typically takes values between 1.035 and 1.04.

Thus the actual work done on the air becomes:

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 The first-law or energy balance relation in that case for a general

steady-flow system becomes

 For work absorbing machines And defining the stagnation enthalpy by

ho=h+(1/2)V2 and it is logical to consider the elevation difference to
be negligible

The specific work is given by

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Temperature equivalent of work done on the air is given by

Where ho and To are stagnation enthalpy and temperature respectively

Efficiency of a compressor

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  The compressor isentropic
efficiency may be defined as:

Then, using the isentropic P–

T relationship, we get:

Where γ is specific heat ratio

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 It indicated that the pressure ratio depends on the inlet temperature T01

and impeller tip speed U2. Any lowering of the inlet temperature T01
will clearly increase the pressure ratio of the compressor for a given
work input, but it is not under the control of the designer.

 The centrifugal stresses in a rotating disc are proportional to the square

of the rim. For single sided impellers of light alloy, U2 is limited to

about 460 m/s by the maximum allowable centrifugal stresses in the
impeller. Such speeds produce pressure ratios of about 4:1. To avoid
disc loading, lower speeds must be used for double-sided impellers.

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The diffuser system
 Centrifugal compressors and pumps are, in general, fitted with either a

vaneless or a vaned diffuser to transform the kinetic energy at the

impeller outlet into static pressure. The volute or scroll is the final
component of a centrifugal compressor or pump.

 This is a spiral-shaped channel of increasing cross-sectional area whose

purpose is to collect the flow from the diffuser (or impeller) and deliver
it to the exit pipe.

 The volute for compressors is almost always of the overhung type,

usually the choice is imposed by constraints of space.

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Vaneless diffusers
 The simplest method of diffusion in a radial flow machine is one where the
swirl velocity is reduced by an increase in radius (conservation of angular
momentum) and the radial component of velocity is controlled by the radial
flow area.
 From continuity

 where b is the width of passage, then the radial velocity Vr at radius r is

where subscripted variables represent conditions at the impeller outlet and the
unsubscripted variables represent conditions at any radius r in the vaneless
diffuser.

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 Assuming the flow is frictionless in the diffuser, angular momentum is constant

and

 But the tangential velocity component (VƟ) is usually very much larger than

the radial velocity component Vr, and, therefore, the ratio of the inlet to outlet
diffuser velocities V2 /V3=r3/r2

 It means that for a large reduction in the outlet kinetic energy, a diffuser with a

large radius is required.

Vaned diffusers
 The vaned diffuser is advantageous where small size is important. In this type
of diffuser, vanes are used to diffuse the outlet kinetic energy of the fluid at a
much higher rate than is possible by a simple increase in radius, and hence it is
possible to reduce the length of flow path and diameter.
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Diffuser
 The designing of an efficient combustion system is easier if the velocity of the

air entering the combustion chamber is as low as possible. Typical diffuser

outlet velocities are in the region of 90 m/s.

 The natural tendency of the air in a diffusion process is to break away from the

walls of the diverging passage, reverse its direction and flow back in the
direction of the pressure gradient.

 Eddy formation during air deceleration causes loss by reducing the maximum

pressure rise. Therefore, the maximum permissible included angle of the vane
diffuser passage is about 110. Any increase in this angle leads to a loss of
efficiency due to boundary layer separation on the passage walls.

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Compressibility effect
 If the relative velocity of a compressible fluid reaches the speed of
sound in the fluid, separation of flow causes excessive pressure losses.
Diffusion is a very difficult process and there is always a tendency for
the flow to break away from the surface, leading to eddy formation and
reduced pressure rise.
 It is necessary to control the Mach number at certain points in the flow
to mitigate this problem.
 The value of the Mach number cannot exceed the value at which shock
waves occur. The relative Mach number at the impeller inlet must be less
than unity.

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 Air breakaway from the convex face of the curved part of the impeller,

and hence the Mach number at this point, will be very important and a
shock wave might occur. Now, considering the inlet velocity triangle
again, the relative Mach number at the inlet will be given by:

 Where T1 is the static temperature at the inlet

 It is possible to reduce the Mach number by introducing the prewhirl

given by a set of fixed intake guide vanes preceding the impeller.

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Example 3.1
Air leaving the impeller with radial velocity 110 m/s makes an angle of 25.5° with the
radial direction. The impeller tip speed is 475 m/s. The compressor efficiency is 0.80
and the mechanical efficiency is 0.96. Find the slip factor, overall pressure ratio, and
power required to drive the compressor. Neglect power input factor and assume γ=1.4,
T01 = 298 K, and the mass flow rate is 3 kg/s.
Example 3.2
The impeller tip speed of a centrifugal compressor is 370 m/s, slip factor is 0.90, and the
radial velocity component at the exit is 35 m/s. If the flow area at the exit is 0.18m2 and
compressor efficiency is 0.88, determine the mass flow rate of air and the absolute Mach
number at the impeller tip. Assume air density = 1.57 kg/m3 and inlet stagnation
temperature is 290 K. Neglect the work input factor. Also, find the overall pressure ratio
of the compressor.

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Example 3.3
A centrifugal compressor is running at 16,000rpm. The stagnation pressure
ratio between the impeller inlet and outlet is 4.2. Air enters the compressor
at stagnation temperature of 20°C and 1 bar. If the impeller has radial
blades at the exit such that the radial velocity at the exit is 136m/s and the
isentropic efficiency of the compressor is 0.82. Draw the velocity triangle
at the exit of the impeller and calculate slip. Assume axial entrance and
rotor diameter at the outlet is 58 cm.

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Performance characteristics of compressors
 The performance of compressible flow machines is usually described in
terms of a groups of variables derived from dimensional analysis.
 These characteristics are dependent on other variables such as the
conditions of pressure and temperature at the compressor inlet and
physical properties of the working fluid.
 The pressure ratio (P02/P01) across the whole machine is plotted as a
function of the mass flow parameter (m 𝑇01/𝑃01 ) and speed
parameter (N/ 𝑇01).

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Stall and surge phenomenon in compressor
Stall
 Stalling of a stage, defined as the aerodynamic stall, or the breakaway of
the flow from the suction side of the blade airfoil.
 Stall, in general, is characterized by reverse flow near the blade tip,
which disrupts the velocity distribution and hence adversely affects the
performance of the succeeding stages.
 A multistage compressor may operate stably in the unsurged region
with one or more of the stages stalled, and the rest of the stages
unstalled.

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Surge
 Surging is marked by a complete breakdown of the continuous steady

flow throughout the whole compressor, resulting in large fluctuations

of flow with time and also in subsequent mechanical damage to the
compressor. The phenomenon of surging should not be confused with
the stalling of a compressor stage.

Choking
 When the velocity of fluid in a passage reaches the speed of sound at

any cross-section, the flow becomes choked (air ceases to flow).

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 The choking behavior of rotating passages differs from that of the
stationary passages, and therefore it is necessary to make separate
analysis for impeller and diffuser.
 In the case of inlet flow passages, mass flow is constant. For the
stationary inlet passage this means that no further increase in mass flow
is possible, either by decreasing the back pressure or by increasing the
rotational speed
 In the case of the centrifugal compressor, choking can occur when the
Mach number entering the diffuser passages is just in excess of unity.
This is a severe problem that is aggravated by any shock-induced
separation of the boundary layers on the vanes, which will worsen the
problem of flow blockage.

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Inlet
 When the flow is choked, V2=a2 =γRT. Since h0=h+1/2V2, then CPT0

= CPT + 1/2γRT, and

 Assuming isentropic flow

 Using the continuity equation,

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 Where (𝜌𝑜 and 𝑎𝑜 refer to inlet stagnation conditions, which

remain unchanged. The mass flow rate at choking is constant.

Impeller
 When choking occurs in the impeller passages, the relative
velocity equals the speed of sound at any section. The relative
velocity is given by:

Therefore

Using isentropic conditions

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And from continuity equation

This indicates that for rotating passages, mass flow is dependent on the
blade speed.

Diffuser
•For choking in the diffuser, we use the stagnation conditions for the
diffuser and not the inlet. Thus:

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