Chapter 6

Axial compressor
Centrifugal Axial compressor
comp
Higher pressure ratio and
4:1 maximum pres. Ratio trust area @ higher
70-80 % ..by multi stage efficiency

Axial inlet flow

Less isentropic
efficiency
Less frontal area
Large frontal area High starting torque

Less starting torque Higher isentropic

efficiency
Enter axially but leaves
Radially
Turbin Axial comp
e
Large in let area Small inlet area

The P is raised in
Uses nozzle to blades
increase pressure
 Components
Guide vane
• Fixed blades, fitted to the compressor inlet. They are used to guide
the air at the correct angle onto the first row of moving blades.
Blades
• The rotating blades:- Impart kinetic energy to the air while
increasing air pressure
• the stationary row of blades:- redirect the air in the proper
direction and convert a part of the kinetic energy into pressure.
09/24/2021
NB:-
• The height of the blades is seen to decrease as the fluid moves through the
compressor.
• As the pressure increases in the direction of flow, the volume of air
decreases. To keep the air velocity the same for each stage, the blade height
is decreased along the axis of the compressor.
09/24/2021
 − Axial flow compressors
usually consists of a series of
Working principle stages.
• Each stage comprises of a row of rotor blades followed by a row of
stator blades.
• Gasses is initially accelerated by the rotor blades and then
decelerated in the stator passages.
• In the stator, the kinetic energy transferred in the rotor is converted
to static pressure.
• This process is repeated in several stages to yield the necessary
overall pressure ratio.
• This occurs both in the • The compression process
rotor as well as the consists of a series of
stator. diffusions.
• Due to motion of the rotor blades-- 2 distinct velocity compnts:
abs and rel velocities in the rotor.
• The abs velocity of the fluid is increased in the rotor, while
the rel one is decreased, leading to diffusion.
• %tage pressure ratio is limited b/se a compressor operates in
an adverse pressure gradient environment.
 Velocity increases
in each rotor stage
and decreases in
stator, while
pressure increases
both in rotor and
stator
 Velocity diagram
••  Air enters the rotor blade with at an angle from the axial dirctn.

• Air leaves the rotor blade with absolute velocityat an angle .

• As work is done on the air in the rotor blades, is larger than .
• The rotor row has tangential velocity U. Combining the two velocity vectors
gives the relative velocity at inlet at an angle .
• is the relative velocity at the rotor outlet. It is less than
• Euler’s
  equation provides the work done on the air:
)
• Using the velocity triangles, the following basic equations can be written:
+
= tan+𝑡𝑎𝑛
• If =is the axial velocity, assumed constant through the stage.
• The work done may be written in terms of air angles:

𝑾
  𝒄 =𝑼 𝑪 𝒂 (𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝜶 𝟐 −𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝜶 𝟏 )
09/24/2021
 Raise
pressure

Raise
velocity

Equal with
change in
enthalpy

Raise
stagnation
temperature of
the air
 The work done is equal to the
change in stagnation
enthalpy across the stage.
•  
Regardless of the losses, all the energy is used to increase the
stagnation temperature of the air, .

• This is theoretical temperature rise of the air in one stage.

  

••  In reality, the stage temperature rise will be less than this value due

to 3-D effects in the compressor annulus.

• To find the actual temperature rise of the air, a factor, which is
between 0 and 100%, will be used. Thus the actual temperature rise
of the air is given by:
•  
Now, let us calculate pressure raise/ pressure ratio/

09/24/2021
• From the above equation that relates the per stage
temperature rise to the pressure ratio, it can be seen that to
obtain a high temperature ratio for a given overall pressure
ratio (for minimizing number of stages),
– High blade speed: limited by blades stresses
– High axial velocity, high fluid deflection (β1-β2): Aerodynamic
considerations and adverse pressure gradients limit the above.
 Axial comp characteristics

• Flow coefficients
• Head coefficients
• Loading coefficients
• Degree of reactions
• Operating region
 Flow Coefficient (𝜙)
  𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑝

• The
  flow coefficient relate the axial velocity component to the
circumferential speed as follows;

• The only observation to make for this coefficient is that the higher the
axial velocity in the stage the higher the flow coefficient.

09/24/2021 Turbo Machinery Lecture Notes By Tamiru M.

 Head coefficient

• is
It   the ratio of entalphy raise in stage to entalpy corresponding to
peripheral velocity
 Loading Coefficient (ψ)

•The
  stage loading factor is an important design parameter of a compressor stage and
is one which strongly affects the off-design performance characteristics.

Under application of Euler’s equation of change in enthalpy

Ψ = , since

Ψ=
 Degree of Reaction
••  The degree of reaction, R, is defined as:

• The degree of reaction indicates the distribution of the total pressure

rise into the two types of blades. The choice of a particular degree of
reaction is important in that it affects the velocity triangles, the fluid
friction and other losses.

09/24/2021 Turbo Machinery Lecture Notes By Tamiru M.

•  
  

But from the velocity triangles

•  
Therefore,
09/24/2021 Turbo Machinery Lecture Notes By Tamiru M.
 AXIAL FLOW COMPRESSOR
CHARACTERISTICS
• It covers a narrower range of mass flow than
the centrifugal compressors, and the surge line
is also steeper than that of a centrifugal
compressor.
• Surging and choking limit the curves at the two
ends.
• However, the surge points in the axial flow
compressors are reached before the curves
reach a maximum value. In practice, the design
points is very close to the surge line.
• In an axial flow compressor air enters the compressor at
stagnation pressure and temperature of 1 bar and 292K,
respectively. The pressure ratio of the compressor is 9.5. If
isentropic efficiency of the compressor is 0.85, find the work of
compression and the final temperature at the outlet. Assume
gama 1.4, and Cp=1.005 kJ/kg K
• An axial flow compressor is to be designed to generate a total
pressure ratio of 4.0 with an overall isentropic efficiency of
0.85. The inlet and outlet blade angles of the rotor blades are
45 degree & 10 degree respectively and the compressor stage
has a degree of reaction of 50 percent. If the blade speed is
220 m/s and the work done factor is 0.86, find the number of
stages required. Is it likely that the compressor will suffer
from shock losses? The ambient air static temperature is 290
K and the air enters the compressor through guide vanes.
• A 50% reaction axial flow compressor has inlet and outlet
blade angles of 45o and 12, respectively. The blade speed at
the tip of the rotor is 320 m/s. If the inlet total temperature is
300 K, determine the tip relative Mach number.
An axial flow compressor has a tip diameter of 0.95 m and a hub diameter
of 0.85 m. The absolute velocity of air makes an angle of 28 degree
measured from the axial direction and relative velocity angle is 56 degrees.
The absolute velocity outlet angle is 56 and the relative velocity outlet
angle is 28. The rotor rotates at 5000 rpm and the density of air is 1.2 kg/m.
Determine:
– The axial velocity.
– The mass flow rate.
– The power required.