Chapter 3

Centrifugal Compressors and Fans

10/22/2021
All pumps are used to Increase , the pressure of a fluid. But,
they differ in the tasks they perform.
 Fan:- to increases the pressure of gas slightly and it is
mainly used to move a gass around
 Compressor:- used to compress gasses to slightly high
pressure, also reduces the volume of gas
 Liquid Pump:- used to compress liquids to slightly high
pressure

10/22/2021
 Applications

Compressors are mechanical devices that compresses gases. It is

widely used in industries and has various applications such as:
o Air conditioners, (car, home)
o Home and industrial refrigeration
o Hydraulic compressors for industrial machines
o Air compressors for industrial manufacturing

10/22/2021
 What are its various types?
Compressor classification can be described by following flow chart:

10/22/2021
 What are dynamic compressors?
The dynamic compressor is continuous flow compressor is characterized
by rotating impeller to add velocity and thus pressure to fluid.

It is widely used in chemical and petroleum refinery industry for specific

services.

There are two types of dynamic compressors

 Centrifugal Compressor
 Axial Flow Compressor
10/22/2021
 Centrifugal Compressor

Achieves compression by applying inertial forces to the gas by means of

rotating impellers.
It is multiple stage ; each stage consists of an impeller as the rotating
element and the stationary element, i.e. diffuser
 Fluid flow enters the impeller axially and discharged radially
 The gas next flows through a circular chamber (diffuser), where it loses
velocity and increases pressure.

10/22/2021
 Axial flow compressor
Working fluid principally flows parallel to the axis of rotation.
 The energy level of air or gas flowing through it is increased by the
action of the rotor blades which exert a torque on the fluid

Have the benefits of high efficiency and

large mass flow rate

Require several rows of airfoils to achieve

large pressure rises making them complex
and expensive 10/22/2021
 Why multistage compressor?
High temp rise leads into limitation for the maximum achievable pressure
rise.
Discharge temperature shall not exceed 150ºC and should not exceed 1350C
for hydrogen rich services
A multistage centrifugal compressor compresses air to the required pressure
in multiple stages.
Intercoolers are used in between each stage to removes heat and decrease
the temperature of gas so that gas could be compressed to higher pressure
without much rise in temperature

Intercooler
10/22/2021
 Components
It consists of a stationary casing containing an
impeller, which rotates and imparts kinetic energy to
the air and a number of diverging passages in which
the air decelerates.

10/22/2021
Classifications of impellors Shrouded
Shrouded

Unshrouded

UNSHROUDED
No cover = higher rotational speed.
Pressure ratio is proportional to (operating speed)^2
Unshrouded pressure ratio = 10:1.
Shrouded pressure ratio = 3:1.
Capable of generating higher pressures than shrouded
impellers.

10/22/2021
 Between-bearing Configuration

Impellers mounted on a single shaft. A driver (either an electric

motor, steam turbine, or gas turbine) rotates the shaft and
impellers at a common speed. 10/22/2021
Principles of Operation
 Energy is transferred from the impeller to the fluid by almost purely centrifugal
effect. A rotating particle about some axis of rotation usually tends to escape in the
outward radial direction.
 Flow enters into the compressor through the impeller eye. The rotating impeller
drives the inlet flow to the larger radius exit by centrifugal effect. Subsequently,
low pressure region is created around the impeller eye which allows fluid to be
sucked into the compressor.
 The part of the impeller that creates low pressure region is called the inducer. The
flow is induced through the impeller eye and is forced at impeller exit.
 Inlet guide vanes are usually provided before the impeller eye. The flow is
accelerated through a nozzle inlet casing in some centrifugal compressors before it
enters the IGVs.
 The fluid which gets out of the impeller is again diffuses through diverging area of
stationary blades (diffusers) to convert its kinetic energy into static pressure.
Volute casing surrounding the compressor stage collects the diffused flow. 10/22/2021
 Practical pressure ratio is between 4 to 6 in a single stage centrifugal
compressor.
 At higher mass flow rate values, axial compressors have better
efficiency but at lower flow rates centrifugal compressors have better
performance.
 Fans have the least pressure rise, where as blowers have a relatively
larger pressure rise and compressors deliver a substantial pressure
rise.

10/22/2021
 Velocity Diagrams for A Centrifugal Compressor
  
The gas enters the compressor at the eye, in
an axial direction with absolute velocity c1
and moves into the inducer section.
 The inducer section transfers the gas onto
the blades and enables it to move in radial
direction.
,
 The energy is transfered to gass as it moves
from inlet to outlet and the gass moves with
absolute velocity c2
10/22/2021
In  the ideal case, air comes out from the


impeller tip after making an angle of 90 0 (i.e.,

in the radial direction),

 the whirl component is exactly equal to the

impeller tip velocity
 But if there is slip factor

10/22/2021
 WORK DONE
  Thetheoretical torque will be equal to the rate of change of angular momentum
experienced by the air.

Theoretical work

Considering slip factor

 For radial vaned impellers, the formula for slip factor is given by Stanitz as
follows:

10/22/2021
  
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.
o These include wind age, disk friction, and casing friction.
o To take account of these losses, a power input factor of values between
1.035 and 1.04 can be introduced.
Thus the actual work done on the air becomes:

The energy transferred is

10/22/2021
  
Temperature equivalent of work done on the air is given by:

As no work is done on the air in the diffuser, where, is the stagnation

temperature at the diffuser outlet.

the compressor total to total efficiency is

10/22/2021
  
Since
  

But from ideal gas property

• The pressure ratio depends on the T01 and U. 10/22/2021

To  calculate the static pressure rise in centrifugal stages occurs in the


impeller, diffuser and the volute let us equate the work supplied from
enthalpy and Euler equation
Impeller

After some arrangement

Introduce

The loading or pressure coefficient is defined as

10/22/2021
   Euler equation,
From
then,

These two ratios are known as stage pressure ratios

10/22/2021
 DIFFUSER
 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, as shown in figure below
 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.

10/22/2021
 DEGREE OF REACTION
 
The degree of reaction of a centrifugal compressor stage is given by

If the velocity of the gas approaching the compressor inlet is negligible then and
,

10/22/2021
  

10/22/2021
 THE EFFECT OF BLADE SHAPE ON PERFORMANCE

There are three empelers can be used in compressor:-

forward-curved, backward-curved, and radial vanes
Let us consider three turbomachinery characteristics to decide
the type of impeller for specified operation
 energy delivered to fluid by empeller
 Motor Power
 Pressure ratio

10/22/2021
  
The energy transfered to fluid by impeller is

But from mass conservation equation

then substituting for radial absolute velocity

This eqaution is linear eqaution

10/22/2021
 Consider three cases   𝑈 22   𝑈 2 𝑐𝑜𝑡 𝛽 2
𝑏=
𝑎=
𝑔 𝐴𝜌𝑔

𝒃𝒎  
𝒂 −
  𝑬 =

The energy transferred is constant at all flow rates and hence the
characteristic is neutral.
E=a

As m increases E increases, (most of the time140)

10/22/2021
 Power change depending on blade shape

Radial and forward facing blades

• the power is rising continuously as the flow rate is increased.
Backward-facing vanes
• the maximum efficiency occurs in the region of maximum power.
• If m increases beyond 'designed m' (mD), it will result in a power decrease.

self-limiting characteristic:- the activity of motor to

drive the compressor safely rated at the
maximum power.
10/22/2021
 COMPRESSIBILITY EFFECTS
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

10/22/2021
 MACH NUMBER IN THE DIFFUSER
 The absolute velocity of the fluid becomes a maximum at the tip of the
impeller and so the Mach number may well be in excess of unity.
Assuming a perfect gas, the Mach number at the impeller exit M2 can
be written as:

 However, it has been found that as long as the radial velocity

component (Cr2) is subsonic, Mach number greater than unity can be
used at the impeller tip without loss of efficiency.
 In addition, supersonic diffusion can occur without the formation of
shock waves provided constant angular momentum is maintained with
vortex motion in the vaneless space.
10/22/2021
 Cont…
 High Mach numbers at the inlet to the diffuser vanes will also
cause high pressure at the stagnation points on the diffuser vane
tips, which leads to a variation of static pressure around the
circumference of the diffuser.
 This pressure variation is transmitted upstream in a radial direction
through the vaneless space and causes cyclic loading of the
impeller.

10/22/2021
CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR CHARACTERISTICS
  
The performance of compressible flow machines is
usually described in terms of the groups of variables
derived in 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.
 To study the performance of a compressor completely,
it is necessary to plot against the mass flow parameter
for fixed speed intervals of
10/22/2021
1. “shut off” head.
2. As flow control valve is opened, the air
starts flowing and diffuser increases the
pressure head upto the maximum
pressure head (but the efficiency is just
below the maximum efficiency.)
3. Maximum efficiency or design mass
flow rate and pressure head.
4. all the power absorbed by the
compressor is used to overcome the
internal friction and thus the compressor
efficiency is zero
10/22/2021
Surging
 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.

10/22/2021
 Stall
 Stalling of a stage will be defined as the aerodynamic stall, or
the breakaway of the flow from the suction side of the blade
airfoil.
 A multistage compressor may operate stably in the un surged
region with one or more of the stages stalled, and the rest of the
stages unstalled.
 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.
10/22/2021
Inlet compressor design
  
When the flow is choked,

Assuming isentropic flow, we have:

and when C = a, M = 1, so that

10/22/2021
  

Using the continuity equation,

We have

where 0and a0 refer to inlet stagnation conditions, which remain

unchanged. The mass flow rate at choking is constant.

10/22/2021
 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,

And, from the continuity equation:

10/22/2021
  

10/22/2021
 Diffuser
  
For choking in the diffuser, we use the stagnation conditions for
the diffuser and not the inlet. Thus:

 It is clear that stagnation conditions at the diffuser inlet are

dependent on the impeller process.

10/22/2021
 Examples 1

Air leaving the impeller with radial velocity 110 m/s makes an angle of
25030’ with the axial 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  = 1.4, T01 = 298 K,
and the mass flow rate is 3 kg/s.

10/22/2021
 Example 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.

10/22/2021
 Example 3

A centrifugal compressor is required to deliver 8 kg/s of air with a

stagnation pressure ratio of 4 rotating at 15,000 rpm. The air enters
the compressor at 258C and 1 bar. Assume that the air enters axially
with velocity of 145 m/s and the slip factor is 0.89. If the compressor
isentropic efficiency is 0.89, find the rise in stagnation temperature,
impeller tip speed, diameter, work input, and area at the impeller eye.

10/22/2021
 Quiz

The impeller tip speed of a centrifugal compressor is 450 m/s with

no pre whirl. If the slip factor is 0.90 and the isentropic efficiency of
the compressor is 0.86, calculate the pressure ratio, the work input
per kg of air, and the power required for 25 kg/s of airflow. Assume
that the compressor is operating at standard sea level and a power
input factor of 1

10/22/2021