Performance Enhancement of Centrifugal Compressor with Addition of Splitter Blade Close to Pressure Surface

Abstract

This paper exemplified a way to increase pressure ratio and improve efficiency with addition of multi splitters in centrifugal impeller with a vaneless diffuser. DDA 404-III back swept impeller of centrifugal compressor, studied through experiment is modified with the addition of splitters blades and a sample impeller is designed and analyzed with big splitter close to pressure surface and small splitter close to suction surface. Keeping all flow conditions and impeller definitions, same as experimentally validated impeller, in order to investigate effects of the location of the splitters between two main blades. It was observed that total pressure ratio is increased from 4.1 to 4.5 with 2 % increase in efficiency with big splitter close to pressure surface of main blade and small splitter close to suction surface of main blade. It was observed that relative Mach number reduces at inlet of modified impeller.

Keywords

• Numerical simulation; Multi splitter blades; DDA 404-III Impeller; Centrifugal Compressor