Effects of Different Blade Angle Distributions on Centrifugal Compressor Performance

Abstract

A centrifugal compressor with three different shrouded 2D impellers is studied numerically. All impellers have the same dimensions, and they only differ in channel length and geometry. Noticeable differences in efficiency are observed. Two different turbulence models, Chien's k-ε and k-ω SST, are compared. For this case, k-ω SST was found more realistic. The hypothesis that pressure losses in a curved duct and in an impeller passage behave similarly is suggested and found inadequate.