A quasi-one-dimensional model for the centrifugal compressors performance simulations

Abstract

This paper presents a quasi-one-dimensional numerical tool to simulate the performance of the centrifugal compressors. The current model is especially useful since it could offer the reliable prediction for the centrifugal compressor performance only based on the simple geometries. An adapted version of the Euler equations solved at mid-span by a time-marching, finite-volume method, is applied in the model. The inviscid effect, the viscous effect and the geometry variation effect in the centrifugal compressor are expressed by the source terms in the Euler Equations. In the study, different loss sources in the centrifugal compressor are analyzed and estimated by empirical correlations. Two different centrifugal compressors are applied to validate the current model and the numerical simulations are compared to experimental data. The results suggest that the model provides a valuable tool for evaluating the centrifugal compressor performance during the preliminary design and optimization process.