An Investigation of the Three-Dimensional Flow Field in a Centrifugal Compressor
Abstract
A series of experiments was performed to provide three-dimensional flow field data in centrifugal compressor passages and to describe the characteristic flow phenomena at the point of incipient rotating stall. These experiments entailed the acquisition and analysis of one-dimensional LDV data in the impeller passages of the Purdue Research Centrifugal Compressor at two compressor operating points: (1) the design operating point and (2) the incipient stall operating point. Additionally, the nature of compressor rotating stall was quantified by the acquisition and analysis of unsteady pressure data at the impeller inlet and exit. Finally, predictions at the design operating point form contemporary internal flow models were used for comparison with the LDV data. The inviscid flow model did not successfully predict the compressor flow field. The viscous flow model achieved better success. It predicted the major phenomena in the flow field, specifically the wake structure near the end of the passage. However, the viscous model shows poor correlation with the data, predicting that the wake was located in the shroud suction corner different from the LDV results at the design operating point.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA245427
Entities
People
- John R. Fagan Jr.
- Sanford Fleeter
Organizations
- Purdue University