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Turbo Machinery Unit 4: Centrifugal Compressors

1. Centrifugal compressors are rotodynamic machines that increase the pressure of air or other gases by imparting mechanical energy from an impeller. They consist of an impeller, casing, and diffuser. 2. As the impeller spins, it accelerates the gas outward via centrifugal force, increasing the static pressure. The diffuser then decelerates the gas, further raising the pressure. Together the impeller and diffuser can achieve a 4:1 pressure increase per stage. 3. Multiple stages are often used to achieve higher pressure rises. Surging can occur if the compressor operates at too low of a flow rate, potentially damaging components through periodic flow reversals.

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85 views

Turbo Machinery Unit 4: Centrifugal Compressors

1. Centrifugal compressors are rotodynamic machines that increase the pressure of air or other gases by imparting mechanical energy from an impeller. They consist of an impeller, casing, and diffuser. 2. As the impeller spins, it accelerates the gas outward via centrifugal force, increasing the static pressure. The diffuser then decelerates the gas, further raising the pressure. Together the impeller and diffuser can achieve a 4:1 pressure increase per stage. 3. Multiple stages are often used to achieve higher pressure rises. Surging can occur if the compressor operates at too low of a flow rate, potentially damaging components through periodic flow reversals.

Uploaded by

ram kishor singh
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Turbo Machinery

Unit 4:
Centrifugal Compressors
Introduction
• The density of the fluids change with a change in pressure as well as in temperature as they pass
through the machines. These machines are called 'compressible flow machines' and more popularly
'turbo machines’.

• The basic equation of energy transfer (Euler's equation) along with the equation of state relating
the pressure, density and temperature of the working fluid and other necessary equations of
compressible flow, are needed to describe the performance of a turbo machine.

• Here thus we are dealing with the “Compressors”.


Basics
• Rotary compressors are the machines which develop pressure and have a rotor as their primary
element when compared with the piston sliding mechanism of the reciprocating compressor.
• Whenever large quantities of air or gas are required at relatively low pressure rotary compressors
are employed.
Classification:
1. Displacement (Positive) Compressors:
Roots Blower.
Sliding vane Compressor.
Lysholm Compressor.
Screw Compressor.
2. Steady Flow (or Non-positive displacement compressors):
Centrifugal Compressors.
Axial Flow Compressors.
Centrifugal Compressors
• A centrifugal compressor is a radial flow rotodynamic fluid machine that uses mostly air
as the working fluid and utilizes the mechanical energy imparted to the machine from
outside to increase the total internal energy of the fluid mainly in the form of increased
static pressure head.

• A centrifugal Compressor mainly consists of three parts:


A stationary Casing- Also called Volute.
A rotary Impeller- imparts high velocity to the air.
A diffuser- Consisting of a number of fixed diverging passages in which the air is
decelerated with a consequent rise in static pressure.
Basic Parts and Working of Centrifugal Compressor
Principle of Operation:
• Principle of operation: Air is sucked into the impeller eye and whirled outwards at high
speed by the impeller disk. At any point in the flow of air through the impeller the
centripetal acceleration is obtained by a pressure head so that the static pressure of the air
increases from the eye to the tip of the impeller. The remainder of the static pressure rise
is obtained in the diffuser, where the very high velocity of air leaving the impeller tip is
reduced to almost the velocity with which the air enters the impeller eye.

• Usually, about half of the total pressure rise occurs in the impeller and the other half in the
diffuser. Owing to the action of the vanes in carrying the air around with the impeller,
there is a slightly higher static pressure on the forward side of the vane than on the trailing
face. The air will thus tend to flow around the edge of the vanes in the clearing space
between the impeller and the casing. This results in a loss of efficiency and the clearance
must be kept as small as possible. Sometimes, a shroud attached to the blades may
eliminate such a loss, but it is avoided because of increased disc friction loss and of
manufacturing difficulties.
Working of Centrifugal Compressor
The Driving Forces:
• Centrifugal Force
• The Aerodynamic force- Lift force.
• The decrease in velocity.
All these three forces results in the increase in Static pressure of the fluid coming out of the compressor.
These forces depends on the impeller characteristics:
Impeller rotational Speed.
Impeller Diameter.
Impeller Shape.

The practical implementations of all these parameters generally have some limitations. Thus single
impeller is not able to provide the desired output pressure- Multistage Centrifugal compressor are most
often used i.e., one or more stages.
Arrangements:

Can be Arranged in two types of Casings:

Horizontal Casing- Seals and Lube oils finds difficult to circulate through.
Vertical Casing- Seals and lube oils can be easily circulated

Material used to make the casing depends on:


• Stress.
• Temperature and,
• Corrosion.
Important Worth-Noting Points:
• The pressure rise per stage is high and the volume flow rate tends to be low. The pressure rise per
stage is generally limited to 4:1 for smooth operations.

• Blade geometry is relatively simple and small foreign material does not affect much on operational
characteristics.

• Centrifugal impellers have lower efficiency compared to axial impellers and when used in aircraft
engine it increases frontal area and thus drag. Multi staging is also difficult to achieve in case of
centrifugal machines in these cases.
Surging
• Surge is defined as the operating point at which centrifugal compressor peak head capability and
minimum flow limits are reached.

• Surging is caused due to unsteady, periodic and reversal of flow through the compressor when the
compressor has to operate at less mass flow rate than a predetermined value (a value corresponding
to maximum pressure)

• As a flow is drastically reduced than this predetermined value, this surge can reach such a magnitude
as to endanger the compressor and in many cases mechanical failures may result.
Damage Compressor bearings
Rotor blading
Scales
Bend the rotor shaft.

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