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JetEngine 2

Modern gas turbine engines utilize two main types of compressors: centrifugal and axial flow. Centrifugal compressors are compact, efficient, and robust, with air flowing radially outward, while axial flow compressors have air flowing parallel to the shaft and are more widely used. Each type has specific operational requirements and advantages, including multi-stage configurations for enhanced performance.

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Romit Manna
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6 views

JetEngine 2

Modern gas turbine engines utilize two main types of compressors: centrifugal and axial flow. Centrifugal compressors are compact, efficient, and robust, with air flowing radially outward, while axial flow compressors have air flowing parallel to the shaft and are more widely used. Each type has specific operational requirements and advantages, including multi-stage configurations for enhanced performance.

Uploaded by

Romit Manna
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Two basic types of compressors are used in modern gas turbine engines, viz.

A) centrifugal compressor and


B) axial flow compressor.

In centrifugal type compressor the air flows radially outward from the centre. It is most commonly used on gas
turbines installed on helicopters.

The axial flow type compressor has airflow that flows parallel to the compressor shaft. It is most widely used
type of compressor

Each type of compressor has it's advantages and disadvantages.


A compressor must satisfy certain requirements during its operation:

1. It must provide required pressure rise


2. It must operate with least possible losses to keep power absorption by turbine as low as possible
3. It must provide stable aerodynamic qualities over its RPM operating range
4. Tip speed of impeller or rotors must be below sonic speed

To obtain flexibility in performance a compromise for efficiency is made to enable high efficiency over a narrow
band of RPM and moderate performance over a wide range of RPM.
Centrifugal Casing Air Inlet Guide Vanes & Outlet Ports
compressor

Primary Components of a Centrifugal


Compressor/ Compressor
Impeller

Diffuser

1. For a given capacity & pressure rise, centrifugal compressor can be made compact with weight savings,
2. Impeller can be accurately balanced, as motion is purely rotary,
3. Efficiency can be maintained over wide range of operating conditions
4. It is robust
5. It is relatively easy to manufacture
Air enters air intake at atmospheric pressure &
temperature, passing into the eye of impeller. Air is
picked up by the rotating vanes. Speed of rotor and
centrifugal force cause air to leave the periphery of
impeller at right angles to the direction of entry, with
increased velocity. After leaving impeller vanes, air
acquires tangential velocity, in addition to the radial
velocity. Tangential velocity represents almost half the
total energy acquired during passage through the
impeller. Air then passes on to a diffuser, where
kinetic energy is converted into pressure energy.
Work is done by the compressor , and compression
results in temperature rise of the air.
The temperature rise in the compressor depends on the work
done , thus on the tip velocity of the impeller, and inlet air
temperature. These type of impellers have compression ratio of
4.5 to 1, with about 80% of efficiency. Losses due to friction,
turbulence and shock increase with the rate of flow through the
impeller. So effective pressure rise is reduced. Thus at a given
tip speed, constant pressure ratio with varying flow rate cannot
be obtained.
There are two types of Centrifugal Compressors:
1. Single entry compressor &
2. Double entry compressor

Single entry compressor has a disc with radially disposed


vanes. These vanes form divergent passages which force the
air into the diffuser vanes. Because of the high tip speeds of
the disc, the air may speed up to sonic speed. Thus it
becomes necessary to avoid compressibility effects . So vaes
are curved and then blend into radial portion of the tip.

Centrifugal compressors are stressed components, and


susceptible to vibration. Vibration is caused by pressure
concentration near leading edge of the vanes. At the instant
of vane passing diffuser tip, a pressure fluctuation impulse is
generated. Its intensity depends on number of vanes and
speed. If this frequency coincides with natural frequency of
the compressor part, resonance builds up. The internal failure
as a result may spread, until centrifugal stresses become
strong enough to tear up the material, leading to structural
failure. The total compression ratio is combined effect of
impeller and diffuser.
The Double Entry compressor is similar to the single entry version, but the
radial vanes are disposed at both sides of the disc. Air enters from each side,
and is delivered to the diffuser radially. Balancing of the disc is carried out to
minimize the chances of vibrations. Double entry compressor diameter can be
made smaller compared to single entry compressor diameter, to deliver a given
amount of air. But heat transfer of this version through the shroud results in loss
of compression efficiency.
The function of a diffuser is to convert kinetic
energy of the air leaving the impeller to pressure
energy before it passes into the combustion
chambers. It is made of a number of tangential
vanes their inner edges being parallel to the
direction of airflow from the rotating impeller. The
passage between vanes is designed to obtain air
pressure required for entry to the combustion
chambers. As air passes through diffuser vanes,
it's velocity decreases and pressure increases.
Multi- stage centrifugal compressors have two or more single compressors mounted in tandem, on the
same shaft. The air, compressed by the first stage is received by the second stage, at an entry point
near the hub. Second stage further compresses the air, and passes it on to the diffuser. This
arrangement is widely used on modern helicopters free turbine engines.

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