Nea. Ahmed et Rl. Elder, Flow behaviour in a high speed centrifugal impeller passage under 'design'and 'off design' operating conditions, JSME I J B, 43(1), 2000, pp. 22-28
Citations number
19
Categorie Soggetti
Mechanical Engineering
Journal title
JSME INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL SERIES B-FLUIDS AND THERMAL ENGINEERING
Complex geometry and very small working space within a modern high speed im
peller passage impose severe constraints on any experimental technique to b
e used for detailed measurement. In this study, using a dual focus laser ve
locimeter, low energy regions were located in the impeller passage of a sma
ll high speed commercial centrifugal compressor passage at three rotational
speeds, one close to 100 000 rev/min under 'design' and 'off design' opera
ting conditions. It was deduced that impeller rotation and mass flow rate s
ignificantly altered the flow pattern. Higher speed and lower mass flow rat
e enhanced the process of flow separation resulting in noticeable movement
of wake regions to different locations within the impeller passage. Interes
tingly, however, the overall wake behaviour pattern of high speed impeller
flow was quite similar to those observed previously in low speed impeller p
assage. This finding may have positive implications for future design.