A Deep Insight Into the Transonic Flow of an Advanced Centrifugal Compressor Design

Abstract

In the last decades, major improvements in transonic centrifugal compressor design have been achieved. The further exploration of design space is enabled by recent progress in structural mechanics and manufacturing. A challenging task of inducer design especially in terms of transonic inflow conditions is to provide a wide flow range and reduced losses due to a sufficient shock control. The use of so-called multidisciplinary design optimization with an extensive amount of free parameters leads finally to complex designs. DLR’s latest fast rotating centrifugal compressor (SRV5) operates at a design speed of Mu2 = 1.72 and a total pressure ratio of 5.72. This compressor design is characterized by an S-shaped leading edge and free-form blade surfaces. Due to the complex design, the key design features are difficult to explore. Therefore, nonintrusive measurements are conducted on the highly loaded SRV5. The laser-2-focus (L2F) approach that is used in addition with the doppler-global-velocimetry (DGV) delivers a three-dimensional velocity field. Besides the impeller inflow, the outflow is also part of the experimental and numerical verification of the advanced compressor design. Experimental results are compared with the numerical analysis of the compressor using DLR’s Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes Flow Solver TRACE. The deep insight of the inflow leads to a better understanding of the operating behavior of such impeller designs.