Unstable Flow Structures Present at Different Rotational Velocities of the Centrifugal Compressor

Grzegorz Liśkiewicz, Kirill Kabalyk, Andrzej Jaeschke, Filip Grapow, Michał Kulak, Mateusz Stajuda and Władysław Kryłłowicz
Additional contact information
Grzegorz Liśkiewicz: Institute of Turbomachinery, Łódź University of Technology, 90-924 Łódź, Poland
Kirill Kabalyk: Institute of Turbomachinery, Łódź University of Technology, 90-924 Łódź, Poland
Andrzej Jaeschke: Institute of Turbomachinery, Łódź University of Technology, 90-924 Łódź, Poland
Filip Grapow: Institute of Turbomachinery, Łódź University of Technology, 90-924 Łódź, Poland
Michał Kulak: Institute of Turbomachinery, Łódź University of Technology, 90-924 Łódź, Poland
Mateusz Stajuda: Institute of Turbomachinery, Łódź University of Technology, 90-924 Łódź, Poland
Władysław Kryłłowicz: Institute of Turbomachinery, Łódź University of Technology, 90-924 Łódź, Poland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-19

Abstract: Unstable flow structures cause inevitable energy losses in all power energy systems, including turbomachines. In this study, a set of analyses was conducted with the use of spectral maps on the pressure signals obtained from an industrial centrifugal compressor. The spectral maps provide one a detailed visualization of the flow conditions present in the machine along the performance curve and to distinguish the flow phenomena present prior to the surge. The method accuracy is especially useful in detecting the inlet recirculation. The study was conducted at four impeller rotational speeds with varying loads imposed by a valve at the outlet. At each speed, the machine experienced different stages of unstable flow conditions prior to the surge. Five main frequency peaks that appeared in all cases were identified and discussed. The surge was observed at all impeller speeds. At lower ones, however, it appeared at higher valve closures. At higher speeds, the surge was much more intense. The study has also shown that the inlet recirculation appears also for the closed-type industrial impeller. The phenomenon was present in all conditions. The higher impeller speed, the faster onset of the inlet recirculation was. This structure has a strong potential for an early instability warning because it appears in various types of impellers, has a very particular spectral structure and its positioning is very predictable. This study gives another example of the inlet recirculation universality and potential for efficient anti-surge protection.

Keywords: turbomachinery; centrifugal; compressor; surge; stall; recirculation; unstable flows (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/16/4146/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/16/4146/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:16:p:4146-:d:397503

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().