Simulation and Modeling of Ported Shroud Effects on Radial Compressor Stage Stability Limits

Carlo Cravero, Philippe Joe Leutcha and Davide Marsano
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Carlo Cravero: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica, Energetica, Gestionale e dei Trasporti (DIME), Università degli Studi di Genova, Via Montallegro 1, 16145 Genoa, Italy
Philippe Joe Leutcha: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica, Energetica, Gestionale e dei Trasporti (DIME), Università degli Studi di Genova, Via Montallegro 1, 16145 Genoa, Italy
Davide Marsano: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica, Energetica, Gestionale e dei Trasporti (DIME), Università degli Studi di Genova, Via Montallegro 1, 16145 Genoa, Italy

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-20

Abstract: The design features of a centrifugal compressor must guarantee high performance and a wide operating range. The ported shroud was developed specifically to extend the operating limit. It is a passive flow control device based on a cavity for flow recirculation to avoid blade passage blocking in near surge conditions. A CFD simulation campaign using a simplified model identified the differences in the performance of the centrifugal compressor with ported shroud, compared to the baseline case. The use of a stability criterion to determine the limit mass flow rate, developed in a previous study by the authors, highlighted and quantified the extension of the surge margin in the case with ported shroud for different rotational speeds. An increase in the surge margin of 11% was detected at design speed, but with a lower trend at higher speeds. An in-depth flow analysis showed the main physical mechanisms in the compressor that occur for different operating conditions: at near surge conditions the cavity recirculates the low momentum flow located in the inducer region; it re-energizes the mainstream decreasing the circumferential velocity component; an improvement of up to 7% of the pressure ratio was obtained. Instead, at best efficiency conditions the flow recirculation worsens the performance by reducing the flow incidence at the rotor leading edge. Finally, using unsteady simulations with a complete 3D model and with the application of the stability criterion it was possible to confirm that the ported shroud can effectively extend the operating range.

Keywords: CFD; centrifugal compressor; ported shroud; surge margin; stability criteria (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: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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