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Through Flow Analysis of Centrifugal

Compressors

A. GOULAS
Research Student

R. C. BAKER*
Lecturer

Mechanical Engineering Dept.,

Imperial College of Science and Technology,
London, England

The matrix through-flow analysis is applied to the Si and S2 surfaces of a centri-

fugal compressor impeller. The dissipation force is expressed in terms of the
stress tensor and this allows the K - model of turbulence to be applied. The limita-
tions on the use of this model are discussed. Solutions are presented for both
Si and S2 surfaces. For the S2 surface, the streamline pattern for the K - e model
is compared with the isentropic solution. Values of meridional velocity are also
plotted. For the Si surface, as well as the K - e model, a simple turbulence model
using the logarithmic law of the wall is used. The simple model confirms that
large entropy gradients are responsible for the wake formation and the K - e model
predicts the wake formation.

*Present address: Professor of Fluids Engineering, Cranfield Institute of Technology, Cranfield, Bedford,
England.

Contributed by the Gas Turbine Division of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers for
presentation at the Gas Turbine Conference & Products Show, London, England, April 9-13, 1978.
Manuscript received at ASME Headquarters December 22, 1977.

Copies will be available until January 1, 1979.

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, UNITED ENGINEERING CENTER, 345 EAST 47th STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10017
 hrough Flow Analysis of Centrifugal
Compressors
A. GOULAS R. C. BAKER
■l1
1:RETJCLATURB
B = integration factor for the con-
tinuity equation
= dissipation force Per unit mass
I = rothalpy, I = H - wr V^
0
H o = stagnation enthalpy
S = streamwise direction
Ti = normal to the stream line
n = normal to the stream surface
n = unit vector normal to a stream
surface
s = entropy
p = density
T = temperature
V = absolute velocity
T = relative velocity
^,Ft = angles defined by equation (1)
in Appendix
r = radius
z = axial direction
0 = circumferential direction
T = stress tensor
K = kinetic energy of turbulence
e = rate of dissipation of turbulence
µ t = turbulence viscosity
xi = Cartesian space co-ordinate (S,
TT, n)
C l ,C 2' Cµ = constant in turbulence model
= angular velocity
= distance from the hub for S2 and
from the Pressure side for Si
= distance between hub and shroud
for S2 and pressure and suction
side for Si stream surface
i/ = stream function.
Subscripts
i, j, k subscripts denoting Cartesian co-
ordinate directions
r radial direction
u circumferential direction
z axial direction
FLOW ON STREAM SURFACES
The complete theoretical analysis can be
found in References ( 1 ) and ( 3 ), Here only the
basic equations will be set for the complete-
ness of the presentation.
For a curvilinear orthogonal system of
co-ordinates on the stream surface with axes
S along and N across a streamline on the stream
surface and a third axis n normal to the surface
the equations governing the flow on the stream
surface are:
(a) Continuity
(b) Equation of motion for the N direction
N.W x (9 x V) = N. ( IV- TV) (1)
(c) Equation of motion for the S-direction
(2) is the generation term.
(d) A geometrical condition derived from the
stream surface
W.i = 0 (3)
(e) The energy equation for steady flow
DI (L)
=0
Dt
(f) Equation of state.
The combination of the first two equations will
yield an expression for the stream function ciof
the form
V2' = 4(r, 4, z) (5
The form which q takes depends on the set of
the independent variables used, and, therefore,
on the geometry of the stream surface under
consideration. The complete expressions for q
are given in the appendix. Goulas and Baker
( 3 ) have shown that the dissipation force can
be expressed as
1 (6)
O = - tv.t)
To obtain the stress tensor the K -e model of
turbulence as described by Launder and Spalding
(8) is used. The stresses are given by the
equation
2
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ITITRODUCTI015
Matrix through-flow analysis is widely
used for calculation of the flow in turbcma-
chines. It is based on the theoretical work
of Wu ( 1k ) . l Marsh ( 5 ) presented a finite
difference method to solve the flow on a merid-
ional stream surface. In order to simulate the
flow of a viscous fluid, a loss model was used
in the form of a local pclytropic efficiency.
Bosnian and marsh (1) then derived a set of
equations which govern the flow and are con-
sistent with a loss model by introducing a
dissipation force opposing the velocity
vector. The loss model used consisted of
either experimental data or equations relating
the change of entropy to the fluid, the flow
and the blade geometry. Goulas and Baker (3),
by relating the dissipation force to the stress
tensor, have been able to calculate the entropy
field without having to rely upon experimental
data for the distribution of entropy. This
method was used to obtain solutions of the flow
field within a centrifugal compressor impeller
which are presented here.
The Prediction of flow within an impeller
passage attracted the attention of a number of
research workers. The publications of Stanitz
(12), Hamrick, et al. (4), Katsanis (1),
Senoo, et al. (11), McDonald, et al. (10),
Sturge, et al. (13) and Howard and Osborne (5),
have to be mentioned here. Almost all of them
implemented an inviscid flow approach, over
which a jet-wake model or some sort of effi-
ciency was imposed.
In the present study, two different sets
of solutions will be presented. The first,
known as the Sl surface, extends from blade to
blade; the second, the 52 surface, extends from
hub to shroud.
Underlined numbers in parentheses
designate References at end of paper.
_ _ [aU; a .1 ] 2 a (7)
Tip _ - P ^i°. "t ax. ` a s ° di
The scaler turbulent viscosity, µt, is given as
KZ (8)
µt = c u ° c
and the kinetic energy K and the rate of dissi-
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pation c of turbulence are obtained by solving
the following system of differential equations:
DK 1 a µ t In (9)
+ G - e
Dt P IX k (0 k ax k
On 1 a ^µ t ar c1 I E2
Dt
__ ]*__0c2-_
P ax k o f x k (1G )
µ t 90 i 1Uk 9U i
and G = P ax k + ax i axk (11)
The constants involved are given as
C = 0.09 , C1 = 1.44 , C2 = 1.92
a = 1.3
ON THE USE OF K - £ MODEL
There are two assumptions made when
writing equation (7) for the "Reynolds" stress-
es. The first is that the turbulence is iso-
tropic. As was pointed out by Launder and
Spalding ( 8 ), this assumption is valid for two-
dimensional flows without swirl. In three-di-
mensional flows, as in the case of the flow
within an impeller passage, a different level
of turbulent viscosity may be needed for each
active stress component. The second assumption
is that the "Reynolds" stress tensor and the
strain tensor have the same sign. In this case
the generation term G is always positive. This
is true for most flows. One exception is flow
in rotating channels and centrifugal turboma-
chinery where experiments by Johnston, et al.
( 6 ) show that there is an area of negative pro-
duction of turbulence energy near the suction
side. Therefore the results obtained using the
K - e model should be treated with caution.
THE SOLUTION PROCEDURE
The flow field on a stream surface can be
obtained by solving simultaneously equations
(2) and (5) using a finite difference method.
The flow domain is covered by two sets of grid
lines. One set consists of lines oorhich follow,
aprroxi:^iately, the neap floor (called the x -
limes) and the other set of lines, trhich are
az^,proxirmtely noric_al to the x lines ( called the
- lis) .
The partial derivatives present in the
equations are replaced at each grid node by
flltc difference forms obtained by using the
fauloriz sealer. A nine point lattice is used
aro -_tnc each grid node. The discretization er-
^_
°•o° _o of the order of 0 (o h /lxi ).
Ter the blade-to-blade solution and at
the ex-t cf the flow field a "parabolic" type
lattice i<; used. This lattice consists of six
ints u,;hich lie ur^strean of the exit node.
The discretization error in this case is of the
order of 0 (a 3 ^/axi 3 ). For a rectangular grid
this is equivalent to an ''upwind-difference."
The first step for the solution is to
assume a distribution of the stream function .
The corresponding two components of the velocity
vector are then calculated from equations (3),
(j), or (7) cf the Appendix depending upon which
set of coordinates is used. The third component
of velocity can be calculated from the geometry
of the stream surface, i.e.
d .n = 0
The second step is to solve equations (9)
and (10) to obtain the kinetic energy and the
rate of dissipation of turbulence. Guessed
values for the first iteration or those obtained
from a Previous iteration for K and E are used
to calculate the right hand side of the equa-
tions. A set of linear equations is formed and
solved simultaneously for each y - line. Start-
ing from the entrance to the flow field, where
K and e are given as initial conditions, the
solution proceeds along x - lines to the exit.
The third step is to calculate the tur-
bulent viscosity µ t from equation (8), the re-
sulting stresses fro r.. equation (7), and finally
the dissipation force from equation (6).
The fourth step is to integrate equation
(2) along a stream line assuming that the ex-
nression
(T.D) /(T W)
is constant along a stream line between two
consecutive y - lines. This integration yields
an entropy field in accordance with the velocity
field assumed. The exact position of the Point
of intersection between the stream line passing
through the point under consideration and the
upstream y - line is found by fitting a cubic-
spline polynomial to the stream function dis-
tribution along the y line.
Finally with velocity, entropy and density
known, function q(r, o , z) can be calculated and
a banded matrix set up to solve equation (5).
The resulting distribution of has to be
compared with the initial one and the ,whole Pro-
cedure repeated until a convergence criterion,
defined as
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5new g old
0.001
^o1d
is satisfied at each Point.
To obtain the three-dir,:ensional flow field
an iterative sequence between the Sl and S2
solutions is possible. This has not been tried,
as a different approach which is thought to be
superior is being developed and it is hoped to
report on this in the near future.
THE BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
The distribution of the stream function
at the inlet can be obtained by integrating one
of the equations defining . Along solid bounda-
ries 1' remains constant. The exit condition for
Li differs for the two surfaces. For the Si sur-
face it was taken as
a^ = o
which is equivalent to
wz = 0
at the exit. This seemed appropriate for a
radial impeller.
For the Si stream surface the radial
velocity at the nearest exit grid point to the
pressure side was set equal to half the initial
axial velocity. For the rest of the grid points
at the exit, the parabolic type lattice was used,
thus avoiding the need for prescribing a distri-
bution for the stream function at the exit. This
boundary condition is a compromise between in-
terfering with the development of the flow as
little as possible and ensuring that there is a
high velocity at the pressure side as found ex-
perimentally. The value of half the initial
velocity is only tentative and still under study.
The logarithmic law of the wall was used
to obtain values for the stresses at the wall
boundaries and values for the kinetic energy
and rate of dissipation of turbulence at the
 0

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Fig. 2 Streamline patterns for S2 stream surface
Fig. 1 Meridional section of impeller
60,000 rpm, and the corresponding mass flow 0.14
nearest internal point of the flow field. De- kg/s.
tails can be found in Launder and Spalding (8).
S2 SOLUTION
THE RESULTS
The geometry of the surface considered is
The impeller considered in the present the same as the blade.
work is a small radial compressor with an in- Fig. 2 shows the pattern of the streamlines
ducer, similar to those commercially available for both the isentropic and K -s case. The
for turbochargers. Fig. 1 gives the meridional
cross-section and the camber line of the blade
in the cylindrical section A-A. The initial
velocity prescribed is uniform axial velocity

0.6
W = const , W = 0 , W = - wr.
z r u
V
Ur
tip
The rothalpy I is constant at the eye of the
0.4
impeller and remains so throughout the impeller
passage. Because of lack of either accurate
measurements of the flow field or detailed 0.2

geometry of a compressor, the results obtained

were compared only to the isentropic solution
for the same case thus permitting indirect com- 0 0.5454 1
Qjeo
parison with Eckardt's data (2). hub shroud

The tip speed is 228 m/s, rotational speed Fig. 3(a) Meridional velocity profile at station
1
4
 a

grou-:th of the boundary layers at the hub dis-

places the streaelines right fror.: the eye of the
impeller. At the shroud, the displacement is
restricted by the prese e of a pressure gradient
0.6
V normal to the shroud which is due to the cen-
C rp
trinetal forces at the inducer.
0.4 Pik . 3 shows the see idicnil velocity pro-
,

files for three different stations. At the

exit the maximum of the meridional velocity
0.2
shifts towards the hub as vckhardt's (2) meas-

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urements suggest.
Fig. 4 gives the meridional velocity dis-
0 0.5454
1 eleo tribution along the hub and along the shroud of
h W ro—I
the impeller.
I(1) I-Ieridionil vet city profile at station
2 Sl Solution
The St surface considered is an axisyra-
metric surface obtained by rctat ; a strea°:,line
of the 22 sues-ice. The inteTration fact=r L
n:ras obtained from the same S2 solution.
Trc models were use for the turbulence
.e,
The first .ms a : ir~_nle r. del. In this 1. ml the
t. stresses due to turbulence or the boundaries
C.4 ;rere set equal to those c iven by the lc":•arithr.!ic
-

latr cf the gall. At the rest of tI)e ft c : field

,

only the viscous stresti=es -:;ere consit-el.

The second _nedel was the K - e i:_,edel. In
the light of t discussion cf the section
"The Solution Procedure," the Ieneration tern_
0.5454 1 fle, ;as set equal to zero near the suction side.
a t shroud
=^i shorts the t:-elccity profiles for
-o. (c) :.eridional velocity profile at station ttiro cases. One is obtained by using the simple
3 model, and the other by assu=nino isentropic

V C 4

m
wr
tip

0.5 1
to

^iel city b tribution . the hub ana shroud, ta=, at the nearest 7rid roL.^_to

5
 am
v 0.4
wr tiP
0.3
0 0.5454 1
P - s s - s
Fig. 5(a) Axial velocity profile at station 1.
Si stream surface
flow. The jet-wake pattern of flow at the exit
is evident and it is a result of large gradients
of the entropy. This is in agreement with the
interpretation given by Eckardt (2) of his meas-
urements although the mechanism of entropy in-
crease at the suction side is different. Ac-
cording to Eckhardt (2) the high entropy fluid
is deposited at the suction side by the secondary
flow. As this is basically a three-dimensional
flow, a two-dimensional prediction method is in-
adequate to predict the wake. The results ob-
tained by using the K - e model show an isen-
tropic type of flow at the core of the passage.
The profiles are flat near the boundaries and
there is no formation of wake, due to the fact
that the entropy gradients calculated are not
enough to create a wake. Fig. 6 shows the
velocity profiles for the K - e model and for
0.6
0.5
0.4
Vr
r tip
0.3
0.2
0.1
P - S s - s
Fig. 5(b) Radial velocity profile at station 3.
Si stream surface.
6
0.6
0. 5
0.4
w
wr r
tip
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pie0
0.3
0.2
0.1
0 0.5454 1 Q^^
s - s
P - s
Fig. 6 Radial velocity profiles at station 3.
S1 stream surface, K - E turbulence model
two cases where the entropy at the points near-
est to the suction side was increased. In the
first case the increase in entropy calculated
by the K - F model was doubled, in the second
case the increase was quadrupled.
As the entropy gradients increase a wake
starts forming at the suction side.
CONCLUSIONS
The results obtained by solving for a hub-
to-shroud, S2 stream surface, are in qualitative
agreement with experimental results for the jet
side obtained by Eckardt.
For the Si surface, the use of the "simple"
turbulence model shows theoretically that large
entropy gradients are responsible for the forma-
tion of the wake. These gradients cannot be
predicted by the K - e model as they result from
the secondary flow which a two-dimensional method
cannot predict. The 51 solution can, however,
predict the development of wake using the K - E
model, provided that the transfer of entropy to
the suction side by the secondary flow can be
included in the solution through a suitable
correlation.
REFERENCES
1 Bosman, C., and Marsh, H., An Improved
Method for Calculating the Flow in Turbomachines
Including a Consistent Loss Model," Journal of
Mechanical Engineering Science, Vol. 16, 1974,
p. 25.
 2 Eckardt, D., "Detailed Flow Investiga- APPENDIX
tion Within a High Speed Centrifugal Compressor
Impeller," ASME, Journal of Fluid Engineering, THE EQUATIONS
Vol. 98, 197 6 , p. 390.
3 Goulas, A., and Baker, R. C., "Through The geometry of the stream function is
Flow Analysis of Viscous and Turbulent Flows," given by two angles
ARC 37017, Ae.Th 49, 1976.
tan 4 Hamrick, J. T.,
a Ginsburg, A.,
= and
n3 (1)

Osborn, W. M., "Method of Analysis of Compres-

sible Flow Through Mixed-Flow Centrifugal Im-

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n2
pellers of Arbitrary Design,"
tar) =
NACA-TM-2165,
(2)

1950.
5 Howard, J. H. G., and Osborn, C., The continuity equation is satisfied through
"A Centrifugal Compressor Flow Analysis Em- an integration factor B which is proportional
ploying a Jet-Wave Passage Flow Model," ASME to the thickness of the stream surface. If
Journal of Fluid Engineering, Vol. 99, 1 977, the independent variables used are r - z the
p. 141. equations will be
6 Johnston, J. P., Halleen, R. M., and
Lesius, D. K., "Spanwise Rotation of Turbulent F a ay = (3)
z - P Br V.a - c Br y r
Channel Flow," Journal of Fluid Mechanics,
Vol. 56, 1972, p. 553.
7 Katsanis, T. H., "Computer Program for and the final equation
Calculating Velocities and Streamlines on a
Blade-to-Blade Stream Surface of a Turbomachine," —a (P Br) - V, 2e (P Br) + (P B=) 2 d^ -
ae 2 * a = V,
NASA-TN-D-4225 , 1968.
- 8 Launder, B., and Spalding, D. B., "The w
P z^ [ - (v
z - w„ tar - oz (v r -w^ tar

Numerical Computation of Turbulent Flows," Com- * (4)

puter Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engi- a (r v n )- tan T a `^ (t V a ))
+ P B [tam s z

neering, Vol. 3, 1974, p. 269.

= q (r, P, z)
9 Marsh, H., "A Digital Computer Program
for the Through Flow Fluid Mechanics in an
Arbitrary Turbomachine Using a Matrix Method," If the independent variables are r - the
ARC R & M 3509, 1968. equations will be
10 McDonald, G. B., Lenneman, E., and
Howard, J. H. G., "Measured and Predicted Flow (5)
az = - BPwu • i a^ = BPw =
Near the Exit of a Radial Flow Impeller," ASME
Journal of Engineering for Power, Vol. 93,
1971, p. 441. and the final equation
11 Senoo, Y., and Nakase, Y., "An Analy-
sis of Flow Through Mixed Flow Impeller," ASME ar (B2) + (B2)2 dp
ar t + r2 p 2B r r a^ (B2) -
Journal of Engineering for Power, Vol. 94, 1972,
p. i3. + LM ar ^w -w z tan u) z a4 (w r - w^ tan al ] + (6)
w
12 Stanitz, J. D., "Some Theoretical
Aerodynamic Investigations of Impellers in aa - tan µ -p—) + r + 2w
Radial and Mixed Flow Centrifugal Compressors,"
+ PB ]tan A r @
1BP=
= q )_, A, z)
Transactions of ASME, Vol. 74, 1952, p. 473.
13 Sturge, D. P., and Cumpsty, N. A.,
"Two Dimensional Method for Calculating Sep- If the independent variables are z - 95 the
arated Flow in Centrifugal Compressor," ASME equations will be
Journal of Fluid Engineering, Vol. 97, 1975,
p. 581.
14 Wu, C. H., "A General Theory of Three
Dimensional Flow in Subsonic and Supersonic * n i (i = 1, 3) are components of the
Turbomachines of Axial, Radial and Mixed Flow unit vector normal to the stream surface. Values
Types," NACA-TN-2604, 1952. of ni for each set of co-ordinates are given in
Table 1.

7
 Table 1

Set of
Co-ordinates n1 n2 n3

r - z n nu
nz

r - nr nU nz

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z - nz nU nr

-Bp w^ (7)
aP = BPWZ

and the final equation

azz + -- a = W . r 3^ (pB) - W u adz (PB) + (pB) 2 a-

+ W .P ^ az (W a - W r tan µ) - z a^ (W y - W r tan A)
1 + (8)
r
+ pB tan A r - tan µ ai
j - Bp [s + 2w J tan A

= q (r, •, z)

The overbars denote the special derivatives as

defined by Wu (14)