CENTRIFUGAL OR RADIAL

FLOW COMPRESSOR
Julian Gallego
Marcela Jaramillo
Manuela Ospina
Patricia Toro

Medelln, Antioquia.
31/AUG/2017 1
 CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR

* In a centrifugal compressor,
energy is transferred from a set
of rotating impeller blades to
the gas.

* The designation centrifugal implies that

the gas flow is radial, and the energy
transfer is caused from a change in the
centrifugal forces acting on the gas. Figure 1. Centrifugal compressor.

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CHARACTERISTICS
* Centrifugal compressors are
considered the workhorses of the
chemical processing industry.
* The performance characteristic of
centrifugal compressors is more
easily affected by changes in gas
conditions than the performance of
alternative compressors.
* Higher volumetric yields than
positive displacement.
* The flow rate is variable at fixed
pressure and high at moderate and
low pressures.

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OPERATION PRINCIPLES

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COMPRESSION RATIO

Example:
The compression ratio normally runs in the 3 to 4 range, with the same aproximate compression
ratio in each stage.
If the desired discharge pressure is 1500 psia, a 4-stage compressor with a 3.2 compression in
each stage might be used. The pressure at the discharge of each stage would be:

* Stage One 14.7 psia * 3.2 = 47.04 psia

* Stage Two 47.04 psia * 3.2 = 150.528 psia
* Stage Three 150.528 psia * 3.2 = 481.689 psia
* Stage Four 481.689 psia * 3.2 = 1541.407 psia

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 ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
*They have a very low initial * The biggest problem is that they do not reach the
installation cost. compression ratio typical of the alternative
compressors, unless several are in series.

*They have less friction components. * They are sensitive to the molecular weight of the gas
being compressed.
*They are relatively efficient. * Very high speeds are needed at the tips to produce
pressure.
* Low operation and maintenance cost. * A complicated system for lubricating oil and oil for
seals is required.
* Simple new piping installations. * A small increase in the pressure drop in the system
can cause very large reductions in the volume of the
compressor.

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 ADVANTAGES COMPRESSOR PERFORMANCE
* Interchangeable drivers.

* Large volume capacity per unit of plot

area.
* Long service life.

* They can deliver much higher flow

rates than positive displacement
compressors.
* The centrifugal compressors have less
friction components, also relatively
efficient.

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FIELD OF USE
Figure 2.
Gas Compressor.
* Ventilation systems.

* Refrigeration units.

* In the reinjection of natural gas into

the oil wells for extraction.
* In small gas turbines such as APUs Figure 3. Engine of an
aircraft.
(Auxiliary generators).
* In small aircraft turbojet engines (
Turbojet engines and turboprops)
* Superchargers.

* Blowers. Figure 4. Refrigeration

units.

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CLASSES AND SUBCLASSES OF
CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR
Multistage Centrifugal Compressor

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HORIZONTALLY AND VERTICALLY SPLIT

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CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR
CONFIGURATIONS
Multistage centrifugal compressors generally fall into two
categories:

-Between-bearing designs Impellers can be mounted to

different pinions, so it is possible to tune the performance
of a stage by varying impellers speed.

- Integrally geared designs Contains large number of

bearings and seals, so vibration is usually a problem.

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BETWEEN-BEARING DESIGNS
The impellers are
mounted on a single
shaft. A driver (either
an electric motor,
steam turbine, or gas
turbine) rotates the
shaft and all of the
impellers at a same
speed.
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INTEGRALLY GEARED CONFIGURATIONS
*Impellers are mounted at
the ends of multiple pinions
that can rotate at different
speeds.

*Depend on the gear ratio

between the individual
prinions and the bull gears.

*The number of impellers

and pinions vary depending
on the application:
- Usually 2-8 pinions with
2 impellers mounted
at the opposite ends of each
pinion.

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THERMODYNAMIC MODEL

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WORK ON A CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR
ASSUMPTIONS
-Stationary state.
-Adiabatic process.
-Change in negligible potential energy.
ENERGY BALANCE

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 FOR THE AIR

Apply the stagnation property:

W = mCp(T02 T01)

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ENTROPY BALANCE
ASSUMPTIONS
(1)
- Isoentropic.
-Stationary state.
- Cp constant. (2)

(3)

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REFERENCES
Slideplayer.com. (2017). Selecting a Centrifugal Compressor - ppt download. [online] Available at:
http://slideplayer.com/slide/5684459/ [Accessed 30 Aug. 2017].
Mundocompresor.com. (2017). Diferentes tipos de compresores. [online] Available at:
https://www.mundocompresor.com/articulos-tecnicos/diferentes-tipos-compresores [Accessed 30 Aug.
2017].
Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: http://164.100.133.129:81/eCONTENT/Uploads/07-
PT11Centrifugal%20Compressors%20%5BCompatibility%20Mode%5D.pdf [Accessed 30 Aug. 2017].
Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: https://www.aiche.org/sites/default/files/cep/20130644.pdf [Accessed
30 Aug. 2017].
Sundyne.com. (2017). Integrally Geared Centrifugal Single Stage Heavy Duty Compressor. [online] Available
at: http://www.sundyne.com/Products/Compressors/Types/Integrally-Geared-Centrifugal-Single-Stage-
Heavy-Duty-Compressor [Accessed 30 Aug. 2017].
Anon, (2017). [online] Available at:
http://www.git.uji.es/docencia/Apuntes/Tec_Frig/TF_4_COMP_CENTRIF.pdf [Accessed 30 Aug. 2017].
Petrowiki.org. (2017). Centrifugal compressor -. [online] Available at:
http://petrowiki.org/Centrifugal_compressor [Accessed 30 Aug. 2017].

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