On CFD-Based Performance Calculations of Centrifugal Compressor Stages: Part 1

Turbocompressor manufacturers as well as customers have a constant need for improved aerodynamic component analysis for production and development environments. These predictive tools have historically been grounded with experimental data. Both hardware and tests costs, however, continue to spiral upward, and the difficulties of obtaining reliable data remain unchanged. This has forced the turbocompressor manufactures to use Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) as an alternative approach for conducting stage parametric studies. In order for such an approach to be successful, a clear understanding of the relationship between the traditional performance parameters and the numerical solution has to be achieved. Ultimately, an industry standard similar to the test codes should be established. The focus of this work is to contribute into laying the foundation for such an effort. Based on energy conservation equations the relationships between CFD-based loss calculations and efficiencies are developed and discussed. Example of CFD-based performance prediction and flow field analysis of low flow compressor stage is then presented and directions of future work are outlined. This paper is the first part in a series of two. Second part containing more computational results and comparison with test data will follow.