Study of Volute losses in a centrifugal compressor considering geometrical parameters

In this research the centrifugal compressor volute losses are studied by designing three different volute geometries and investigating their effects on the volute performance. For this investigation, in the first step the performance characteristics of a turbocharger compressor are obtained experimentally by measuring flow parameters at the inlet and outlet of the centrifugal compressor. Then a three dimensional model of the centrifugal compressor including impeller, vane-less diffuser and volute is prepared and solved numerically using a full Navier-Stokes program with k −e turbulence model and compressor characteristic curves are plotted. For model verification, the results are compared with experimental data, showing good agreement. In the next step, new volute geometries are designed by assigning a mathematical description for volute cross section shape. The effect of volute shape on volute performance is investigated by comparison of losses in three cases. Furthermore the main sources of energy dissipation in a volute are recognized

کلیدواژه ها:

centrifugal compressor ، volute ، energy losses