Determination of a suitable set of loss models for centrifugal compressor performance prediction

Performance prediction in preliminary design stages of several turbomachinery components is a critical task in order to bring the design processes of these devices to a successful conclusion. In this paper, a review and analysis of the major loss mechanisms and loss models, used to determine the efficiency of a single stage centrifugal compressor, and a subsequent examination to determine an appropriate loss correlation set for estimating the isentropic efficiency in preliminary design stages of centrifugal compressors, were developed. Several semi-empirical correlations, commonly used to predict the efficiency of centrifugal compressors, were implemented in FORTRAN code and then were compared with experimental results in order to establish a loss correlation set to determine, with good approximation, the isentropic efficiency of single stage compressor. The aim of this study is to provide a suitable loss correlation set for determining the isentropic efficiency of a single stage centrifugal compressor, because, with a large amount of loss mechanisms and correlations available in the literature, it is difficult to ascertain how many and which correlations to employ for the correct prediction of the efficiency in the preliminary stage design of a centrifugal compressor. As a result of this study, a set of correlations composed by nine loss mechanisms for single stage centrifugal compressors, conformed by a rotor and a diffuser, are specified.