Numerical investigation of the effect of impeller velocity factor on the performance of centrifugal compressor stage

The effect of impeller velocity factor K_c of a centrifugal compressor on the performance of centrifugal compressor stages was investigated by numerical simulation, and the effect of K_c on the impeller inflow pattern was analyzed. The result shows that the decrease of Kc can meliorate the flow field in the impeller when the value of r/b₁ is larger than 0.3; the gradient of static pressure along hub to shroud at the inlet of blade is decreased and the fluid meridional velocity becomes more uniform at the outlet of impeller, so the efficiency of the centrifugal compressor stage can be improved significantly, the maximum improvement of isentropic efficiency is beyond 1.5 percents. In addition, the analysis on the performance of compressor stages with different K_c indicates that efficiency curve of the compressor stage moves to the right side and the pressure ratio curve moves to the upward with the decrease of K_c, and the operation range of the centrifugal compressor can also be extended.