DEVELOPMENT, APPLICATION AND EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF A DESIGN PROCEDURE FOR CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSORS.

A computer-based centrifugal compressor design procedure developed at the National Gas Turbine Establishment is described. The impeller design package includes a geometry modeling procedure, aerodynamic analysis, stress analysis, and the direct generation of data for manufacture by numerical control. The method of diffuser design incorporates analyses of the flow in the vaneless space and 'semi-vaneless' pace adapted from a new performance prediction technique. The application of these methods to the design of 6. 5 pressure ratio centrifugal compressor stage is described. The experimental rig testing of this compressor has been used to evaluate the advantages offered by the new design procedure.