Improvement in Efficiency and Operating Range of Centrifugal Blower Stage for Sewage Aeration Blower

Abstract

We developed a high-efficiency, wide-operating-range centrifugal blower stage to meet the demand for reduced total energy-consumption in sewage treatment plants. We improved the efficiency of the two-dimensional impeller using a shape optimization tool and one-dimensional performance prediction tool. A limit of the throat deceleration ratio was set to maintain the stall-margin of the impeller. The low solidity vaned diffuser and return channel were designed using a sensitivity analysis with orthogonal arrays and three-dimensional steady flow simulations. The low solidity diffuser was designed in order to improve the performance in the low-flow-rate region. The return channel was designed so that the total pressure loss in the return channel was minimized. Model tests of both the conventional and optimized blower stages were carried out, and the efficiency and operating range of both stages were compared. The optimized blower stage improved in stage efficiency by 3% and in operating range by 5% compared with the conventional blower stage.