The Role of Meridional Geometry in Aerodynamic Design of Centrifugal Compressor

Abstract

Higher aerodynamic performance of turbochargers has been demanded because of vehicle engine down-sizing. Centrifugal compressors for automotive turbochargers require higher efficiency and wider operating range. Meridional geometry of the centrifugal compressors is one of their design specifications and it drastically affects the aerodynamic performance of the compressor. In this study, we designed the meridional geometry by using the aerodynamic design method based on a meridional viscous flow analysis and investigated the relation between the meridional geometry and the aerodynamic performance by using the meridional viscous flow calculation results and three-dimensional RANS calculation results. As a result, the relation between the boundary layer development near the shroud and the mass flux at the trailing edge was found out according to the meridional viscous flow calculation results. In addition, the relation and the performance improvement were confirmed according to experimental results.