Impeller flow field measurement and analysis

A series of experiments are performed to investigate and quantify the three-dimensional mean flow field in centrifugal compressor flow passages and to evaluate contemporary internal flow models. The experiments include the acquisition and analysis of LDV data in the impeller passages of a low-speed moderate-scale research mixed-flow centrifugal compressor operating at its design point. Predictions from a viscous internal flow model are then correlated with these data. The LDV data show the traditional jet-wake structure observed in many centrifugal compressors, with the wake observed along the shroud 70 percent of the length from the pressure to suction surface. The viscous model predicts the major flow phenomena. However, the correlations of the viscous predictions with the LDV data were poor.