Improving the Performance of a Centrifugal Compressor Through Computer-Aided Design and Optimization of Blade Thickness

Improving the characteristics of centrifugal compressors is a very urgent task since compressors are one of the most common pneumatic machines in industry and transportation. Numerical modeling can significantly reduce the research process and find the best design options in the shortest possible time when conducting a certain process of mathematical model verification. The characteristics of the impeller of a high-pressure centrifugal compressor with a vaneless diffuser were improved by designing a modified impeller by optimizing the blade thickness and using calculation methods of modern computer-aided design (CAD) software included in the Ansys Engineering Simulation Software. The adequacy of the mathematical model was confirmed by comparing the calculation results with the results of experimental studies of a basic industrial compressor. The maximum discrepancy in determining the ratio of total to total pressures is equal to 8% in the zone of optimal flow rates with a flow offset. Due to the design of the compressor using CAD and optimization of the blade thickness, it was obtained that the polytropic efficiency of the designed impeller is 6% higher. At the same time, the ratio of total pressures is reduced by 9%. To further improve the optimized compressor and increase its efficiency, it is planned to replace the vaneless diffuser with a vaned one.