NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF ORGANIC VAPOR FLOW EFFECTS ON A MICRO-SCALE RADIAL TURBOCOMPRESSOR

Abstract

Radial turbocompressor-based heat pump-like systems are currently being studied for novel environmentally friendly energy applications. Hence, the development of small centrifugal compressors using different organic vapors is in the spotlight. This work proposes some upgrades to a previously developed similarity-based and generalized flow turbomachinery scaling methodology for organic vapors. The main objective is to conduct a numerical study of the non-ideal effects on micro-scale radial turbocompressor working at different operating conditions using two organic fluids (propane and isobutene). Results show a good degree of agreement between the analytical predictions and the numerical simulation. Furthermore, the use of new similarity parameters is discussed in the range of the operating conditions of the study. The findings of this work set out that some intrinsic vapor effects are well predicted by the proposed methodology, which allows the micro-turbocompressors scaling from ideal gas to vapor flow conditions.