What's inside?
Centrifugal compressor impellers with splitters use identical blade shapes placed at mid-pitch. However, conventional design methodologies suggest that altering the pitchwise location of the splitter leading edge can enhance performance. In this paper, we develop a 3D inverse design method that designs full and splitter blades based on specified circulation distributions. We describe the selection of loading (derivative of circulation with respect to meridional distance) and stacking conditions to manage blade shape complexity.
Two different generic impellers with varying splitter leading edge locations are designed, and their performance is compared to corresponding conventional designs using a 3D viscous code across design and off-design conditions.
In this publication, you will:
- Understand how splitter placement and geometry dictate impeller efficiency and aerodynamic performance.
- Learn to use 3D Inverse Design to optimize blades by independently specifying circulation for full and splitter rows.
- See how 3D Inverse Design effectively suppresses flow separation and reduces losses compared to traditional methods.
