Journal of

Fluids
Engineering

Editorial

This volume contains eight papers on turbomachinery covering

CFD applications, detailed flow measurements on unsteady flow,
new design methods and control devices, and conventional empirical approaches. Shi and Tsukamoto succeeded in predicting
pressure fluctuations caused by the interaction between a centrifugal impeller and diffuser vanes, using a Navier-Stokes code with
standard k turbulence model. Using a commercial code, Gu
et al. succeeded in predicting the performance of a single-stage
centrifugal compressor and studied the volute/diffuser flow in detail at design and off design conditions. By combining a scheme
called the Single-Sweep Method with an algebraic eddy viscosity
model, Kochevsky made a parametric study of the energy loss in
annular diffusers with a rotating hub and inlet flow swirl, with the
purpose of minimizing the loss in annular diffusers. These papers
suggest that CFD is now becoming capable of predicting not only
steady flows under design flow conditions, but also unsteady flows
and off-design flows. Sinha, Pinarbasi and Katz, using PIV and
pressure fluctuation measurements, made detailed observations of
unsteady flow process during the onset and developed stages of
rotating stall within a vaned diffuser of a centrifugal pump. This
work is useful for refining CFDs so that they can predict local
flow process, as well as for obtaining a physical understanding of
the stalling process. The combination of those efforts in CFD and
detailed flow measurements will lead CFDs to more useful design
tools that require less experience and fewer empirical factors, and
also to methods for clarifying the flow physics in turbomachinery.
New production technologies can expand the applications of

Journal of Fluids Engineering

turbomachinery. Liu, Nishi and Yoshida have shown that a high

efficiency mini turbopump is possible by employing a larger outlet blade angle and a larger number of blades with a smaller
outlet/inlet area ratio, combined with high precision manufacturing technology. Two papers propose new control methods. Saha
et al. propose the application of radial grooves on the casing walls
between impeller exit and vaned diffuser throat, to control vaned
diffuser rotating stall in radial centrifugal impellers. In many cases
the suppression was realized at the cost of head decrease, but it
was shown that shallow grooves can decrease the rotating stall
onset flow rate with acceptable head decrease. A pitch-flap coupling mechanism to control the output power of a horizontal axis
wind turbine was studied by Shimizu and Kamada to determine
the optimum pitch angle to flap angle ratio and also the flow
physics of control.
Despite the developments of CFD as mentioned before, we still
need to depend largely on empirical relations in various aspects of
turbomachinery design. Lazzarotto et al. studied the influence of
Reynolds number on the performance of cross flow fans with
various casing geometry. Engin and Gur studied the effects of
solid particles on the performance of open type centrifugal pump
impellers with various tip clearance. Such empirical studies will
remain a requirement for the practical design of various types of
turbomachinery.

Copyright 2001 by ASME

Yoshinobu Tsujimoto
Associate Editor

SEPTEMBER 2001, Vol. 123 465

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