Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical

Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical

Engineering Science
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Centrifugal compressor design

P. M. Came and C. J. Robinson
Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science 1998 213:
139
DOI: 10.1243/0954406991522239

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 139

Centrifugal compressor design

P M Came* and C J Robinson

PCA Engineers, Lincoln, UK

Abstract: Centrifugal compressors are used in a wide range of applications in which performance
and mechanical integrity are invariably among the paramount design objectives. There is therefore
continuing interest in the development of a sound understanding of the relevant physical phenomena
and in the systematic application of the knowledge base that is the forerunner of the established
design procedures. The paper reviews centrifugal compressor design methods that are commonly used
in industry and reviews the underlying engineering science supporting the design practices. The design
process, starting with the preliminary design and its reliance on empirical rules through to state-of-
the-art aerodynamic design using computational uid dynamics (CFD), is presented. The essentials
of impeller mechanical design are also included in the paper.

Keywords: compressor, centrifugal, diuser, turbocharger, impeller

NOTATION b vane angle ()

2
c ratio of specic heats
A area (geometric or ow area) (m2) C vane aerodynamic loading
A
n
annulus geometric area (m2) DH impeller stagnation enthalpy rise (J/kg)
b vane height (m) Dp vane-to-vane circumferential pressure dier-
C absolute gas velocity (m/s) ence (Pa)
d impeller meridional arc distance (m) Dg change in eciency
h passage height (m) g eciency
H stagnation enthalpy (J/kg) q half included angle of channel diuser
k impeller tip clearance (m) l rake angle (deg), i.e. angle made by trailing
L impeller axial length (m) edge with tangential direction at impeller tip;
m mass owrate (kg/s) positive if in direction of rotation
M Mach number P stage pressure ratio
M 9 rel pitchwise-average relative Mach number W ow coecient
N
S
specic speed Y spacechord ratio
p static pressure (Pa) v tan(C /C )
2 h2 r2
p: pitchwise-average static pressure (Pa) V rotational speed (s1)
P stagnation pressure (Pa)
r radius (m) Subscripts
R gas constant (J/kg K )
Re Reynolds number 1 impeller inlet
T stagnation temperature ( K ) 2 impeller exit
U vane speed (m/s) 3 diuser inlet
V volumetric owrate (m3/s) 4 diuser exit
W relative gas velocity (m/s) choke at choke
x axial distance (m) d diuser
Z vane number hub at the inducer hub
i inlet
a absolute air angle () ind inducer throat
b relative air angle () m mean
nom nominal point
The MS was received on 20 February 1998 and was accepted after p pressure surface
revision for publication on 6 October 1998.
* Corresponding author: PCA Engineers, Homer House, Sibthorp r radial component
Street, Lincoln LN5 7SB, UK. rel relative
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140 P M CAME AND C J ROBINSON
s suction surface
shr at the inducer shroud
slip due to slip
surge at surge
h tangential component
1 INTRODUCTION
The centrifugal compressor is perhaps the most common
example of high-speed turbomachinery. Its applications
include aircraft gas turbines, industrial gas turbines,
industrial compressors and turbochargers. Industrial
compressors alone are subdivided into a large range of
widely diering applications and turbochargers embrace
both vehicle engine turbocharging and the very dierent
requirements of the large marine and industrial diesel
engines. Given this spectrum of application, it is not
surprising that the centrifugal compressor continues to
command a great deal of attention, both from com-
pressor designers and from those engaged in understand-
ing the underlying engineering science.
The diversity of application naturally brings with it a
wide range of size, duty and design emphasis. Size is best
illustrated by turbocharger compressors whose impeller
diameters range from as little as 20 mm for motorcycle
engine turbochargers up to almost 1 m for turbochargers
for the largest marine engines. Duty may be exemplied
by the pressure ratio because of its inuence on other
key parameters such as the Mach number and tip speed:
many industrial applications require stage pressure
ratios of 1.551 or even less, whereas helicopter gas tur-
bines require the highest pressure ratios, with 651 being
commonplace and the latest engines demanding 1051 or
more from a single compressor stage.
The inuences on design emphasis are many, but one
of the most signicant is the requirement for adequate
operating range in mass ow. In some industrial appli-
cations a turndown to 40 per cent of the design mass
ow at constant pressure ratio obliges inclusion of vari-
able-geometry inlet guide vanes ( VIGVs) and even,
additionally, variable diuser vanes. Road vehicle turbo-
charger compressors need a high mass ow range but
avoid the complexity of variable geometry by using vane-
less diusers which have an inherently wide surge-to-
choke range. Finally, gas turbine compressors can oper-
ate with a relatively modest surge margin and, with most
of the emphasis on high eciency, can operate with
xed-geometry vaned diusers and no VIGVs.
In spite of the variations in size, duty and design
emphasis, much of the science and understanding that
support the aerodynamic and mechanical design of cen-
trifugal compressors are common to all types. However,
it is sensible to prescribe some limits to the coverage of
this paper, noting that sister papers [1, 2] to this one
appear in the same journal. They deal respectively with
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industrial centrifugal compressors and with the aero-
dynamic design of turbochargers. The present paper,
though making reference to limited aspects of both
topics, will not include the design of shrouded, two-
dimensionally vaned impellers, inlet guide vanes, return
channels or de-swirl vanes, all of which are the domain
of multistage industrial compressors, and there will be
no coverage of the special demands of turbocharging on
compressor design.
The paper will concentrate on centrifugal compressors
with a pressure ratio of 351 and above. The content will
include preliminary design, o-design performance pre-
diction, impeller aerodynamic and mechanical design
and vaned diuser design. For high pressure ratio com-
pressors in particular, good impeller mechanical design
is an essential requirement; thus, whereas impeller aero-
dynamic design customarily dominates the literature on
centrifugal compressors, this paper will give appropriate
attention to the mechanical design of impellers. The
overall intention of the paper is to convey the design
approach in a pragmatic way but to support the
approach with reference to the underlying physics.
2 SUMMARY OF THE DESIGN PROCESS
The emphasis placed on the various aspects of the design
process varies from one design group or philosophy to
another. Likewise the design tools dier. However, the
essentials of state-of-the-art design procedures are
suciently uniform across the many design groups for
a general summary to be oered here.
Figure 1 represents the design process schematically.
The activity starts with the preliminary design in which
the required duty of the compressor and the range of
design choices that will satisfy the duty are studied and
compared, usually on a largely empirical and one-dimen-
sional (1D) basis. Mechanical design requirements are
included. The initial study focuses on the design point
or, in an application such as a turbocharger where a
design point is not appropriate, on a nominal point. The
Fig. 1 Overview of the design process
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 CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR DESIGN
1D design study is then broadened to include o-design
performance and subsequently some revision of the
initial design or nominal point choices is usual, implying
an iteration between the design and o-design activities.
The 1D design furnishes the scantlings of the com-
pressor in the form of principal diameters of all compo-
nents, annulus dimensions, vane angles of the impeller
at inlet and exit and 1D aerodynamic parameters at the
principal design stations ( Fig. 2). The initial impeller
design is clothed around the 1D scantlings, adding rst
the meridional contours of the hub and shroud and then
the vane prole.
Some prior knowledge of good impeller design prac-
tice is virtually essential in order to provide reasonably
good starting points for both meridional shape and vane
prole since, in the vast majority of design methods, the
impeller design proceeds by an indirect approach in
which an initial impeller geometry is successively
improved through repeated analysis and geometric
modication.
The rst round of impeller analysis and geometric
renement is quite adequately executed with a two-
dimensional (2D) hub-to-shroud or S2 aerodynamic
analysis, with some attention to the S1 or blade-to-blade
design by approximate means. Further aerodynamic
improvements are then sought by means of three-dimen-
sional computational uid dynamics (3D CFD) analysis
while, in parallel, the mechanical design is pursued,
rstly through axisymmetric analysis with primary atten-
tion on the disc shape and then with full 3D analysis to
study vane stresses and vibration. Vaned diuser design
begins at the 1D preliminary design stage and concludes
with the detailed design of the vanes.
Fig. 2 Typical compressor stage and 1D stations
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141
3 PRELIMINARY DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
3.1 Aims of the preliminary design
The importance of achieving a reliable preliminary
design cannot be overemphasized. The rapidity of the
techniques normally employed to solve the 1D equations
is not to be confused with the elapsed time devoted to
this early phase of the process, for which 30 per cent of
the entire duration of the design is not too high a pro-
portion, noting that errors in the preliminary design
cannot always be rectied or even noticed in the later,
more complex steps of the design procedure.
The aim of the preliminary design can be stated simply
as to achieve the design duty on a 1D basis, within the
mechanical limitations of the available materials, with
the best achievable eciency and surge margin. This can
be expanded into the following, more specic aims: at
the design mass ow, or nominal point mass ow, to
achieve:
(a) the desired work input (stagnation enthalpy rise),
(b) the desired eciency,
(c) the desired pressure ratio [automatically achieved if
aims (a) and (b) are achieved ],
(d ) sucient surge margin [dened, for example, as
(m m )/m ].
nom surge nom
3.2 Work input, stage stability and impeller stress level
The work input is often expressed as the work input
factor or stage loading:
DH C C
=1 slip r2 tan b (1)
U2 U U 22
2 2 2
The second term is the slip velocity ratio and the third
term includes the impeller exit velocity coecient and
the backsweep angle. Among the many published slip
factor correlations, Wiesners [3] remains widely used:
C (cos b )
slip = 2
Z0.7 2
(2)
U
2
The variation in work factor with backsweep is illus-
trated in Fig. 3. The predominant inuence is backsweep
and it is through this inuence that backsweep exerts its
powerful eect on stage stability; the reduced work
factor at higher values of backsweep results in a more
steeply rising characteristic of work versus mass ow and
hence also a steeper pressure ratio characteristic.
Figure 3 indicates that the dependence is almost linear
up to backsweep angles of 35 or so; however, the eect
on the gradient of the pressure ratio characteristic is
damped and so in practice backsweep does not begin to
bite until it exceeds about 25.
The work factor also determines the impeller tip speed
and hence impeller stress levels; the stage pressure ratio
obtainable from a given tip speed is represented by the
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 213 Part C
142 P M CAME AND C J ROBINSON

Fig. 3 Inuence of backsweep on work

equation material will depend upon factors such as the required

cyclic duty (number of startstop cycles per unit time);

C D
DH c/(c1)
P= 1+g(c1) M2 (3) however, properties of the commonly available materials
U2 U2 enable cast aluminium to be used up to a tip speed of
2
around 200300 m/s, forged machined aluminium up to
where a maximum of about 500 m/s and titanium up to around
U 650700 m/s, while titanium aluminides and titanium
M = 2 metal matrix composites are currently being researched
U2 (cRT )
i for the higher tip speeds of advanced gas turbine com-
Using equation (3), the required tip speed for a given pressor impellers [4, 5].
stage pressure ratio is depicted in Fig. 4 with the back- This balance of factors aecting stage stability and
sweep angle, derived from the work factor, as a second- impeller stress levels usually results in a backsweep angle
ary variable. The precise stress limits of a given impeller of at least 30 (higher if the surge margin is of extreme

Fig. 4 Variation in tip speed with pressure ratio

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 CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR DESIGN
importance) and in the selection of a material that will
give adequate life at the tip speeds implied by the choice
of backsweep and that is viable from a cost standpoint.
Above 40 of backsweep, Fig. 4 becomes severely non-
linear and so increased backsweep is paid for more
dearly in terms of tip speed.
3.3 Eciency
Broadly speaking, two approaches are used for
determining stage eciency at the preliminary design
stage. An approach that at rst sight appears to be less
dependent upon empiricism is to formulate a general 1D
compressor model that includes some system of loss esti-
mation for the principal ow elements of the stage.
Probably the most comprehensive published method is
that devised by Herbert [6 ] which embodies detailed loss
models for IGV, impeller, vaneless space and vaned
diuser. The loss models are tuned so that the method
obtains reasonable agreement with a representative
range of test cases. While a model of this type has many
uses, it is not at its most reliable for predicting the design
point eciency of a new stage to the accuracy required
at the preliminary design phase. This is chiey due to
the diculty of tuning the impeller loss model. A more
obviously empirical approach favours reference to corre-
lations of eciency with parameters such as specic
speed or the ow coecient, where specic speed can be
dened as follows:
VV
N =
S DH0.75
Fig. 5 Rodgers eciency versus specic speed
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143
and the ow coecient as
V
W= (5)
U D2
2 2
The ow coecient is widely used in the design of indus-
trial centrifugal compressors; details are provided in ref-
erence [1] and so no further coverage will be given here.
Rodgers correlation of eciency with specic speed [7]
is shown in Fig. 5. At low specic speed, eciency falls
owing to increasing frictional losses in the longer, lower
aspect ratio vane passages and owing to increasing disc
friction. At high specic speed, increased aerodynamic
losses result from the higher relative velocity levels.
Rodgers has usefully enhanced the basic correlation with
contours of the inlet relative Mach number, M ,
1shr,rel
and stage pressure ratio. Figure 5 thus forms an excellent
starting point for the estimation of stage eciency at the
start of a new design.
As Fig. 5 suggests, the inlet relative Mach number sig-
nicantly aects stage eciency at a given specic speed.
It is often a design aim to obtain the highest possible
mass ow for a given impeller tip diameter in order to
minimize the overall dimensions of the compressor. Care
in the design of the inducer is needed in order to limit
M to avoid associated eciency loss ( Fig. 5).
1shr,rel
Dixon [8] gives a formula relating a non-dimensional
mass ow function to the inlet gas angle, b , and this
1,shr
classic relationship is useful for selecting the optimum
gas angle. In an actual design the aim is to achieve a
specied mass ow, and so it is preferred here ( Fig. 6)
to depict the variation in relative mass ow as a function
of the gas inlet angle for a range of relative inlet Mach
(4)
numbers.
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 213 Part C
144 P M CAME AND C J ROBINSON

with the ideal equivalent, i.e. without exit blockage

( Fig. 7). The present authors nd a simple relative veloc-
ity ratio, W /W , to be an adequate design parameter
2 1shr
and values between 0.45 and 0.60 are normally chosen.
Adjustment of tip width to achieve the desired diusion
also aects the absolute ow angle at the impeller tip,
a , which inuences both the mixing loss at the impeller
2
exit and the development of the wall boundary layers in
the vaneless space with consequences for the associated
loss and for the design of the vaned diuser inlet.
Johnston and Deans theory [10] predicts a mixing loss
dependence on v (=tan a =C /C ) as depicted in
2 2 h2 r 2
Fig. 8. For low v the more disparate radial velocity
2
components of wake and core ows predominate and
the mixing loss increases. However, too high a value of
v results in a shallow spiral ow through the vaneless
2
space with consequently greater boundary layer develop-
ment and compromised vaned diuser inlet design. The
present authors nd a range of 69<a <73 to provide
2
Fig. 6 Inlet mass ow versus relative ow angle

The eciency levels shown in Fig. 5 imply competent

choices elsewhere in the design. Of the remaining design
decisions at this early stage, the axial width at the impel-
ler tip is probably the most important. The tip width
partly governs both the relative diusion in the impeller
and the absolute ow angle in the vaneless space between
the impeller tip and the vaned diuser inlet. As in any
compressor, excessive diusion will lead to loss of
eciency through separated boundary layers while
insucient diusion will result in excessive relative vel-
ocities and frictional losses throughout the impeller vane
passage. Young [9] was the rst of many authors to
compare actual diusion with ideal diusion levels,
depicting the actual Mach number ratio, M /M , Fig. 8 Impeller tip mixing loss
1shr,rel 2,rel

Fig. 7 Achieved and ideal Mach number ratios (MR2=relative and MR2i=ideal relative Mach number
at the impeller exit, as in Youngs [9] denition)
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 CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR DESIGN
acceptable limits and this appears sensible when seen in
relation both to mixing loss data (Fig. 8) and to vaneless
space pressure recovery data as presented, for example,
in reference [11].
3.4 Surge margin
Last of the principal aims of the preliminary design listed
earlier was achievement of the desired surge margin. In
the high pressure ratio part of a compressor character-
istic the location of the surge line is determined by a
complex set of conditions that so far defy prediction
from a sound physical basis at the preliminary design
phase or possibly at any phase of the design process.
From an empirical standpoint the two primary con-
trolling geometric features are observed to be the
so-called semi-vaneless space and the impeller back-
sweep. A simple physical relationship between back-
sweep and stage stability has been discussed above. The
probable reasons for the inuence of the semi-vaneless
space, more usually but less correctly described as the
inuence of the diuser vane number, are discussed in
reference [12] which recognizes the important role of the
semi-vaneless space as the principal diusing element of
a vaned diuser. The often observed benet on the surge
margin of a reduced diuser vane number may, accord-
ing to reference [12], then be explained in terms of the
geometric proportions of the semi-vaneless space which,
like any other diuser, determine its propensity to stall.
Given the complexity of the interacting inuences, for
practical design purposes it is necessary to resort to an
empirical approach. The performance prediction method
of Swain [13] uses an equation that relates the mass ow
at surge with the choke mass ow at any rotational
speed. The equation has the form
m ler exit/diuser inlet.
surge = f ( b , Z) (6)
m 22
choke
which incorporates the two predominant empirically
observed inuences of impeller backsweep angle and
diuser vane number. Swains stage performance
method is also representative of one school of approach,
begun by Rodgers [14], for the prediction of the entire
performance characteristic ( Fig. 1).
4 IMPELLER AEROMECHANICAL
OPTIMIZATION
4.1 Introduction
This section describes the design of the impeller vane,
showing how a compromise between aerodynamic and
mechanical considerations is necessary to achieve a prac-
ticable solution for a high-eciency robust design. For
many years, impeller aerodynamic design was based on
2D analysis and was predominantly empirical. This was
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145
due to the nature of the impeller ow which is inherently
of a strongly three-dimensional nature. Present-day
design is reinforced by the application of 3D CFD codes,
but there is still necessarily a measure of empiricism
backed by well-established practice. The mechanical
design has had a less predominant history of empiricism
because nite element structural analyses have long been
available. The most common design approach is indirect,
the impeller geometry being initially based on proven
vane and meridional proles tted to the 1D design
scantlings and then progressively rened to converge on
an optimized shape, guided by repeated aerodynamic
and mechanical analyses.
The alternative direct approach for generating a vane
geometry from a specied surface relative velocity distri-
bution is technically feasible [15] and is very attractive
in terms of eliminating the need for time-consuming,
iterative geometry renement. However, such methods
have yet to nd favour in industry; the reasons are not
clear but may be associated with the conict with
mechanical design that is often encountered with inverse
methods. Only the indirect approach will be dealt with
here. Furthermore, much of what follows assumes that
the subject design is for an open or unshrouded impeller
in the range 0.06W0.12.
Impeller vane detailed design is normally guided by a
series of aerodynamic choices and objectives, including:
(a) the meridional distribution of the vane angle,
(b) the distribution of the mean relative Mach number
through the passage,
(c) targets for non-dimensional aerodynamic loading
parameters at the hub and shroud,
(d ) avoidance of regions of separated ow, particularly
along the shroud,
(e) avoidance of highly non-uniform ow at the impel-
Similarly, the designer will have a corresponding series
of mechanical objectives that often conict with the aero-
dynamic requirements and that are inuenced by the
properties of the chosen material and the expected ser-
vice duty for the compressor. These amount to guaran-
teeing the mechanical integrity of the impeller over its
target life. Since stress is proportional to the square of
tip speed, mechanical problems tend to increase in sig-
nicance with increasing pressure ratio and can be acute
if the duty is cyclic. In terms of design criteria, these
generally reduce to:
1. Ensuring that the rst natural frequencies are high
enough not to be excited by low-order sources such
as low harmonics of the out-of-balance forces or
wakes from inlet bullet support spokes. This is nor-
mally pragmatically quantied by setting a lower limit
for the rst eigenvalue.
2. Controlling the vane stresses, particularly towards the
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 213 Part C
146 P M CAME AND C J ROBINSON

impeller exit where the highest temperatures result in
poorer material properties.
3. Avoiding the likelihood of forced response excitation
of the higher impeller vibration modes at signicant
speeds in the likely running range.
The rst two are most directly dependent on the aero-
dynamic design via thickness and camber and are the
reason why it is often desirable to incorporate 3D nite
element analysis into the nested vane design iterations,
particularly for higher pressure ratio designs. The third
is most signicant in the case of a close-coupled, vaned
diuser. For a new design it is normally straightforward
to make an appropriate choice of diuser vane number
that also satises the diuser aerodynamic requirements.
If the impeller is to be matched with an existing diuser,
then some manipulation of its vane geometry may be
necessary either to increase or to decrease a particular
modal frequency to eliminate the risk of excitation.
4.2 Initial selection of impeller geometry
In the denition of an initial meridional prole, building
on the 1D parameters from the preliminary design pro-
cess, the rst task is to select the axial lengthdiameter
ratio, L/D . The impeller length aects a number of sig-
2
nicant design issues, including the overall length of the
machine, the shaft dynamics, the impeller bore stresses
and the aerodynamic performance. So wide is its impact,
in fact, that L/D cannot sensibly be included as a vary-
2
ing parameter in the iterative aerodynamic design pro-
cedure; it is better to select a value at the outset with
guidance from empirical rules or established custom and
practice. From an aerodynamic standpoint, Birdi [16 ]
has suggested
L initially based on past experience and tted between the
=
D
2
cussed here because it can be combined with impeller
axial length to form a simple parameter analogous to
the spacechord ratio in axial compressors:
pD
Y= 2 (8)
2ZL
Ratio Y typically takes the value 0.17 at a 651 pressure
ratio, increasing to 0.250.35 for moderate pressure
ratios, say 2351. In selecting the vane number, both
cost and manufacturing considerations must also be
borne in mind, but aerodynamic analysis and consider-
ation of vane loading should be the nal arbitrators
where aerodynamic performance is paramount.
Curves for the hub and shroud are needed to complete
the meridional denition. These may be formed from
Bezier splines giving continuity of curvature, but linearc
composite curves are adequate. Figure 9 shows a typical
example for a moderate pressure ratio design. The
shroud comprises a line parallel to the axis, two circular
arcs and a line inclined to the radial direction at the exit.
The hub starts with a line inclined to the horizontal at
the inlet (typically 1114) followed by a single circular
arc to the impeller exit. The nal meridional proles are
determined iteratively as discussed below.
The vane shape is next dened in a 3D modelling
system. Bezier patches are customary [17, 18] and pro-
vide a complete analytical description of the vane sur-
faces, while interpolative, point-based systems are still
sometimes used. The latter can oer more freedom of
vane shape, but the patch-based approach oers the
advantage that the geometry is uniquely described and
there is neither interpolation nor ambiguity when gener-
ating geometric data for aerodynamic or structural
analysis and, eventually, for manufacture.
The distributions of the vane camber angle, b , are
2

SC K (M
1 1shr,rel 2
D
+K ) 1 1,m
D
2
A
D D
1shr
D
2
B1hub
D
(7)
where K =0.28 and K =0.8. Equation (7) yields L/D
1 2 2
values of 0.320.37 for inlet Mach numbers of 0.91.2
for typical ranges of diameter ratios in the expression,
with which the authors experience tends to agree. The
physical basis for equation (7) lies in the balance of
reduced skin friction, prompting low L/D especially at
2
low D /D , against the need to allow adequately gentle
1m 2
turning from axial to radial, particularly at high M
1shr,rel
which prompts higher L/D . For a single-stage com-
2
pressor there is usually freedom to choose an aero-
dynamically optimum axial length, in contrast to
multistage designs in which the axial length of the rotor
tends to be limited by overall shaft length considerations.
The vane number, strictly a parameter for consider-
ation in the preliminary design, is more suitably dis- Fig. 9 Typical meridional section
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 CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR DESIGN
Fig. 10 High-backsweep, high-rake 351 impeller
known 1D values of b at the leading and trailing edges
2
and then adjusted to account for the rake, l. A positive
rake has a clear benet for vane stresses near the impeller
tip, as even a highly backswept vane can be formed with
largely radially aligned laments, thus reducing bend-
ing stresses. Rake also contributes an aerodynamic ben-
et by reducing the work factor at a given backsweep
angle through unloading the vane at the shroud. One
way of allowing for this is to work with an eective
backsweep during the 1D design process. The metal
angles of the vane are then chosen to be below the eec-
tive backsweep by an amount that is proportional to the
rake angle. Rake angles of up to 45 are quite common
and an example impeller is shown in Fig. 10.
The vane thickness at the shroud is normally xed by
manufacturing or handling considerations and should be
as thin as practicable for optimum eciency. Typically
0.3 per cent of the impeller tip diameter is achievable for
unshrouded impellers, but with a lower limit of 0.35 mm
for the smallest wheels. The hub thickness is chosen to
give the vane adequate taper so as to ensure that
vibration frequencies are suciently high.
4.3 Two-dimensional aerodynamic analysis of the
impeller
The value of 2D inviscid analysis in the modern design
process, where 3D viscous CFD is now readily available,
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147
has been the subject of some debate. The three-dimen-
sionality of impeller ows has been amply demonstrated,
perhaps most memorably in the classic work of Eckardt
[19]. Thus the value of 2D methods will be limited.
Nevertheless, methods such as that developed by
Katsanis [20] using the streamline curvature formulation
of the equations of motion are still widely used in indus-
try. The primary output from the method is a solution
of the ow on a mean stream surface but, using the
Stanitz and Prian [21] approximation to the vane-to-
vane pressure dierence, vane surface pressures and vel-
ocities can also be computed and vane loading param-
eters can be dened.
Two-dimensional methods provide a very fast
turnround and can be useful in rening the geometry of
the vane and shroud proles, using empirical limits for
the loading parameters in the inducer and at the trailing
edge of the vane, based on back analysis of earlier suc-
cessful designs. Successful ranking of candidate designs
seems to have been widely achieved using streamline cur-
vature and, as Cumpsty [22] has pointed out, part of
this success may simply be the accuracy with which such
methods respond to all-important changes to the shroud
and hub proles during the design process.
The shroud meridional curvature (qr/qd ) has a rst-
order inuence on the level of the mean relative veloc-
ity and a secondary inuence on the vane loading.
Conversely, the rate of change in the vane angle along
the meridional length (qb/qd ) has a rst-order inuence
on the loading and relatively less impact on the value of
the mean velocity in the channel. This can be appreciated
by considering a vane loading expression derived from
Stanitz and Prian [21] but presented by Cumpsty [22]:
W W qr qb
s p =2v cos b +W cos2 b 2
rDh qd 2 2 qd
sin b cos b q
+ 2 2 (rW ) (9)
r qd
The rst two terms on the right-hand side are most sig-
nicant. In the inducer qr/qd=0 and qb/qd has a strong
impact on the loading. The cos2 b term illustrates the
2
strongly benecial inuence of vane angle b which at
2
the tip is simply the backsweep angle. The design is
rened by iteratively adjusting the vane shape and the
meridional proles, particularly at the shroud, to achieve
the desired distributions of mean passage Mach number
and loading targets.
The designer is free to choose the distribution of the
mean Mach number through the impeller between the
1D dened values at the inlet and exit. There are broadly
three strategies:
(a) small qM /qd initially in the inducer, then increased
rel
diusion later,
(b) linear reduction in the relative Mach number along
the entire meridional length,
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 213 Part C
148 P M CAME AND C J ROBINSON

(c) initially high qM /qd, then little diusion of the

rel
mean ow around the axial to radial bend.
The third route is essentially that recommended by
Dallenbach [23] and is roughly analogous to the use of
front-loaded, controlled diusion proles in axial com-
pressor design; this approach can work well for designs
at low pressure ratio. The boundary layers are initially
thin and therefore capable of sustaining a high level of
diusion. Then the ow is turned to the radial direction
with little diusion of the mean relative Mach number.
This approach separates the diusion and turning, which
may also help to reduce losses.
In high pressure ratio impellers, the vane needs careful
proling in view of the high levels of relative Mach
number found at the shroud inlet. It is necessary to limit
qb /qd and the meridional curvature along the shroud,
2
since either would lead to an increase in the peak suction
surface Mach number ahead of the shock with a corre-
sponding increase in loss and risk of shock-induced
boundary layer separation. For control of the aero-
dynamic loading downstream of the throat, the vane
loading parameter may be dened as
Dp:
C= (10)
cp: M
92
rel
and design limits have been found by retrospective
analysis of earlier designs. Figure 11 illustrates the vane
angle distributions for two designs optimized at dierent
levels of ow coecient and the corresponding shroud
relative Mach number. The plots illustrate the low
camber inducer that is necessary for the high ow
coecient design because of its high inlet relative Mach
number. The low W version demonstrates a more
aggressive approach to the diusion through the inducer.
It is the level of suction surface Mach number that
underpins the dierence in eciency that can be expected Fig. 11 Vane angle distributions and relative Mach numbers
from these two designs.
Most designs of pressure ratios of, say, 251 and above
model all of the stage components in one calculation
tend to use splitters. They provide an increase in throat
if necessary, as demonstrated in reference [26 ], for
area at a given shroud diameter over a full-vaned impel-
example. However, in routine design the impeller alone
ler (hence minimizing the relative Mach number) and
is the subject of much of the analysis eort. The commer-
ease the passage of the cutting tool. In its simplest form
cially available codes solve the 3D NavierStokes equa-
the splitter is simply a cut-back main vane. However, it
tions by either pressure correction or time-marching
is possible to improve on this. Since the splitter is much
algorithms, using either mixinglength or ke turbu-
shorter than the main vane and its hubtip ratio is
lence models.
larger, it tends to be much stier and so its thickness
To achieve adequate turnround times, meshes are rela-
can be reduced near the leading edge. Also the incidence
tively coarse with say 105 nodes for a calculation includ-
at the splitter shroud can be reduced by locally recam-
ing the shroud tip clearance. At this mesh density it is
bering the leading edge of the splitter, as illustrated in
likely that the results from all of the commercial codes
Fig. 12.
will exhibit a degree of mesh dependence, so the system
must be capable of producing consistent meshes for sen-
4.4 Three-dimensional aerodynamic analysis sible comparison between similar geometries. Inclusion
of the tip clearance has been shown to be signicant, as
The earliest reliable 3D turbomachinery codes became demonstrated in reference [27], for example.
widely available in the late 1980s [24, 25]. More recently An impeller characteristic can be usefully predicted,
there has been a trend towards general solvers that can with the operating point dened by mass ow towards
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 CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR DESIGN 149

the stall end of the characteristic and by exit static press-

ure as the impeller approaches choke. At each operating
point the results can be qualitatively interpreted with the
help of criteria suggested in reference [28]. Figure 13
shows the circumferentially averaged relative Mach
number and Fig. 14 shows the relative Mach number
distributions near the hub, mid-span and shroud. The
plots show that the ow is generally well attached and
there is no evidence of large separated regions, but the
clearance ow at the shroud is clearly the dominant fea-
ture. Figure 14 shows that the passages are well away
from choke at this nominal operating point. Despite the
use of coarse meshes, experience with CFD suggests that:
1. Impeller choke ow prediction is usually accurate to
1 per cent.
2. The predicted work input equates quite well with the
Euler work and, if factored by a typical ratio,
DH /DH ~1.03, to include parasitic work,
actual Euler
compares acceptably with values calculated by
empirically adjusted 1D methods.
3. Eciency is overestimated but dierences in eciency
are suciently accurate for dierentiating between
design candidates.

4.5 Impeller structural analysis

For adequate interaction between the aerodynamic and
Fig. 12 Splitter leading edge design
structural aspects of the design process, it is essential
that the nite element (FE ) structural analysis system is

Fig. 13 Impeller relative Mach number contours

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150 P M CAME AND C J ROBINSON
Fig. 14 Impeller relative Mach number contours
integrated into the design system, allowing rapid gener-
ation of new FE models for each candidate design [29].
At high ow coecients, combined with high target
eciencies, the vanes tend to be long and thin and a
close-coupled aeromechanical iteration is highly desir-
able to converge eciently on to a geometry that can
simultaneously satisfy all criteria. Analyses conducted
for several vane geometries as the aerodynamic design
proceeds enables the results to be fed back into modi-
cations of the geometry.
An axisymmetric, 2D FE analysis will establish disc
stresses and displacements in the areas of importance for
axial and radial location. The results are used to develop
the backface prole of the disc. Figures 15a and b show
the results of analyses over a range of backface exten-
sions, illustrating the value of a better balanced disc in
reducing peak bore stress. Extending the backface by
about 6 per cent of the impeller tip diameter leads to a
reduction of 30 per cent in the peak bore stress for this
example.
A 3D model of a single vane on a segment of the disc
allows prediction of 3D stress and provides a dynamic
analysis. Maximum stresses are compared with materials
data interpreted according to relevant assessment criteria
at an overspeed condition. An order of magnitude analy-
sis is conducted to see if thermal eects should be
included, but temperatures are generally not taken into
account in designs of P551.
The vane natural frequencies are compared with poss-
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ible excitation sources on a Campbell diagram ( Fig. 16),
ensuring that the criteria discussed earlier are met.
Figure 17 shows the mode shape for this typical, moder-
ate pressure ratio vane (mode 1), which is easily excited,
and a higher-order mode illustrating movement of both
the main vane and the splitter. Figure 17 also shows why
a swept leading edge contributes to raising the frequency
of the rst mode.
5 VANED DIFFUSER AERODYNAMIC DESIGN
Above pressure ratios of 351 a vaned diuser is more or
less mandatory and, if a particularly wide range is essen-
tial, variable geometry must be used. As discussed above,
the conditions at exit to the impeller have an impact on
the diuser design. Figure 18 shows an example of a
particular type of vaned diuser, usually called a channel
diuser because of the fully enclosed channel between
the throat and trailing edge. Though other types of
diuser (vane island, aerofoil, low solidity) dier in
detail, the essential features are largely present in Fig. 18.
It is convenient and physically appropriate to consider
the function of the semi-vaneless space (SVS) separately
from the channel. At the design point or near surge the
majority of the diusion occurs in the SVS (see reference
[30], for example). This follows from the area ratio
A /(A cos a ): towards the surge side of the character-
d n 3
istic, a3 is larger (more tangential ) and so the area ratio
3
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 CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR DESIGN
Fig. 15 Axisymmetric stress analysis: (a) stress contours; (b) bore stress
is signicantly greater than 1, rising as mass ow
decreases, thus increasing the diusion across the SVS.
Towards the choke end of the characteristic, a is
3
smaller, the area ratio falls and there is then acceleration
through the semi-vaneless space, accounting for the very
poor pressure recovery of the entire diuser near choke.
If the approach Mach number is subsonic then, at design
or near-surge conditions, a subsonic diusion from the
leading edge to the throat takes place. With transonic
inlet conditions, the subsonic throat condition is reached
by means of a shock in the SVS.
The channel pressure recovery is less than that
achieved in the SVS but is nevertheless signicant.
Runstadler correlated channel pressure recovery with
many parameters [31], of which the most signicant are
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151
the channel area ratio, the eective divergence angle and
the throat blockage.
The key diuser design parameter is the throat area,
since this controls the matching between the impeller
and the diuser. Good matching is important in achiev-
ing high eciency and also the appropriate range, since
the diuser controls the ow through the stage over a
signicant proportion of the map. A rst estimate of the
diuser throat area is often obtained using a correlation
such as Fig. 19 from reference [32], which relates the
diuser throat area to that of the impeller as a function
of the pressure ratio. The graph shows that at higher
pressure ratios the ratio A /A falls since the diuser
d ind
inlet ow function mT /(A cos a P ) is reduced. A
3 3 3 3
more rigorous approach is to run a 1D performance
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 213 Part C
152 P M CAME AND C J ROBINSON

Fig. 16 Impeller Campbell design

Fig. 17 Impeller vibration modes

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 CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR DESIGN
Fig. 18 Vaned diuser geometry
Fig. 19 Diuser throat area correlation
prediction program over a range of throat areas to
search for an optimum.
The vane leading edge is normally situated in the range
1.05r/r 1.15. Close coupling is desirable to avoid
2 ure recovery from a given diuser area ratio, the maxi-
boundary layer development in the vaneless space, but
the potential ow eld around the leading edge of the
diuser vanes can excite forced response vibration in the
impeller. The vane number also inuences impeller
vibration: the magnitude of the periodic static pressure
distribution experienced by the impeller is inversely pro-
portional to the diuser vane number. However, since
the disturbance decays approximately exponentially
through the vaneless space, small vane numbers can usu-
ally be used safely at the upper end of the r/r range so
2
long as there is no interference on the Campbell diagram.
Aerodynamically, the choice of vane number is a
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153
compromise between diuser pressure recovery and
surge margin. The surge margin improves as the vane
number is reduced, as demonstrated in reference [12] for
example, while for a given diuser passage eective
included angle, 2h, the area ratio (and hence the pressure
recovery) improves as the vane number increases. The
latter point is certainly a feature of the published diuser
data, though the readacross from this steady ow
environment to the ow in a centrifugal compressor
diuser is not well demonstrated and the authors know
of no evidence to suggest that this results in a gain in
eciency. The fact that the majority of the pressure rise
occurs in the semi-vaneless space may explain the poor
readacross from isolated channel tests to stage data. The
dominance of the semi-vaneless space must be recog-
nized in the design, particularly if the entry Mach
number is transonic when supersonic acceleration can
be avoided by proling the vane surface ahead of the
throat [12].
Despite the imperfections in the readacross, many
design organizations continue to use the results of
Runstadlers experimental study [31] to optimize the
diuser channel geometry. The passage downstream of
the throat is often a divergent circular arc, though a
range of geometries is possible. The passage is usually
chosen to have an included angle in the range
72h12 motivated by data such as Fig. 20 from
reference [33]. The 7 line represents the maximum press-
mum diuser eciency. However, the pressure recovery
contours are reasonably at between 7 and approxi-
mately 12 and this can be exploited to achieve more
compact designs. Typical overall radius ratios are 1.4 at
12 to 1.8 at 7.
6 CONCLUDING REMARKS
The design of centrifugal compressors has been reviewed,
with emphasis placed on the practical design approach,
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 213 Part C
154 P M CAME AND C J ROBINSON
Fig. 20 Diuser design data
supported where appropriate by discussion of the under-
lying physical base. The advent of powerful CFD tools
has greatly enlarged the volume and detail of aero-
dynamic data that are now accessible during the design
process and increased compressor performance has with-
out doubt been made possible. However, the signicance
of the preliminary design phase and the enduring contri-
bution of 2D aerodynamic analysis have also been high-
lighted. The paper has underlined the essential
integration of impeller structural analysis in the main
design iteration in order that a fully optimized aeromech-
anical design can be achieved.
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