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Aerodynamic Performance and Flow Characteristics of an Industrial Centrifugal Blower Volute with Varied Cross-Sectional Shapes/Area Ratios

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Published/Copyright: October 11, 2016
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Abstract

An industrial centrifugal blower with different volutes is investigated numerically for its aerodynamic performance and flow characteristics. Towards this, six different volutes are designed from a combination of three cross sectional shapes (parallel, rectangular and circular) and two area ratios (ratio 4.0 and ratio 5.0). A detailed analysis is carried out at design and off-design mass flow rates. Parallel wall volutes not only perform better but also improve stage performance among all cross sectional shapes explored. Parallel and rectangular volutes with ratio 4.0 exhibit higher stage performance, while, circular volute performs better with ratio 5.0. Flow inside the volutes is characterized in terms of circumferential pressure distribution at volute inlet, pressure recovery coefficients and velocity distribution across different cross sections. This detailed flow field investigation revealed the underlying physics behind the loss mechanism inside different volutes. The overall investigations suggest that the parallel wall volute is most compact and efficient one.

Nomenclature

Aθ

volute area of cross-section (m2)

Cp

static pressure recovery coefficient

Cω

total pressure loss coefficient

Cm

meridional velocity (m/s)

Cm R 5.0

meridional velocity (m/s) of R 5.0 volute

CU

tangential velocity (m/s)

CU R 5.0

tangential velocity (m/s) of R 5.0 volute

CT

velocity perpendicular to volute cross section (m/s)

Cs

velocity parallel to volute cross section (m/s)

Ip

input power to impeller (W)

m

mass flow rate (kg/s)

P

static pressure (N/m2)

P0

total pressure (N/m2)

PU

(12×ρ×U22) dynamic pressure (N/m2)

R/R2

normalized volute radius

R

volute radius (R=Rθ for parallel wall and rectangular volute; R=Rθ−Rce for circular volute)

U2

impeller tip velocity (m/s)

W

isentropic specific work (m2/s2)

Z/B2

ratio of axial position to blade height

η

total to total isentropic efficiency of stage (%)

Ψ

(WU22) head coefficient

φ

(CmU2) flow coefficient

Subscripts
0

inlet of suction duct

1

exit of suction duct

2

inlet of impeller

3

exit of impeller

4

inlet to volute

5

exit of volute

d

design value

Abbreviations
B2

impeller exit width (m)

B5

volute width (m)

R2

impeller exit radius (m)

BW

bottom wall of the volute

H

hub of the impeller

I

inlet of the volute

IW

inlet duct wall

PW

partition wall of the volute

PS

pressure side

S

shroud of the impeller

SS

suction side

SW

side wall of the volute

T

tongue of the volute

TW

top wall of the volute

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Received: 2016-09-01
Accepted: 2016-09-27
Published Online: 2016-10-11
Published in Print: 2019-03-26

© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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