Numerical Study on the Interior Flow in the Radial Inlet Volute for Centrifugal Compressor

A numerical analysis is applied to the investigation of the interior flows in the radial inlet volute for a centrifugal compressor in this paper.Both interior flow in an individual inlet volute and its interaction with the downstream impeller are studied in some details,and the flow structure in the inlet volute is presented further.The numerical results show that a set of vortices in annular duct will lead to the loss of flow in the inlet volute,as well as flow field non-uniform in air interface plane.However,a more important conclusion is drawn that rotation of the impeller has a negative influence on the both properties mentioned above.Theoretically,the result presented can give a fundamental understanding of the complicated flow in the inlet volute,and provide a basis for optimizing the inlet volute.