A New Approach to Modeling Slip and Work Input for Centrifugal Compressors

Abstract A new method of modeling slip factor and work input for centrifugal compressor impellers is presented. Rather than using geometry to predict the behavior of the flow at the impeller exit, the new method leverages governing relationships to predict the work input delivered by the impeller with dimensionless design parameters. The approach incorporates both impeller geometry and flow conditions and, therefore, is inherently able to predict the slip factor both at design and off-design conditions. Five impeller cases are used to demonstrate the efficacy of the method, four of which are well documented in the open literature. Multiple implementations of the model are introduced to enable users to customize the model to specific applications. Significant improvement in the accuracy of the prediction of slip factor and work input is obtained at both design and off-design conditions relative to Wiesner’s slip model. While Wiesner’s model predicts the slip factor of 52% of the data within ±0.05 absolute error, the most accurate implementation of the new model predicts 99% of the data within the same error band. The effects of external losses on the model are considered, and the new model is fairly insensitive to the effects of external losses. Finally, detailed procedures to incorporate the new model into a meanline analysis tool are provided in the appendices.