Examination of a Surge Suppression System Designed for a Centrifugal Compressor System

Abstract

Centrifugal compressors are used in many areas of industry, for example from natural gas transportation to superchargers of internal combustion engines and compressor stages of aircraft engines to the air compression equipment of the rapidly expanding fuel cell powered systems. With regards to each field of usage of compressors, reliable operation is an important criteria for the operation of the compressor, in addition for ensuring a continuous and adequate medium supply. This process is easier to implement if the equipment is used in terrestrial applications, where these engines can be operated in closely stationary conditions, because there isn’t any sudden change in environmental parameters, so these engines could be well optimized by their geometrical design for reaching its maximum efficiency. In vehicle industry, but especially in the case of aerial applications, the task is much more complicated, because the operation of the compressor is determined by the current operating states of the engine, but here at least the conditions of the air supply are almost the same. In the case of aircraft, the operation of the compressor is determined not only by the current operating state of the gas turbine engine, but also by the attitude of the aircraft. For this reason it is necessary to investigate the unstable operating conditions of centrifugal compressors and to develop equipment which is suitable for eliminating these affects.