Performance of Inward Radial Flow Turbines under Steady Flow Conditions with Special Reference to High Pressure Ratios and Partial Admission

Abstract

The paper describes an extension of an earlier and very successful one-dimensional analysis by one of the authors (reference (1)) for design and off-design performance evaluation of inward radial flow turbines to include four cases not covered by the earlier analysis: high overall pressure ratios leading to either nozzle or rotor choking; partial admission; variable nozzle angle; allowance for nozzle and rotor loss coefficients (references (2) and (3)). Each of these extensions of the original theory has been programmed in FORTRAN. The full admission results are compared with performance measurements obtained on a C.A.V. type 01 turbine in conjunction with a specially designed high-speed dynamometer for pressure ratios up to 1.6, the analysis being extended to a maximum value of 4.0. The partial admission results are compared with experimental results reported in reference (4). The variable nozzle angle results are given as an example of the flexibility of the method. Finally, the loss coefficient treatment of Benson (reference (2)) which was based on reference (1) in conjunction with experimental results reported in reference (5), is applied to the full admission tests of the present paper. The object of the paper is to give a comprehensive account of the power of the one-dimensional treatment as a design tool, with the inference that two-and three-dimensional treatments (references (6)-(9)) are basically more suitable for detailed flow analysis rather than basic design.