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Department of Mechanical
Engineering
THERMODYNAMICS I
ME 206
Experiment 2
Constant Speed Centrifugal
Compressor Energy Balance
Lab Handout
April, 2013
Energy Lab.
Room Z35
2013
1. Introduction
Compressors are devices used to increase the pressure and the kinetic energy of a fluid
for utilizing it in desired purposes like in heating-ventilating-air conditioning applications.
Work is supplied to these devices from an external source through a rotating shaft to
compress the fluid in it to very high pressures.
The objective of the experiment is to utilize the conservation of mass and energy laws for
steady state conditions on a centrifugal air compressor and to find its first law efficiency.
Ws ke pe P F 1
where Ws is the mechanical shaft work performed on the fluid, ke is the change of
kinetic energy of the fluid, pe is the change in potential energy of the fluid, p is the
change in pressure energy, and F is the frictional energy loss as heat to the surroundings
or in raising the temperature of the fluid itself as it travels from inlet to outlet of the
compressor. When the equation 1 is written explicitly, it becomes
v 2 v 2 p2 p1
2 1
Ws g ( z 2 z1 ) F 2
2
The first three terms on the right hand side of the equation 2 represent useful work Wa .
v 2 v 2 p 2 p1
2 1
Wa
2 g ( z 2 z1 ) 3
The term Wa represents the actual work performed in changing the energy stages of a
unit mass of the fluid. This may alternatively be represented as the compressor total
pressure ptc , by converting the units from work per unit mass to pressure by multiplication
two sides of equation 3 with and it yields
v 2 v 2
ptc
2
2
1
p2 p1 4
The change in potential head of the fluid is ignored as the change in atmospheric pressure
between the inlet and outlet is negligible. Friction losses have also been ignored, and for
the purposes of the following experiments it is assumed that the fluid is incompressible (
is constant).
Pm 2 .n.t / 60 5
where n is the revolution of the shaft per minute, t is the motor torque in Nm. The
compressor power output, Pu , based on Pm and volume flow rate may be expressed as
p
Pu Q 6
v tc
is the volume flow rate of the air in m3/s and it is expressed as follows
where Qv
C d 2 2 p0
Q v d ptc 7
4
where Cd , d , , p0 indicate the coefficient of discharge for the orifice, the orifice
diameter in m, the density of the air in kg/m 3, and the differential pressure across the
orifice in N/m, respectively.
Pu
100 8
Pm
3. Experimental Set-up
The experiment is conducted with the experimental setup of Armfield FM42 Centrifugal
Compressor Demonstration Unit which consists of Armfield IFD7 Interface Device and a
compatible PC running Armfield FM42-304 software.
The experimental setup includes one temperature sensor and two pressure transducers at
the inlet and one pressure transducer at the outlet of the centrifugal compressor. At the
outlet of the compressor, there is a rotary outlet aperture to adjust the air outlet resistance.
The compressor speed can be increased or reduced by the software to obtain different
pressurization levels of the air and compare different operation conditions.
Air Outlet
4. Procedure
Close the rotary outlet aperture to give significant system resistance, for instance
2/3 closed.
Using the discharge as a guide, select incremental values for discharge that will
give 10-15 individual steps between minimum and maximum velocity.
Open the aperture to increase the flow rate to the first increment. Click Go to take
a sample. Repeat for each increment until the aperture is fully open.
If time permits, repeat the above procedure for compressor speeds of 80%, 60%,
40% and 20%.
Note measurements for each trial.
Measured Parameters 1 2 3
Inlet Temperature
Orifice Differential Pressure p0
Compressor Differential Pressure p2 p1
Compressor Speed n
Motor Torque t
5. Results
Calculate the following parameters.
Air Density
Volume Flow Rate Q
v
Compressor Total Pressure ptc
Mechanical Power (Input) Pm
Compressor Power (Output) Pu
Efficiency
6. References
[1] Cengel Y., Boles M. A., Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach, McGraw-Hill,
Fifth Edition
[2] Instruction Manual Armfield FM42