High speed disk friction losses in a gaseous medium

Abstract

In the context of a feasibility study of a very high-speed turbocompressor for a synthesis gas, disk friction losses were regarded as significant. The previous theory for disk losses by Daily and Nece was supported by experimental results for disks rotating at modest rotary speeds in liquids. This paper describes some experiments with disks (127 mm dia.) rotating at high rotary speeds (up to 1100 rev/sec) in air. The results are compared with the previous theory. Good correlation was obtained for relatively small axial clearance ratios ( s r 0 = 0·004 and 0·0124). However, for a larger axial clearance ratio ( s r 0 = 0·05 ) the correlation between the results and the earlier theory was poor. Recommendations are made relevant to design calculations for disk losses in high-speed turbomachinery for gases.