Quantitative analysis of energy loss and performance prediction of regenerative compressor

Abstract

The intricate internal flow structure within the regenerative compressor leads to substantial energy loss, presenting a long-standing challenge in accurately predicting its performance under various operating conditions. This paper establishes a performance prediction model that considers the impact of blade side exit angle and generalizes energy loss coefficient to accurately predict the performance of regenerative compressor under different operating conditions. Through numerical simulation analysis, the internal flow structure of the regenerative compressor is visualized, and the distribution and variation patterns of internal energy loss are studied. The magnitudes of loss rates for various components are quantitatively analyzed, revealing the underlying energy loss mechanism. A link between loss coefficients and the operating condition parameters of the regenerative compressor is established. Finally, the prediction model is applied to various similar compressor models for performance prediction, and compared with numerical simulation results. The results indicate that the prediction model can effectively predict the performance of various regenerative compressor models under different operating conditions, with maximum errors in total pressure and efficiency of 3.8% and 3.4%, and at rated conditions of 1.13% and 1.78%, respectively.