Asymmetric Return Vane for Centrifugal Machine Efficiency
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing centrifugal rotary machines face efficiency issues due to residual turning components in the working fluid after passing through return vanes, leading to uneven velocity distributions across stages, which negatively impact compression processing.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates return vanes in the guiding flow path with a trailing edge configuration where the second end portion is positioned closer to the inside in the radial direction than the first end portion, and the length of the return vane along the flow direction is longer on the downstream side, enhancing the suppression effect of the turning component.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a return vane is provided in the guiding flow path to remove the turning component of the working fluid, then the efficiency of the rotary machine is improved, but the turning component cannot be completely removed and uneven velocity distribution occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The trailing edge of the return vane is configured asymmetrically, where the second end portion (downstream side) is positioned closer to the inside in the radial direction than the first end portion (upstream side). This asymmetric geometry creates different suppression effects at different axial positions, with stronger suppression on the downstream side, thereby more effectively removing the turning component and achieving more uniform velocity distribution across the flow path.
2Ease of manufacture
If the return vane is designed with uniform length across stages, then manufacturing is simplified, but uneven suppression of turning component occurs across different stages
Solution Approach 1:
The return vane is designed with non-uniform characteristics along its length: the second end portion (downstream side) extends closer to the inside in the radial direction compared to the first end portion (upstream side). This local variation in geometry creates differentiated suppression effects at different axial positions and stages, with stronger suppression where needed, thereby achieving more uniform turning component removal across all stages while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration effectively suppresses the turning component of the working fluid, improving the efficiency of the rotary machine by ensuring more even suppression across stages, thereby optimizing the flow path and enhancing overall performance.
Implementation Method 1
The return vane is provided in the guiding flow path, and thus, a component in a turning direction of a working fluid which is discharged from an outlet of an impeller and has passed through a diffuser flow path and a return bend is removed
Data Source
AI summary
A flow path includes a return bend portion which guides a working fluid to an inside in the radial direction by reversing the working fluid discharged to an outside in a radial direction from an upstream-side impeller, and a guiding flow path which is connected to a downstream side of the return bend portion and leads the working fluid to the inside in the radial direction so as to guide the working fluid to the downstream-side impeller. In a return vane which is provided in the guiding flow path, a trailing edge is formed such that a second end portion on a second side in an axial direction is positioned closer to an inside in a radial direction than a first end portion on a first side in the axial direction.