Mesh-generation parameters influence on centrifugal compressor simulation for design optimisation

Abstract

As advocated by Denton [AGARD LS-195, (1994)], three-dimensional CFD calculations are more and more used in the process of designing centrifugal compressors. Therefore, numerical accuracy is an issue if valuable design decisions are to be based on CFD results. This paper aims at correlating mesh-parameters and calculated flow quantities. The design-of-experiment method (DOE) is used to identify which mesh-parameters influence any given flow quantity. The emphasis is put on global performances (mass-flow rate, pressure-ratio and efficiency), and on local features (friction coefficients and local velocity-profiles). The outcome of the study is the connection between mesh-parameters and specific flowproperties. This can be further used to derive numerical benchmarks, such as reported by Dufour et al. [XXI ICTAM conference, Poland (2004)] for the tip-clearance flow.