Project Details
Projekt
Experimental and numerical study of real gas effects in transonic compressors
Subject Area
Fluid Mechanics
Hydraulic and Turbo Engines and Piston Engines
Hydraulic and Turbo Engines and Piston Engines
Term
since 2025
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 568756027
Heat pump systems will play an increasingly important role in the climate-neutral supply of process heat and heating. Improving the performance and efficiency of heat pumps is a constant concern and is being promoted by the European Union. Most compressors in heat pump systems are currently centrifugal compressors, but axial compressors could also be an attractive solution for future large-scale industrial applications. Although compressors are a proven technology, massive gaps in our knowledge exist regarding the flow conditions when using heavy organic vapors with pronounced real-gas effects. Since the speed of sound is relatively low in these vapors, transonic flows with complex shocks and boundary layer interactions occur. Therefore, the numerical tools used in the design process can currently only be applied with large uncertainties, and many fluid physics aspects remain completely unexplained. The project aims to use high-precision numerical simulations and experiments to improve our fundamental understanding of the flow of complex fluids in compressors. Experiments in a compressor test bench and a wind tunnel are combined with high-precision simulations based on a compressible flow solver to learn data-driven models. The latter are implemented in low-fidelity codes and tested against measurements. Flow phenomena in the blading of transonic axial compressors are investigated in detail experimentally and numerically using a compressor cascade. Optimization methods for compressor blading are to be developed and tested. The synergy and performance between the participating numerical and experimental working groups was already demonstrated in the previous ANR-DFG project Regal-ORC (with over 13 articles in scientific journals and 21 contributions to international conferences). The current project builds on this successful collaboration, and the methods and procedures developed there for turbines are to be further developed for compressors for heat pumps.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
International Connection
France
Cooperation Partners
Professorin Dr. Paola Cinnella; Professor Dr. Xavier Gloerfelt
