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MET 411 - TURBO MACHINES

BASIC CONCEPTS

BASIC CONCEPTS OF TURBO MACHINES

DEFINITION
Turbo machine is defined as a device that extracts energy or imparts energy to a continuously
flowing stream of fluid by the dynamic action of one or more rotating blade rows. The prefix 'turbo'
is a latin word meaning 'spin' or 'whirl' implying that turbo machines rotate in some way. If the
machine adds energy to the fluid, it is commonly called a pump. If it extracts energy, then it is
called a turbine. A device which pumps liquids is simply called a pump, but if it pumps gases, then
three different terms may be used depending upon the pressure rise achieved. Up to nearly 0.07
bar pressure rise, the device is called a 'fan', between 0.07 and 3 bars absolute pressure it is
called a 'blower', and above 3 bar absolute pressure it is called a 'compressor'. The difference
between the turbo machine and the positive displacement machine is that in the former, the fluid
is moving continuously across the machine unlike in the latter, where the fluid enters a closed
chamber, which is isolated from the inlet and outlet sections of the machine for a very short period
of time within which work is done on or by the fluid.

CLASSIFICATION OF TURBO MACHINES

Turbo machines are broadly classified as Shrouded or Un-shrouded turbo machines. If the
rotating member is enclosed in a casing or shrouded in such a way that the working fluid cannot
be diverted to flow around the edges of the impeller, it is called a shrouded turbo machine.
Examples of this are turbines, pumps, etc. If the fluid flows around the edges of the impeller which
is not shrouded, then it is called an un-shrouded turbo machine. Examples of this are wind mill or
aero-generator and aircraft propellers. Turbo machines may fall into any one of the two classes
depending on whether work is done by the fluid on the rotating member (examples: hydraulic
turbine, gas turbine, etc.) or work is done by the rotating member on the fluid (examples: pump,
compressor, etc.).
The turbo machines can also be classified by the energy transfer from or to the rotating blades,
which are fixed onto a shaft. In the work absorbing machines the fluid pressure (or) head (in the
case of hydraulic machines) (or) the enthalpy (for compressible flow machines) increases from
inlet to outlet. But in work delivering machines the fluid pressure or enthalpy, decreases from the
inlet to the outlet.
The product change in head or enthalpy, and the mass flow rate of the fluid through the machine,
represents the energy absorbed by (or) extracted from the rotating blades. In turbo machines, the
energy transfer is accomplished by changing the angular momentum of the fluid and so the
shapes of the blades and rotating members differ from one type to another.
Turbo machines can also be classified based on the direction of flow of fluid across the rotating
member. If the flow is axial, the machine is called an axial flow machine. If the flow is only radial, it

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is known as radial flow or centrifugal machine. If the flow is partly axial and partly radial, the
machine is known as mixed flow machine.

BASIC LAWS AND GOVERNING EQUATIONS

The basic laws of thermodynamics and fluid mechanics are used in turbo machines. The
important laws and governing equations used in turbo machines are as follows:

1. The Principle of Conservation of Mass

The conservation of mass is one of the most fundamental principles in nature. Mass, like energy
is a conserved property, and it cannot be created or destroyed. The conservation of mass
principle for a controlled volume undergoing a steady flow process requires that the mass flow
rate (m) across the controlled volume remains constant. Mathematically,

m = 1A1C1 = 2A2C2
Where - subscripts 1 and 2 denote the inlet and outlet conditions respectively. The conservation
of mass equation is often referred to as the continuity equation in fluid mechanics. In
compressible flow machines, the mass flow rate (kg/s) is exclusively used while in hydraulic
machines the volume flow rate (m3/s) is preferred.

2. The First Law of Thermodynamics

The first law of thermodynamics which is also known as the conservation of energy principle
states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only change from one form to
another. The conservation of energy equation for a general steady flow system can be expressed
verbally as
[Heat transferred] - [Shaft work] = (Mass flow rate) [(Change in enthalpy per unit mass) + (Change
in kinetic energy per unit mass) + (Change in potential energy per unit mass)]
or

This equation is known as steady flow energy equation (SFEE). A turbo machine, being operated
essentially under the same conditions for long periods of time, can be conveniently analyzed as a
steady flow device. This equation, when applied to a turbo machine, may be simplified pertaining
to the type of turbo machine, because many of the terms are zero (or) get cancelled with others.

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3. The Newton's Second Law of Motion

According to this law, the sum of all the forces acting on a controlled volume in a particular
direction is equal to the rate of change of momentum of the fluid across the controlled volume in
the same direction.

Figure 1.1 Movement of fluid particle across a controlled volume

In turbo machines, the impellers are rotating and the power output is expressed as the product of
torque and angular velocity and so angular momentum is the prime parameter. Consider a fluid
particle moving across a controlled volume as shown in Fig 1.1. The Fluid particle travels from
point A to point B while simultaneously moving from a radius r1 to radius r2. If Cx1 and Cx2 are
components of absolute velocities in the tangential direction, then the sum of all the torques
acting on the system is equal to the rate of change of angular momentum. Mathematically,

If the machine revolves with angular velocity , then the power (W) is

Since

This equation is known as the general form of Euler's equation. Euler's turbine equation is

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Euler's pump equation is

4. The Second Law of Thermodynamics

The second law of thermodynamics leads to the definition of Entropy, and is defined as
Qrev = Tds
Entropy change is caused by heat transfer, mass flow, and irreversibility. The entropy change
during a process is positive for an irreversible process or zero for a reversible process. Thus,
work producing devices such as turbines, deliver more work and work consuming devices such as
pumps and compressors consume less work when they operate reversibly.
The differential form of the conservation of energy equation for a closed stationary system (a fixed
mass) can be expressed for a reversible process as

This equation is known as the First Ids equation or Gibb's equation. The second Ids equation is
obtained by eliminating du from the first Tds equation by using the definition of enthalpy

(h = u + Pv)
Tds = du - vPdv
dh=du + Pdv + vdP
Thus

Tds =dh- vdP

The second Tds equation is extensively used in the study of compressible flow machines. In
terms of stagnation properties

Tds = dho vodpo

For an incompressible fluid undergoing an isentropic process (i.e. ds = 0) as in fans, the ideal
change in stagnation enthalpy is

Since

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v0 = l/o and o =

EFFICIENCIES OF COMPRESSORS
Fig. 1.2 shows the reversible and irreversible adiabatic compression processes on the enthalpyentropy diagram. The initial condition of the fluid is represented by state-1. The stagnation point
corresponding to this state is 01. The final condition of the fluid is denoted by state-2 and the
corresponding stagnation point is 02. If the process were reversible, the final fluid static and
stagnation conditions would be 2s and 02s respectively.

Figure 1.2 Reversible and irreversible compression processes

Process 1-2 is the actual compression process and is accompanied by an increase in entropy.
Process 1-2S is the ideal compression process. The efficiencies of compressors may be
defined in terms of either stagnation or static properties of the fluid or even a combination of
both. The following are the commonly used compressor efficiencies:

1. Total-to-Total Efficiency
It is an efficiency based on stagnation properties at entry and exit.

2. Static-to-Static Efficiency
It is an efficiency based on static properties at entry and exit.

3. Polytropic Efficiency
A compressor stage can be viewed as made up of an infinite number of small stages. To account
for a compression in an infinitesimal stage, polytropic efficiency is defined for an elemental
compression process. Consider a small compressor stage as shown in Fig. 1.3 between
pressures p and p + dp. The polytropic efficiency of a compressor stage is defined as
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Figure 1.3 Compression process in infinitesimal and finite compressor stages

For an isentropic process, the relationship between pressure and temperature is given by

Differentiating equation (1.2) and substituting equation (1.1), we get

Constant value is obtained from equation (1.2). Therefore,

Integrating between the limits of the full compression from PI to P% we get

Rearranging,

If the irreversible adiabatic compression process is assumed to be equivalent to a polytropic

process with polytropic index, n, the following relationship between temperature and pressure will
exist.

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Equating eqns (1.4) and (1.5),

Comparing the power,

The polytropic efficiency is also called as small stage or infinitesimal stage efficiency.
A typical value of polytropic efficiency for a compressor is 0.88 and in the initial design calculation
it is often assumed that p = s where s is the stage efficiency.
Alternatively, polytropic index of compression in the actual process is

4. Finite Stage Efficiency

A stage with a finite pressure drop is a finite stage. Taking static values of temperature and
pressure (Fig. 1.2) and assuming perfect gas, stage efficiency is defined as

The finite stage or stage efficiency can be expressed in terms of the small stage or polytropic
efficiency

Therefore,

For a multistage compressor with a constant stage pressure ratio, the overall pressure ratio is
given by

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Where N is the number of stages and PN+I is the pressure at the end of the Nth stage. Therefore,
the overall efficiency is

The overall efficiency in terms of overall pressure ratio is

PREHEAT FACTOR IN COMPRESSORS

Consider a two stage compressor working between P01 and P03, as shown in Fig. 1.4. In isentropic
flow, the outlet conditions of the gas for the first stage and second stage are at 02s, and 03s

respectively, where as the actual outlet conditions are at 02 and 03 Corresponding to first stage
and second stage respectively.

Figure 1.4

Preheat effect in a multistage compressor

The subscript s refers to constant entropy and '0' refers to total conditions of the fluid. If the stage
efficiencies were the same, the total actual work input to the different individual stages would be

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Consider now, a single stage compressor raising the fluid pressure from P01 to The actual work
input that would be supplied is

Where c is the overall compressor efficiency and Ws is the isentropic work.

The actual work input is the same for both single stage and multistage compression processes.

Then from equ's 1.7 and 1.7a,

Since the constant pressure lines diverge in the direction of increasing entropy on h-s diagram,
the isentropic enthalpy rise across each stage increases even for a constant stagnation pressure
rise Po across each stage. Then, the sum of the stage isentropic enthalpy rises is greater than
the isentropic enthalpy rise in a single stage compression.
For a two stage compressor

For N stages,

Equation (1.8) can be written as

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The preheat factor is less than unity. Then, equation (1.8a) becomes

or

i.e., the overall compressor efficiency c is less than the compressor stage efficiencies s.
Consider again Fig. (1.4) for a first stage compression, state 02 may be obtained after an ideal
compression from 01 to 02, followed by "preheating" of the fluid from state 02S to 02 at constant
pressure (T02 > T02s).
This inherent thermodynamic effect that reduces the efficiency of a multistage compressor is
called the preheat effect.

EFFICIENCIES OF TURBINES
The enthalpy-entropy diagram for flow both reversible and irreversible through a turbine is shown
in Fig. 1.5. The static condition of the fluid at inlet is determined by state 1, with state 01, as the
corresponding stagnation state. The final static properties are determined by the state 2, with 02,
as the corresponding stagnation state.

Figure 1.5 Reversible and irreversible expansion processes

If the process were reversible, the final fluid static state would be 2s and the stagnation state
would be 02s.
Process 1 2 is the actual expansion process and process 1 2s is the isentropic or ideal
expansion process. In turbines, the efficiencies may be defined using either the static or the
stagnation properties of the fluid or even a combination of both. The commonly used turbine
efficiencies are
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1. Total-to-Total Efficiency
It is an efficiency based on stagnation properties at inlet and outlet.

2. Total-to-Static Efficiency
It is an efficiency in which the ideal work is based on stagnation property at inlet and static
property at outlet.

3. Polytropic Efficiency
A turbine stage can be considered as made up of an infinite number of small or infinitesimal
stages. Then to account for expansion in an infinitesimal turbine

Figure 1.6 Expansion process in infinitesimal and finite turbine stages

stage, a small stage or infinitesimal stage or polytropic efficiency is defined. Consider a small
stage (Fig. 1.6) between pressures P and Pdp. The efficiency of this turbine stage is defined as

For an isentropic process

Differentiating eqn. (1.10), we get

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Integrating between the limits of the overall expansion between PI and

Rearranging,

Assuming the irreversible adiabatic expansion (1-2) as equivalent to a poly tropic process with
index n, the temperature and pressure are related by
Equating eqns. (1.12) and (1.13),

Comparing the powers,

Alternatively, the index of expansion in the actual process is expressed as

When p = 1, n = r. The actual expansion of process curve (1-2) coincides with the isentropic
expansion line (1 2s).

4. Finite Stage Efficiency

The stage efficiency, considering static value of temperature and pressure (Fig. 1 .6.), is defined
as

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The stage efficiency can now be expressed in terms of polytropic efficiency

Therefore,

The same equation can be used to determine the overall efficiency of a multistage turbine, except
that the stage pressure ratio is replaced by the overall pressure ratio.
The overall efficiency, for an N-stage turbine with a constant stage pressure ratio, can be
expressed as

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