Comprehensive Methodology for Turboexpander Units Flow Parts Designing

The author's comprehensive methodology for designing the flow parts of turboexpander units, the main elements of which are a centripetal turbine and a centrifugal compressor, is presented. The methodology includes mathematical methods and models of various levels of complexity, from one-dimensional to spatial ones, as well as experimental research. The calculation of three-dimensional viscous flow is performed using the method of numerical integration of the averaged Navier-Stokes equations and Menter’s differential turbulence model. The spatial shape of the turbine and compressor is described using the method for which the initial data is given as a limited number of parameterized values. An example of the developed flow part, which has high gas-dynamic efficiency in a wide range of operating modes and corresponds to the best world analogues in terms of its characteristics, is given. It is shown that the calculated gas-dynamic characteristics are in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data. A database of highly efficient flow parts of turbines and compressors, which are used as prototypes in the creation of new modern turboexpander units, has been created.