Design and Flow Analysis of a Radial Outflow Turbo-Expander

Abstract Radial-outflow turbo-expanders have emerged in the recent years to suit some special applications where complex multi-phase and multi-component flows (like liquid-rich gases and solid particle-laden gases) need to be expanded. This paper presents a systematic study on the design and flow behavior of a single stage radial-outflow turbo-expander, which is to be used in organic Rankine power system to covert the low-temperature heat into shaft power. A mean-line code coupled with the optimization algorithm is developed and used to carry out the one-dimensional preliminary design, where 7 non-dimensional parameters are used as design variables (nozzle velocity coefficient, rotor velocity coefficient, reaction, rotor inlet and outlet flow angles, velocity ratio, and rotor diameter ratio). In comparison with the original design, significant design performance gains are achieved with the matched combination of design parameters. Geometric shape design is further performed for the expander. In consideration of the flow features in nozzle and rotor blade passages being nearly two-dimensional, blade shape design of both rows is conducted on the basis of the airfoils used for conventional axial flow turbines, where a conformal mapping method is used to convert the axial profile into the polar coordinate frame and it is then represented by 11 parameters of mean cylindrical diameter, radial and tangential chord, leading and trailing edge radius, blade inlet and outlet angles, blade inlet wedge angle, number of blades, unguided turning, and throat size. Flow and overall performance are simulated and predicted for the designed expander, where the output shaft power and overall isentropic efficiency is respectively predicted as 87.86 kW and 81.60% at design condition.