Project Title: The Study of a Vaned Interstage Pipe for a Back-to-Back (B2B) Centrifugal Compressor
Project Summary: This project investigates the impact of fluid mechanics on compressor performance, specifically seeking to address flowswirling and non-uniformity in the interstage pipe of Carrier Corporation’s Back-to-Back (B2B) Centrifugal Compressor. The team was tasked with designing a simple, easily manufacturable flow straightener to be implemented into the interstage pipe that
would increase its polytropic efficiency by 0.5%, reducing energy consumption and operational costs, and enhancing the commercial value of Carrier’s chillers. Using SolidWorks for modeling and Ansys CFX for simulations, the team evaluated various designs. Initial tests with grid-style inserts reduced flow-swirling but caused excessive pressure loss, ultimately lowering efficiency. After this realization, vane designs were made that slightly increased polytropic efficiency, with the best performing model achieving an increase of 0.111%. Though short of the original target, these findings demonstrate a promising step toward improving compressor performance, offering long-term cost savings and
supporting Carrier’s position as a global leader in HVAC solutions.
