Effect of Centrifugal Compressor with Influence on Partial Vaned Diffuser

Partial vaned diffusers (PVDs) play a pivotal role in optimizing the performance of turbomachinery systems by efficiently managing fluid flow and pressure differentials. This study delves into the geometric configurations of partial vaned diffusers, examining how variations in vane positioning impact performance. In this study, a PVD is attached either along the hub side (PHVD) or shroud side (PSVD), and a comparison is made between these configurations. Computational fluid dynamics simulations are carried out using ANSYS CFX to elucidate the complex flow patterns within these diffusers for two different mass flow rates, namely 0.30 kg/s and 0.90 kg/s. Flow parameters like pressure, total pressure in the stationary frame, meridional velocity, and velocity are measured. The flow in PSVD is observed to be uniform and the rise in pressure in PSVD is observed to improve by around 4.5% with respect to PHVD. Other flow parameters such as meridional velocity and total pressure are in favor of PSVD.