ME 416
Computer Assisted Design of
Thermal Systems
Actual Compressor Calculations
1. Use guidelines for ideal gas turbomachinery to calculate ideal specific work and
power.
2. Calculate volume flow rate in cubic feet per minute at the compressor inlet
3. Use the Brake Horsepower for a Generic Centrifugal Compressor graph to
determine the basic brake horsepower.
4. Calculate the actual power by multiplying the basic brake horsepower by the ratio
of the inlet pressure (in psig) to 14.5. This will give actual power in units of
horsepower. You may wish to convert it to watts.
5. Calculate the actual specific work by dividing the actual power (in W) by the mass
flow rate (in kg).
6. Calculate the actual adiabatic efficiency from
w ideal Wideal
ηs = or
w act Wact
7. Determine the actual exit conditions by first calculating the actual exit enthalpy
from
h out,act = h in + w act
and then using property evaluation to determine the actual exit entropy and
temperature.
8. Calculate any second law parameters (such as irreversibility or reversible work)
that are needed.
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ME 416 CAD of Thermal Systems
Figure 1. Brake Horsepower for a Generic Centrifugal Compressor
8.0 6.0 4.0 Pressure Ratio
7.0 5.0 3.5 3.0
10000
2.5
2.0
Basic Brake Horsepower (hp)
1.5
1000
100
1 10 100
Intake Volume Flow Rate (1000 CFM)
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ME 416 CAD of Thermal Systems
Example 1: Single Stage Compressor
Air at 105 kPa and 278 K enters a single stage compressor at 5 kg/s and receives a
pressure boost of 250 kPa. Determine the power required, adiabatic efficiency, and
exit temperature for
a. Ideal Compressor
b. Adiabatic Compressor with efficiency 79%
c. Actual Generic Centrifugal Compressor
It is useful to set up the following table to assist us.
Inlet Conditions Exit Conditions
(State 1) (State 2)
T1=278 K T2,ideal=393.8 K
P1=105 kPa T2,act=4244 K pt (b)
=444 K pt (c)
v1=0.76 m3/kg P2=355 kPa
m1 =5 kg/s
V1 =3.8 m3/s
Italicized values are obtained from air tables or ideal gas relations
Bold values are calculated
Using the ideal gas law we find
RT1 (0.287)(278)
v1 = = = 0.76 m 3 / kg
P1 105
and the volume flow rate is calculated from
V1 = v1 ⋅ m = (0.76)(5) = 3.8 m 3 / s
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ME 416 CAD of Thermal Systems
The exit pressure is calculated from
P2 = P1 + ∆P = 105 + 250 = 355 kPa
(a) We begin the ideal calculation by noting
k -1
P2 k
T2s = T1
P1
where k should be evaluated at the average temperature between the inlet and the
outlet, but since we only know the inlet temperature , we will take k at that
temperature or
k = k(@278) = 1.4004
Then
1.4004-1
355 1.4004
T2s = (278) = 393.8 K
105
which means we really should have evaluated k at 336 K or a value of 1.3986. Using
this value gives 393.4 K which is barely a change, but is what we will take as the true
value. Now calculating the ideal work from
wideal = cP,avg(T2s-T1) = (1.0071)(393.4-278) = 116.22 kJ/kg
and a power of
W = m ⋅ w ideal = (5)(116.22) = 581 kW
For an ideal compressor
η s = 100%
(b) For an adiabatic compressor with an efficiency of 79%, we have
Wideal 581
Wb = = = 736 kW
ηs 0.79
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ME 416 CAD of Thermal Systems
The actual exit temperature is then calculated from the 1st Law or
Wb 736
T2,act,b = T1 + = 278 + = 424 K
mc P,avg 5(1.007)
(c) For an actual generic centrifugal compressor we begin by converting the volume
flow rate to CFM.
Vin = 3.8 (3.2808) 3 (60) = 8.051 x 10 3 ft 3 / min
Next we calculate the pressure ratio
P2 355
rP = = = 3.38
P1 105
Going to Figure 1 we find
Basic BHP = 1100 hp (or from my curve fit 1069 hp)
Correcting for the intake pressure
Corrected Basic BHP = (P1 ⋅ 0.14504) / 14.5 ⋅ Basic BHP
(105)(0.14504)
= (1069) = 1122.8 hp
14.5
and converting to kW
Wc = (1122.8)(0.7457) = 837.3 kW
The adiabatic efficiency is then
Wideal 581
ηs = = = 69.4%
Wc 837.3
The actual exit temperature is then calculated from the 1st Law or
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ME 416 CAD of Thermal Systems
Wb 837.3
T2,act,b = T1 + = 278 + = 444 K
mc P,avg 5(1.007)
