Chapter 3: One Dimensional Theory

• The real flow through an impeller is three dimensional

• That is to say the velocity of the fluid is a function of three positional
coordinates, say, in the cylindrical system, r, θ and z, as shown in Fig.
below.
• Thus, there is a variation of velocity not only along the radius but
also across the blade passage in any plane parallel to the impeller
rotation
• Also, there is a variation of velocity in the meridional plane, i.e. along
the axis of the impeller.
• The velocity distribution is therefore, very complex and dependent
upon the number of blades, their shapes and thicknesses, as well as
on the width of the impeller and its variation with radius.

1
A Centrifugal Impeller in Relation to
Cylindrical Coordinates

2
Basic Assumptions
The one-dimensional theory simplifies
the problem very considerably by
making the following assumptions:
The blades are infinitely thin and the
pressure difference across them is
replaced by imaginary body forces
acting on the fluid and producing
torque.
The number of blades is infinitely
large, so that the variation of velocity
across blade passages is reduced and
tends to zero. Thus,
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Basic Assumptions Contd
there is no variation of velocity in
the meridional plane, i.e. across the
width of the impeller. Thus,

• As a result of the above

assumptions, the flow through, say,
a centrifugal impeller may be
represented by a diagram shown in
Fig. below.
4
 One-dimensional flow through a centrifugal
impeller

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 Basic Assumptions Contd
• The above assumptions enable us to limit our analysis to
changes of conditions which occur between impeller inlet
and impeller outlet without reference to the space in between,
where the real transfer of energy takes place.
• This space is treated as a ‘black box’ having an input in the
form of an inlet velocity triangle and an output in the form of
an outlet velocity triangle.
• Such velocity triangles for a centrifugal impeller rotating with
a constant angular velocity ω are shown in Fig. above.

6
 Analysis
• At inlet, the fluid moving with an absolute
velocity v1 enters the impeller through a
cylindrical surface of radius r1 and may make
an angle α1 with the tangent at that radius.
• At outlet, the fluid leaves the impeller through a
cylindrical surface of radius r2, absolute
velocity v2 inclined to the tangent at outlet by
the angle α2.
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Analysis Contd
• The velocity triangles shown in Fig. above are obtained as
follows.
 The inlet velocity triangle is constructed by first drawing
the vector representing the absolute velocity v1 at an angle
α1.
 The tangential velocity of the impeller, u1 is then subtracted
from it vectorially in order to obtain vr1, the relative velocity
of the fluid with respect to the impeller blades at the radius
r1.
 In this basic velocity triangle, the absolute velocity v1 is
resolved into two components:
 One in the radial direction, called velocity of flow vf1, and
 The perpendicular to it i.e in the tangential direction, vw1,
sometimes called velocity of whirl.
 These two components are useful in the analysis and,
therefore, they are always shown as part of the velocity
triangles.
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Analysis Contd
• From One-dimensional flow through a
centrifugal impeller coupled with Newton’s
second law applied to angular motion,
• Torque = Rate of change of angular momentum
Now,
• Angular momentum = (Mass) x (Tangential
velocity) x (Radius).
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 One-dimensional flow through a centrifugal
impeller

10
Analysis Contd

11
Analysis Contd

12
Analysis Contd
• Equation (1.4) is known as Euler’s equation.
• From its mode of derivation it is apparent that Euler’s
equation applies to a pump (as derived) and to a turbine.
• In the case of a turbine, however, since

• E would be negative, indicating the reversed direction of

energy transfer.
• It is, therefore, common for a turbine to use the reversed
order of terms in the brackets to yield positive E.
• Since the units of E reduce to metres of the fluid handled, it
is often referred to as Euler’s head.
• It is useful to express Euler’s head in terms of the absolute
fluid velocities rather than their components.
• From the velocity triangles of Fig. above,

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Analysis Contd

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Analysis Contd
• In the above expression,
The first term denotes the increase of the
kinetic energy of the fluid in the impeller.
 The second term represents the energy
used in setting the fluid in a circular
motion about the impeller axis (forced
vortex).
The third term is the regain of static head
due to a reduction of relative velocity in
the fluid passing through the impeller.

15
 Application of Euler’s Equation to
Centrifugal and Axial Flow Machines
a)Centrifugal Flow Machine
• For centrifugal flow machine, the velocity
triangles are as shown in Fig. above.
• In addition, the following relationships hold.
• In general, u = ωr, it follows that the tangential
blade velocities at inlet and outlet are given by

16
Application of Euler’s Equation to
Centrifugal Flow Machines Contd

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Application of Euler’s Equation to
Centrifugal Flow Machines Contd

18
 Centrifugal Flow Machine
• At inlet the usual assumptions are as follows:

19
Centrifugal Flow Machine

20
Centrifugal Flow Machine

21
Centrifugal Flow Machine

22
 Axial Flow Machine

• An axial flow machine, is as shown in Fig. below.

• In the axial flow machine the flow is axial, the
changes from inlet to outlet take place at the
same radius.

23
Axial Flow Machine

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Axial flow impeller and velocity triangles

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Axial Flow Machine
• The following assumptions are
made with regard to the velocity
triangles:

3. At outlet, the relative velocity leaves the blade tangentially

and a similar procedure to that for a centrifugal impeller is
used to complete the velocity triangles.
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 Axial Flow Machine
• From the outlet triangle,

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 Axial Flow Machine
• For any two radii ra and rb,

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Axial Flow Machine

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 Worked example
• An axial flow fan as a hub diameter of 1.50m and a
tip diameter of 2.0m. It rotates at te speed of 18m/s
and, when handling 5.0m3/s of air, develops a
theoretical head equivalent of water. Determine the
blade outlet angles at hub and at tip. Assume that
the velocity of flow is independent of radius and
that the energy transfer per unit length of blade,dr,
is constant. Take density of air as1.2kg/m3 and te
density of water as 1000kg/m3
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• Solution
• Velocity of flow, v1 = Q/A =

31
Worked Example 1.2
• The shaft of small turbine turns at 20000 rpm,
and the blade speed is U = 250 m/s. The axial
velocity leaving the stator is Vx2 = 175 m/s. The
angle at which the absolute velocity leaves the
stator blades is α2 = 67°, the flow angle of the
relative velocity leaving the rotor is β3= -60°,
and the absolute velocity leaves the rotor at the
angle α3 = -20°. These are shown in Figure
below. Find (a) the mean radius of the blades,
(b) the angle of the relative velocity entering
the rotor, (c) the magnitude of the axial velocity
leaving the rotor, (d) the magnitude of the
absolute velocity leaving the stator, and (e) the
specific work delivered by the stage.

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33
Solution
• In turbines, a stage consists of a stator
followed by a rotor
• The inlet to the stator is designated as
location 1, the inlet to the rotor is location
2, and the exit from the rotor is location 3.
• The Euler turbine equation is written as
w = U2Vu2 - U3Vu3
• From Euler equation, the axial component
of velocity is denoted as Vx and the
component of the velocity in the direction
of the blade motion as Vu.

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Solution Contd
• For an axial turbomachine
U1=U2 = U.
• Hence, Work delivered by a stage is then given
by
w = U(Vu2 - Vu3)
(a) The mean radius of the rotor is

35
36
 Trothalpy and specific work in terms of
velocities
• Rothalpy is a compound word combining the
terms rotation and enthalpy.
• Since no work is done in the turbine stator , total
enthalpy remains constant across it.
• In this section an analogous quantity to the total
enthalpy is developed for the rotor.

37
 Trothalpy and specific work in terms of
velocities Contd
• Specifically, consider a mixed-flow compressor
in which the meridional velocity at the inlet is
not completely axial and at the exit from the
blades not completely radial.
• The work done by the rotor blades is

• This can be written as

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 Trothalpy and specific work in terms of
velocities Contd
• The quantity

39
Trothalpy and specific work in terms of
velocities Contd

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 Trothalpy and specific work in terms of
velocities Contd
• This gives

41
 Degree of reaction
• Degree of reaction, or reaction for short, is
defined as the change in static enthalpy across
the rotor divided by the static enthalpy change
across the entire stage.
• For the turbine this is given as

42
 Degree of Reaction Contd
• Work delivered by a rotor in a turbine is

• Since for nozzles (or stator) h01 = h02, work can

also be written as

43
 Degree of Reaction Contd
• Solving the last two equations for static enthalpy
differences and substituting them into the
definition of reaction gives

44
 Degree of Reaction Contd
• In a flow in which V1 = V2, the reaction R = 1.
• Such a machine is a pure reaction machine.
• A lawn sprinkler, rotating about an axis is such a
machine, for all the pressure drops take place in the
sprinkler arms.
• They turn as a reaction to the momentum leaving
them.
• In a steam turbine with an axial flow machine in
which U2 = U3 its reaction is zero when W2 = W3.
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 Worked Example
• Consider an axial turbine stage with blade
speed U = 350 m/s and axial velocity Vx = 280
m/s. Flow enters the rotor at angle α2 = 60°. It
leaves the rotor at angle α3 = -30°. Assume a
stage for which α1 = α3 and a constant axial
velocity. Find the velocities and the degree of
reaction.

46
 Solution
• Since axial velocity is constant and the flow
angles are equal at both the entrance and exit
of the stage, the velocity diagrams at the inlet of
the stator and the exit of the rotor are identical.
• From a velocity triangle, such as shown in
Figure 1.9a, the tangential velocities are:

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48
 UTILIZATION

• A measure of how effectively a turbine rotor

converts the available kinetic energy at its inlet
to work is called utilization, and a utilization
factor is defined as the ratio

49
UTILIZATION Contd
• From equation above, the denominator is the
available energy consisting of what is converted to
work and the kinetic energy that leaves the turbine.
• This expression for utilization equals unity if the exit
kinetic energy is negligible.
• But the exit kinetic energy cannot vanish completely
because the flow has to leave the turbine.
• Hence utilization factor is always less than one.
• Maximum utilization is reached by turning the flow
so much that the swirl component vanishes; that is,
for the best utilization the exit velocity vector should
lie on the meridional plane.

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 UTILIZATION Contd

• Making the appropriate changes in Eq. (1.22) to

make it applicable to a turbine and substituting
it into Eq. (1.29),
• gives an expression for utilization

• That is in term of velocities alone

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 UTILIZATION Contd

• From Eq. (1.27) it is easy to see that the work

delivered is also

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Utilization Contd
• In the situation in which R = 1 and
therefore also V2 = V1, this expression
becomes indeterminate.
• It is valid for other values of R.
• In a usual design of a multistage axial
turbine the exit velocity triangle is
identical to the velocity triangle at the
inlet of a stage.
• Under this condition V1 = V3 and α1 =
α3, and the utilization factor simplifies
to

53
Utilization Contd

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Utilization Contd
• At maximum utilization α3 = 0 and the work is w
= UVu2. Equating this to the work given in Eq.
(1.35) leads to the equality

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 Maximum utilization factor
• is obtained. For maximum utilization, V3 = Vx3,
and solving Eq. (1.33) for this ratio gives

56
 Maximum utilization factor Contd
• If a stage is designed such that Vx3 = Vx2, then
the speed ratio in Eq. (1.37) may be written as
follows:

57
Maximum utilization factor Contd

58
 Maximum utilization factor Contd
• Inspection of Figure above, as well as Eq. (1.41),
shows that maximum utilization factor increases
from zero to unity, when the nozzle angle α2
increases from zero to α2 = 90°.
• Hence large nozzle angles give high utilization
factors.
• Typically the first stage of a steam turbine has R = 0,
with a nozzle angle in the range from 65° to 78°.

59
 Worked Example
• Combustion gases flow from a stator of an axial
turbine with absolute speed V2 = 500 m/s at
angle α2 = 67°. The relative velocity is at an
angle β2 = 30° as it enters the rotor and at β3 = -
65° as it leaves the rotor, (a) Find the utilization
factor, and (b) the reaction. Assume the axial
velocity to be constant.

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Solution
• The axial and tangential velocity components at the
exit of the nozzle are

61
• Since the axial velocity remains constant, at the rotor
exit the tangential component of the relative velocity is
obtained as:

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• To calculate the utilization factor using its definition Eq.
(4.19), work is first determined to be

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