Heat and Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-019-02777-w

ORIGINAL

Performance prediction, numerical and experimental investigation

to characterize the flow field and thermal behavior of a cryogenic
turboexpander
Manoj Kumar1 · Debashis Panda1 · Ranjit K. Sahoo1 · Suraj K. Behera1

Received: 4 February 2019 / Accepted: 17 October 2019 / Published online: 19 November 2019
© Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019

Abstract
Radial inflow turbine and nozzle among the other components of the cryogenic turboexpander has a significant effect
on the efficiency of the system. This study proposes an effective one-dimensional design approach of a radial turbine by
introducing different loss correlations. The methodology also describes the effect of non-dimensional design variables on
the performance of the turbine. These variables (blade speed ratio, pressure ratio, hub and shroud to turbine inlet radius
ratio) undergo artificial intelligence-based model to predict their optimal range for better efficiency and power output of
the turbine. Based on these optimal ranges, two turbine and nozzle models are generated. The results of the optimized
configuration show that the turbine total-to-static efficiency and power output are higher by 4% and 18.9% respectively as
compared to the existing literature. Thereafter, the three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis is carried
out to visualize the fluid flow and thermal characteristics at different inlet temperatures in the flow passage using ANSYS
CFX® . The study also focuses to identify the flow separation zone, tip leakage flow, vortex formation, secondary losses and
its reasons at different spans of the turbine. An experimental platform is also established to validate the CFD results of a case
study. The experimental results show that the mass flow rate and rotational speed has major effect on temperature drop and
isentropic efficiency of the turboexpander. The study highlights the importance of the design methodology, the estimation
capability of artificial intelligence models, the experimental techniques and benchmarking model for numerical analysis at
different cryogenic temperature.

Keywords Radial turbine · Flow and thermal characteristics · CFD analysis · Experimental techniques ·
Artificial intelligence methods

Nomenclature D Turbine diameter (m)

Variables Dn Nozzle ring diameter (m)
b Blade height (m) Dh Mean passage hydraulic diameter (m)
bt Nozzle height (m) Dt Nozzle throat circle diameter (m)
C Absolute velocity (m/s) d Diameter (m)
C0 Spouting velocity (m/s) ds Specific diameter
Chn Chord length (m) h Enthalpy (kJ /kg)
Cmt Meridional velocity at throat of the nozzle (m/s) k Discharge coefficient
Cθ t Tangential velocity at throat of the nozzle (m/s) kxr Cross coupling coefficient
c Turbine blade chord (m) kp Constant
L Axial length (m)
Lt Total loss
Lh Mean passage hydraulic length (m)
 Manoj Kumar M Mach number
.
manojbeg526@gmail.com m Mass flow rate (kg/s)
ns Specific speed
1 P Power (kW )
National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Odisha,
769008, India Pn Blade pitch length (m)

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1016 Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036

p Pressure (P a)   m Meridional
Q Volume flow rate m3 /s n Nozzle
R Turbine radius (m) o Total
Rh Hub radius (m) r Radial
Rs Shroud radius (m) rel Relative
r Radius (m) s Shroud, Isentropic
rp Pressure ratio T EL Trailing edge loss
s Meridional streamlength (m), t Throat
t Blade thickness(m) tip Tip (turbine exit)
U Blade speed (m/s) x Axial
vs Blade speed ratio 0 Stagnation state
W Relative velocity (m/s) 1 Nozzle inlet
Wt Throat width(m) 2 Turbine inlet
Z Number of blades 3 Turbine outlet
Zr Rotor axial length (m) θ Tangential

Acronyms
ANF I S Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system 1 Introduction
ANN Artificial neural network
CF D Computational fluid dynamics The branch of low-temperature physics, later renowned
MAE Mean absolute error as cryogenics started with liquefaction of oxygen by
MLP Multi-layer perceptron Raoul Pierre Pictet (Swiss physicist) and Louis Paul
ORC Organic Rankine cycle Cailletet (French mining engineer) but it is considered
P F H X Plate-fin heat exchanger that cryogenic science borns after liquefaction of helium.
RMSE Root mean squared error In 1896, Onnes proposed the concept of using an
TF Transfer function expansion turbine in liquefaction process of hydrogen [1,
2]. However, Claude implements turbine as an expander
Greek symbols in place of expansion device for the first time in his
α Absolute velocity angle (degree), experiment for air liquefaction system. After that, the
αt Nozzle throat angle (degree), era of cryogenic turboexpander begins for liquefaction
β Absolute flow angle (degree), cycles. The usage of cryogenic temperature is essential,
β2,opt Incidence angle (degree) for example, to produce an inert environment (shielding
εx Axial clearance (m) gas) in welding process, leak detectors, optical fibers,
εr Radial clearance (m) solar telescopes, superconductivity and superfluidity, space
γ Specific heat ratio appliances, biomedical and chemical instruments, etc. [3].
ηt−s Total-to-static
 efficiency
 Radial inflow turbine is extensively used in expanders,
ρ Density kg/m3 gas liquefaction units, cryogenic applications, chemical,
ηis Isentropic efficiency transportation, turbochargers, internal combustion engines,
ψz Zweifel number and petrochemical industries because of its higher perfor-
ψ Stage head coefficient mance, ruggedness, efficiency, and less cost as compared
λ Turbine outlet to inlet radius ratio to axial flow turbine [4]. It can also operate at a differ-
λs Stagger angle (degree) ent range of mass flow rate and rotational speeds. The
χ Ratio of absolute meridional velocity evolution of computational fluid dynamics explore many
φ Flow coefficient aspects like advancement in aerodynamic profile, flow field
ζ Hub ratio characteristics and various losses occurred inside different
Θ Rotor meridional velocity coefficient components of a turboexpander. Some internal and external
ω Rotational speed (rpm) losses exist inside the turboexpander. The external losses
(bearing loss) can not be determined through numerical sim-
Subscripts ulations. However, internal losses are considered. Several
BL Blade loading loss techniques (active and passive) are proposed to eliminate
Cl Clearance loss these losses for turbine and compressor [5, 6]. Whitfield and
h Hub Baines [7] propose the design methodology for computing
I Incidence loss the various losses inside the turbomachines. Harvey et al.

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Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036
[8] propose the design methodology to increase the aero-
dynamic performance of turbine blade profile by increasing
efficiency at higher stage loading.
Flow separation over turbine blade surfaces is a
significant concern among aerodynamic designers. It affects
the performance of rotor as well as turboexpander.
Suhrmann et al. [9] propose different loss correlations
for improving the aerodynamic profile of micro radial
turbine. The blade profile losses obtain due to boundary
layer formation near the blade surface. It is minimized
by reducing the blade thickness at leading and trailing
edge. Tako et al. [10] suggest the effect of blade thickness
on flow separation and secondary losses. This loss may
exist because of reversed flow initiated by adverse pressure
gradient. Also, the flow vortices are originated due to
mixing of these secondary flow to the mainstream. It can
also obtain because of aerodynamic losses which are an
important reason for decreasing the turbine performance
[11, 12]. In this regard, some remarkable works are reported
considering various loss correlations in the preliminary
design process [13–16].
The efficiency of small-scale radial turbine is lower
as compared to large turbines because of these losses.
Therefore, the efficiency can be improved by considering
those losses in the one-dimensional (1 − D) design
procedure. Also, numerical studies of fluid flow and thermal
characteristics of such kind of turbine are essential and
a matter of interest for extensive investigation. This can
highlight the problem of flow separation, vortex generation,
primary and secondary losses, boundary layer separation,
and transitional turbulence. These type of losses can be
reduced by optimizing the turbine blade profile. Therefore,
researchers are interested in increasing the efficiency of
small turbine by minimizing these losses which may
cause improvement in performance of the turboexpander
system [17].
Furthermore, to increase the performance of reversed
Brayton cycle based turboexpander, the design of small
radial turbine needs improvement and non-dimensional and
geometrical design variables must be optimized. Nowadays,
artificial neural network (ANN) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy
inference system (ANFIS) are powerful optimization tool
and more demanding [18–20]. Some works are reported
on the application of ANN and ANFIS networks to
characterize the performance of turbomachinery and radial
turbines [21, 22].
Apart from this, some experimental and numerical
analysis of turboexpander is also reported in the literature.
Hongli et al. [23] perform an experimental analysis to
investigate the performance of a turboexpander used in
air refrigerator which is based on reversed Brayton cycle.
Kumar et al. [22] conduct the experimental analysis to
study the performance of a cryogenic turboexpander at
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1017
different rotational speeds. Harinck et al. [24] perform
the three-dimensional numerical investigation for a set
of nozzle, radial turbine, and diffuser used in an ORC
cycle. Yang et al. [25] investigate the coupling performance
of a turboexpander compressor for air refrigerator based
on reversed Brayton cycle. Nitesh and Chatterjee [26]
develop a small-scale radial turbine with 2 kW power
output for renewable energy conversion applications. Chang
et al. [27] propose the reversed Brayton cycle-based two-
stage helium refrigerator in which two expanders are
used in series operating at constant mass flow rate and
different pressure ratio. Streit and Razani [28] propose
thermodynamic optimization of the expander. Ke et al. [29]
study the effect of vaneless space on performance of turbine
through experimental and numerical analysis.
The literature review cited above unveils that very less
literature exists which use the ANN and ANFIS models
in the design process of a turbine. Also, numerical and
experimental analysis is important to envisage the fluid
flow behavior and thermal characteristics of a cryogenic
turboexpander. Present paper fulfills this literature gap.
In this paper, an effective and comprehensive 1 −
D design methodology for the development of a radial
turbine is illustrated considering different loss correlations.
The non-dimensional design variable datasets are used to
develop an ANN and ANFIS networks to estimate their
optimal ranges for maximum total-to-static efficiency and
power output of a radial turbine. Based on the estimated
ranges, two turbine and nozzle models are developed.
The obtained turbine dimensions are further validated with
previously published results. Thereafter, three-dimensional
Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) computations
are carried out with k − ω shear stress transport (SST)
turbulence model to investigate the fluid flow and thermal
characteristics of the turboexpander using ANSYS CFX® .
Major performance parameters, like density, pressure
variation, Mach number, Reynolds number, static enthalpy,
static entropy, temperature variation, and internal flow
structures at different spans and meridional plane are
reported. Additionally, to validate the numerical results, an
experimental platform is developed.
2 Design procedure for turbine and nozzle
2.1 Design of radial inflow turbine
The preliminary design methodology of a radial inflow
turbine is introduced to save time because of excessive
empirical correlations are employed in this process [30].
The thermophysical properties of working fluid have a
significant effect on aerodynamic design of radial inflow
turbine [31]. Generally, cryogenic fluids are diatomic
1018 Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036

gas, and its thermophysical properties are complicated

and varied at high pressure and ultra-low temperature.
It is complicated to predict cryogenics fluid properties
during expansion process through ideal gas laws. Therefore,
accurate design of the turboexpander components needs a
real gas model which is implemented using REFPROP.
The preliminary design and calculation of turbine
geometry are performed in Matlab® 2017b by adopting an
analytical approach proposed by Hasselgruber and Balje
using primary data (thermodynamic properties) and some
non-dimensional parameters within the specified range.
Inlet pressure, mass flow rate, expansion ratio, rotational
speed, blade speed ratio, flow angles and number of blades,
etc. are the decision variables on which performance of
the turbine depends. Pressure ratio (rp ), blade speed ratio
(vs ), hub and shroud exit radius to turbine inlet radius ratio
are other parameters on which feasibility of turbine design
depends. The ranges of different parameters are mentioned
in Table 1.
In the design process, machining precisions are carefully Fig. 1 Preliminary design flowchart of a radial turbine
taken, for which stage loading (ψ) and flow coefficient (φ)
values are taken to be higher. The first step is to select the where Q3 is the volumetric flow rate and h1−3,s is
degree of reaction, stage loading, and flow coefficient. The isentropic enthalpy drop.
specific speed and specific diameter are selected using Balje The flow coefficient (φ) and static head coefficient (ψ)
chart to maintain the total-to-static efficiency of rotor in a are formulated as follows:
stratified zone and Mach number of the fluid at the turbine Cm3 Cm2
inlet are in subsonic regime, which ultimately indicates the φ= = (3)
U2 χU2
suitability of the design parameters. Figure 1 represents the
flowchart of 1 − D design methodology. h02 Cθ2 Cθ 3
ψ= 2
= −λ (4)
Specific speed: U2 U2 U2
√ h02 − h03
ω Q3 ηt−s = (5)
ns = (1) h02 − h03s
(h1−3s )3/4
Power output:
Specific diameter:
P = ṁ (h1 − h3 ) (6)
D2 (h1−3s ) 1/4
ds = √ (2) Blade velocity at turbine inlet:
Q3
ωD2
U2 = (7)
2
Table 1 Ranges of different parameters of radial turbine design for Spouting velocity:
cryogenic applications 
C0 = 2 (h1 − h3s ) (8)
Design variables Range
Blade speed ratio:
Inlet stagnation Pressure (bar) 8 − 10 U2
Inlet stagnation Temperature (K) 90 − 180 vs = (9)
. C0
m (kg/s) 0.01 − 0.09
The radial turbine has maximum efficiency for blade
Tip clearance (mm) 0.01
speed ratio in the range of 0.62 to 0.70. The eye tip to
ω (rpm) 80, 000 − 150, 000
inlet diameter ratio is 0.70 to restrain the shroud curvature.
L/D 0.35 − 0.46
Hub ratio (ζ ) is taken to be 0.60, corresponding to the
Blade speed ratio 0.60 − 0.82
maximum total-to-static efficiency within subsonic zone
Blade inlet angle (Degree) 72 − 82
and for obtaining the longer blade passages.
Blade exit angle (Degree) −2.8 − 3.6
Dtip
Z 10 − 17 ζ = (10)
D2

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Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036 1019

Dh Thereafter, different loss correlations are incorporated

λ= (11)
Dtip in the design procedure. The incidence loss, friction loss,
passage loss, rotor clearance loss, blade loading loss, and
The number of turbine blades is computed as:
trailing edge loss are computed [9, 32]. Then, total-to-static
π efficiency is computed and used to update the initial guess
Z= (110 − α2 ) tan (α2 ) (12)
30 in the design process. The various loss correlations are
The thickness of blade is obtained from the correlations expressed as follows [33]:
proposed by Aungier [30] which are as follows:
2.1.1 Incidence loss
t2 = 0.04R2 (13)
The kinetic energy of the fluid is converted into internal
t3 = 0.02R2 (14) energy which increases the entropy. This loss is expressed as:
  
The outlet velocity triangle is expressed as: W22 cos β2 − β2,opt
hI = (16)
 2 2
b2
Θ =1+5 (15) where β2,opt is incidence angle which is computed as:
R2
Figure 2 represents the details of rotor geometry and −1.98cot (α2 )
cotβ2,opt = (17)
velocity triangles. Z(1 − 1.98
Z )

Fig. 2 a Rotor geometry details

b Inlet velocity triangle c Outlet
velocity triangle

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1020 Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036

2.1.2 Passage loss The total-to-static efficiency is updated by adding the

computed total loss which is expressed as:
This loss is defined as a function of mean kinetic energy. It (h02 − h03 )
is expressed as: ηt−s =  (24)
(h02 − h03s ) + hLt
 
Lh Rt sinβ3
hpassage = kp + 0.68 1 − 2.2 Nozzle design
Dh R2 b3m /c
 
W2 + W3
2 2
× (18) The convergent type nozzle is designed in such a way
2 which provide subsonic flow regime at the nozzle exit.
The flow from nozzle should incident on turbine blade at
where Lh , Dh , and c are mean passage hydraulic length,
correct angle to minimize the incidence losses. The height
hydraulic diameter and chord length of turbine respectively.
(bt ), leading and trailing edge thickness and throat circle
kp is taken to be 0.2 (secondary loss constant).
diameter (Dt ) of the nozzle are designed based on the
correlations proposed by Kun and Sentz [36]. The nozzle
2.1.3 Rotor clearance loss
height is decided based on the concept of expansion in
annular space as well as to counter the axial misalignment
This loss is occurred in the tip clearance gap because of
of turbine. Generally, this height is less than tip width of the
the shear flow. In this region, the velocity variation is
turbine.
linear approaches from zero (casing) to one (blade surface
The meridional (C mt ) and throat (C θ t ) are two velocity
velocity). Also, axial (εx ) and radial (εr ) clearance plays a
components obtained at the exit of the throat. Cmt is
crucial role on this loss which are expressed as:
perpendicular to throat circle diameter, which determines
U22 Z  √  the mass flow rate whereas C θ t is tangential to throat.
hCl = kx εx cx + kr εr cr + kxr εx cx εr cr (19) The mass balance equation at the meridional plane is as
8π
follows:
where kx and kr are discharge coefficients and kxr is cross .
coupling coefficient. In this case, value of kx , kr , and kxr m
Cmt = (25)
are taken to be 0.40, 0.75, and −0.3 respectively [34]. π Dt ρ t b t

U2 D2
2.1.4 Trailing edge loss Cθ t = (26)
Dt
This loss can be computed by assuming the relative kinetic
energy at the turbine exit is equivalent to relative pressure bt = 0.8b2 (27)
drop which is expressed as:

ρ3 W32 Zt D t = 1.068D2 (28)

prel = p3rel − p2rel = (20)
2 π Rt cosβ3
2.3 Size of nozzle vane
Relative pressure drop is converted into trailing edge loss
coefficient and expressed as: The conservation of momentum and continuity equations
2 prel are used for calculating throat angle which is directly related
hT EL = 2
× (21) to trailing edge thickness of the nozzle. Aerodynamically,
γ M3rel p3rel
trailing edge thickness is as minimum as the mechanical
design limit can sustain. From the continuity equation,
2.1.5 Blade loading loss
throat width (W t ) and throat angle (α t ) are computed as
follows:
It is a type of secondary loss obtained because of boundary
mt
layer separation. It depends on the aerodynamics of the Wt = (29)
blade profile and expressed as [35]: Zn ρt bt Ct
 
(W2 − U2 )2 αt = tan−1
Cmt
hBL =2 (22) Cθ t
(30)
Zc/R2
The total losses (Lt ) are expressed as: The blade pitch length (pn ) is computed as:
 π Dt
hLt = hI +hpassage +hCl +hT EL +hBL (23) Pn = (31)
Zn

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Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036 1021

Fig. 3 Schematic of ANN

model network

The nozzle ring diameter (Dn ) is computed as: train the network, the validation datasets tests the accuracy
 of the network. The final model with high prediction
Dn = Dt2 + Wt2 − 2Wt Dt Cos (αt ) (32) accuracy rate has opted in which optimized input and output
The solidity value is obtained from aerodynamic load data sets are determined.
coefficient (ψ z ), which may be defined as ratio of actual
to ideal tangential force, renowned as Zweifel number. Its 3.2 ANFIS model development
value is taken to be 0.9. The chord length of nozzle is
obtained from equation of solidity and expressed as: ANFIS model is developed to estimate total-to-static
efficiency, total losses and power output of turbine. There
2s (cotαt − cotα0 ) sin2 αt
Chn = (33) are four input and three output variables which are divided
ψz sinλs into 80% and 20% datasets for training and validation
purpose.
3 Artificial intelligence model development 3.3 Structure of ANFIS
The ANN and ANFIS are soft computing models which are
Initially, the membership functions (MFs) are selected to
developed using design variable of a radial inflow turbine
determine an ANFIS network. MFs are arbitrary curves
to predict its optimal ranges in which it has the highest
which depend on type of application that can be utilized.
performance. The networks are developed to estimate the
In the present case, four MFs for every input has opted
total-to-static efficiency, total losses and power output of
[22]. There are various types of membership function
radial inflow turbine with four non-dimensional inputs
available, out of which, Gauss, Tri, Trap and Gbell MFs are
variables (Rs /R2 , Rh /R2 , vs , and rp ) in Matlab® toolbox.
implemented for input parameters to analyze which model
is suitable for this case. Additionally, linear function is used
3.1 ANN model development for output parameters. The basic structural information of
ANFIS model is shown in Fig. 4 and Table 3.
The number of layers, neurons, and transfer function type
are identified in the ANN model. The multi-layer perceptron
(MLP) neural network with a single hidden layer has opted
Table 2 The details of ANN model
for training process using a back-propagation algorithm.
Figure 3 illustrates a schematic of an ANN network with a Parameter Value
single hidden layer. The functional relation is expressed as:
⎛ ⎞ Input 1 (Rh /R2 ) 0.22 − 0.30
k  n
Input 2 (Rs /R2 ) 0.76 − 0.96
ym = g ⎝ 2
wmj ϕ wj1i xi ⎠ (34) Input 3 (vs ) 0.62 − 0.70
j =0 i=0  
Input 4 rp 2−5
Three transfer functions (TFs) are used for a comparative Output 1 (P in kW) 0.60 − 4.2
study of data prediction. From several trials, the best Output 2 (Lt ) 0.04 − 0.28
network is obtained by varying the hidden neurons in the Output 3 (ηt−s ) 0.60 − 0.84
range of 1 to 10. For every hidden neuron, training process Model structure MLP
is repeated. The other relevant details of ANN model are Error function MAE
presented in Table 2. Data filtering is necessary because it Transfer function Logsig, Purelin, Tansig
affects the network accuracy. Therefore, once the input and Hidden layers 1
output data are analyzed, the erroneous data are removed by Hidden neuron 1-10 with step size one
considering their ranges. The non-dimensional data sets are Training algorithm Back-propagation
divided into training (80%), testing (10%), and validation Number of epochs 1000
(10%) section to implement the model. The training data

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1022 Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036

Fig. 4 The basic structure of

ANFIS

The ANFIS structure is expressed by if-then rules derived 3.4 ANN and ANFIS results
from Takagi-Sugeno (T − S) model as follows:
Figure 5 illustrates the regression curves for comparison of
Rule-1: If x is Ai and y is Bj then calculated and predicted results of total-to-static efficiency,
fi = pi x1 + qi yn + ri (35) total losses and power output from ANN network.
The ANFIS networks are trained based on non-
The performance of the model is verified using three dimensional variables used in the design process. There are
error functions including R-squared, Mean Absolute error three networks: ANFIS-1 estimate total-to-static efficiency,
(MAE) and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) which are ANFIS-2 estimate total losses, and ANFIS-3 estimate power
as follows: output. The samples of non-dimensional input and output
parameters and its predicted values from ANN and ANFIS
N
t=1 (ft − Ot )2 are summarised in Table 4. It shows that the Gauss MF
R2 = 1 −   (36)
− 2 possesses less eroor as compared to other MF.
N
t=1 ft − ft
3.5 Preliminary design results and its validation
1
MAE = × t=1
N
| ft − Ot | (37)
N The aforementioned 1 − D design methodology and pre-
dicted results from artificial intelligence techniques, two tur-
 bine and nozzle models are developed. The obtained 1 − D
1
RMSE = × t=1
N
(ft − Ot )2 (38) results are compared with previously published data which
N
is shown in Table 5. It shows that the 1−D design method is
where Ot is model output, ft is overall output, N is total reliable. Other relevant specifications of turbine and nozzle
number of samples and t is number of samples. are shown in Table 6.

Table 3 ANFIS model specification

4 Numerical issues
Parameters Description

Type of membership function (input)
Type of membership function (output)
Number of membership function
Optimization type
Number of training data
Number of epochs
Gauss, Tri, Trap, Gbell 4.1 Computational model and mesh generation
Linear
4 For high computational accuracy of numerical results, fine
Hybrid
hexahedral grids are generated for turbine and nozzle model
54
using ANSYS Turbo-Grid. The H -type topology is used for
200
inlet and outlet blocks whereas J /O-type is selected for
passage block to solve near-wall region which is required

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Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036
Fig. 5 Regression curve of
ANN a ηt−s b Lt c P
for boundary layer flow visualization. The tip clearance gap
is discretized with O-type grid. Also, O-grid (20) includes
in the periodic boundary and 100 points are located from
hub to shroud. The node distribution of grid and its scheme
are mentioned in Table 7.
Apart from this, y+ value which shows non-dimensional
distance from the wall are mentioned in Table 8 [37].
4.2 Numerical methodology
The numerical simulations are conducted using commer-
cially available CFD platform ANSYS CFX® . It is based
on three-dimensional, time-dependent, viscous and com-
pressible RANS equations using finite volume method.
Firstly, a moving reference frame is defined using frozen
rotor model to compute rotation of turbine in a steady-
state condition. In this method, fluid around the turbine
blade is set as a moving reference frame whereas blade
and hub are assumed to be stationary with respect to
the inner fluid. In this way, there is no need for grid
movement during the steady-state simulation. Secondly, a
sliding mesh method opts during transient blade row simu-
lation. Therefore, transient rotor-stator boundary condition
is imposed at the interface of the two domain. The rotor
domain rotates at each time step which is defined by the
pitch ratio. Thus the boundary nodes of stator and rotor
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1023
domain slide with respect to each other. This methodol-
ogy is realistic and more demanding [38]. The steady-state
simulations are used as an initial solution for a transient
rotor-stator simulation for faster convergence of numerical
solution.
SST k − ω turbulence model is used to capture the turbu-
lence closure and flow separation effects on the eddy viscos-
ity. This model can accurately estimate the boundary layer
separations in the turbomachinery [39–41]. It combines the
advantages of two commonly used turbulence models: k −ω
model and k −  model. k − ω model can predict the flow
near-wall region whereas k −  model in wakes and free-
shear regions in the outer boundary layer (bulk flow). A
blending function establishes a smooth transition between
two models. In this aspect, k − ω SST model can predict
the boundary layer through the passage (excellent turbulent
boundary layer modeling behavior), in which ω near the
wall is more stable than that of .
Additionally, high-resolution scheme opts for discretiza-
tion of advection term and turbulent viscosity term and
second-order backward Euler scheme is used for dis-
cretization of transient terms. Turbulence numerics are
set to be high-resolution. The dynamic model control of
solver is achieved using automatic pressure level infor-
mation, temperature damping, velocity pressure coupling
and Rhie-Chow fourth-order model [38]. Body forces are
1024 Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036

Table 4 Comparison of input (non-dimensional design variables) and output (performance parameters) with predicted data from ANN and ANFIS
methods

(a) Non-dimensional input variables and output performance parameters

Non-dimensional input parameters Output parameters
Rs /R2 Rh /R2 rp vs η Lt P (kW )
0.92 0.25 3.10 0.62 0.802 0.22 0.608
0.89 0.27 2.62 0.62 0.821 0.188 1.331
0.86 0.25 2.89 0.68 0.823 0.178 3.191
0.85 0.28 3.14 0.72 0.836 0.188 0.465
0.86 0.22 4.20 0.73 0.778 0.241 1.345
0.9 0.25 2.68 0.74 0.769 0.256 1.289
0.90 0.25 3.42 0.70 0.802 0.181 1.780
0.85 0.26 3.44 0.69 0.803 0.165 1.724
0.8 0.26 3.68 0.66 0.784 0.187 2.169
0.91 0.26 4.14 0.65 0.816 0.154 2.815

(b) ANN results (predicted) from different TFs

LOGSIG PURELIN TANSIG
η Lt P η Lt P η Lt P
0.802 0.218 0.607 0.802 0.201 0.698 0.805 0.221 0.707
0.820 0.186 1.281 0.817 0.203 1.212 0.817 0.188 1.241
0.823 0.179 3.201 0.825 0.188 3.159 0.825 0.168 3.061
0.820 0.188 0.482 0.817 0.173 0.492 0.808 0.187 0.485
0.784 0.241 1.575 0.798 0.187 1.735 0.799 0.241 1.499
0.794 0.221 1.308 0.79 0.197 1.399 0.792 0.204 1.478
0.804 0.180 1.794 0.813 0.170 1.712 0.801 0.176 1.751
0.806 0.169 1.778 0.805 0.177 1.640 0.808 0.172 1.648
0.788 0.185 1.986 0.784 0.209 1.920 0.787 0.194 1.871
0.811 0.158 2.838 0.814 0.163 2.737 0.809 0.158 2.682

(c) ANFIS results (predicted ) from different MFs

Gauss TRI TRAP GBELL
η Lt P η Lt P η Lt P η Lt P
0.802 0.219 0.612 0.802 0.22 0.638 0.802 0.22 0.619 0.802 0.205 0.641
0.821 0.193 1.249 0.821 0.188 1.391 0.821 0.186 1.286 0.821 0.191 1.216
0.823 0.174 3.221 0.823 0.178 3.248 0.823 0.18 3.221 0.823 0.182 3.092
0.836 0.162 0.453 0.836 0.163 0.478 0.836 0.164 0.476 0.823 0.165 0.491
0.778 0.171 1.351 0.778 0.173 1.371 0.778 0.24 1.362 0.778 0.182 1.357
0.78 0.18 1.308 0.78 0.183 1.157 0.78 0.187 1.303 0.78 0.191 1.340
0.802 0.162 1.761 0.802 0.163 1.724 0.802 0.164 1.744 0.802 0.165 1.688
0.804 0.171 1.696 0.803 0.173 1.701 0.803 0.183 1.739 0.803 0.182 1.813
0.784 0.195 2.163 0.784 0.195 2.362 0.784 0.20 2.348 0.784 0.205 2.181
0.816 0.162 2.792 0.816 0.163 2.743 0.816 0.155 2.943 0.816 0.165 2.841
 −3

Training errors ×10 0.193 0.012 0.431 0.230 0.019 0.80 0.196 0.020 0.619 0.198 0.022 0.793
Testing error 0.736 0.721 0.694 0.954 0.793 0.968 0.872 0.737 0.741 0.894 0.743 0.866

volume-weighted average type. The maximum coefficient 4.3 Boundary conditions

loops are 10 for better convergence control. The simula-
tions are assumed to be converged when normalized RMS The flow field is characterized using inlet boundary as total
residuals and conservation target are less than 10−6 and pressure (8 bar) and total temperature (120, 130, 140, and
10−5 respectively. 150 K). The static pressure has opted at the outlet boundary

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Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036 1025

Table 5 A comparison with

previous published literature (a) Range of input parameters
Input parameters Range
Fluid Nitrogen
T02 (K) 90 − 180
P02 (bar) 8.0 − 10.0
.
Mass flow rate m (kg/s) 0.01 − 0.09
α2 (Degree) 72 − 82
Rotational speed (rpm) 80, 000 − 150, 000

(b) Output parameters

Present results Ghosh et al. [33] Relative error
(Model 1 / Model 2)
D2 (mm) 24.90 / 25.64 25.19 0.012 / 0.018
D3 (mm) 15.60 / 15.71 15.75 0.01 / 0.003
b2 (mm) 2.11 / 2.14 2.00 0.06 / 0.07
b3 (mm) 1.005 / 1.01 0.996 0.009 / 0.014
U2 (m/sec) 143.38 / 144.62 130.28 0.09 / 0.09
U3 (m/sec) 124.42 / 122.73 121.88 0.02 / 0.01
ψ 0.862 / 0.87 0.88 0.02 / 0.01
φ 0.237 / 0.24 0.241 0.017 / 0.004
ηts 79.20 / 79.41 78.20 0.01 / 0.02
ηtt 80.20 / 79.89 79.51 0.01 / 0.005
β2 (Degree) −54.98 / −55.12 −69.78 0.21 / 0.21
β3 (Degree) −85.04 / −84.76 −85.74 0.01 / 0.01
M2 0.78 / 0.79 0.85 0.08 / 0.07
M3 0.25 / 0.28 0.31 0.194 / 0.097
ns 0.54 / 0.55 0.47 0.13 / 0.15
Total losses (Lt ) 0.226 / 0.208 0.242 0.06 / 0.14
Power (kW ) 3.52 / 3.49 2.83 0.196 / 0.189

Table 6 Other relevant

parameters of turbine and Parameters Model 1 (case 1 and 2) Model 2 (case 3 and 4)
nozzle
Turbine blades (Z) 13 11
Nozzle pitch circle diameter 40.14 40.25
Nozzle outlet diameter 25.58 25.73
Nozzle blades (Zn ) 20 17

Table 7 Node distribution and

its scheme in different blocks Inlet block Outlet block Passage block
of the turbine and nozzle
(Model 1/2) Streamwise Blade-to-blade Streamwise Blade-to-blade Streamwise Blade-to-blade

Turbine 20/20 50/50 25/26 50/54 80/85 40/42

Nozzle 16 / 16 35 / 36 14 / 14 34 / 32 54 / 54 28 / 28

Table 8 Non-dimensional wall

distance of the turbine and Sections y+ value Sections y+ value
nozzle (Model 1/2)
Turbine inlet 8/8 Nozzle inlet 10/10
Near turbine blade 3/3 Near Nozzle blade 5/5
Center of the flow passage 14/14 Center of the flow passage 18/18
Turbine outlet 20/20 Nozzle outlet 15/15

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1026 Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036

Fig. 6 Computational domain of

nozzle and turbine

Table 9 Grid independence

analysis (Model 1/2) Nozzle (Nodes in Million) Turbine (Nodes in Million) Isentropic efficiency CPU time (hrs)

0.48/0.49 0.81/0.80 0.68/0.73 142/140

0.64/0.68 0.96/0.99 0.72/0.76 146/149
0.72/0.75 1.11/1.12 0.76/0.78 151/153
0.85/0.89 1.24/1.26 0.76/0.79 156/159

Fig. 7 Selected grid size for

turbine and nozzle (a) Model 1
(b) Model 2

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Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036
Fig. 8 Schematic of the experimental test-rig
which is in rotating coordinate frame. Periodic boundary
conditions are used for side walls along the pitchwise direc-
tion which shows physical condition (rotating or stationary)
of each blade row. The flow direction is normal to inlet sur-
face of nozzle and the flow regime is opted to be subsonic.
The turbulence intensity is set to be 5%. The hub, shroud,
walls and blade surfaces are assumed to be hydraulically
smooth, adiabatic and no-slip. Additionally, the gen-
eral grid interface (GGI) is used for mesh connection.
Fig. 9 Experimental set-up
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1027
Figure 6 illustrates the details of computational domain.
The implementation of the equation of state significantly
affects the accuracy of numerical solution. In this regard,
Peng-Robinson model is selected for each simulation [40].
4.4 Grid independence study
To validate the accuracy of numerical results, a grid
independence test is carried out. In this work, four grid
1028 Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036

Fig. 10 a Components of a
turboexpander b Solidworks®
drawing c Instrumentations

Table 10 Specification of
measuring components Parameters Instrument Accuracy Company

Pressure Pressure transducer ±0.2% Endevco

Temperature RT D scanner, ADAM 80 − 600 K Santronix
Mass flow rate Rotameter ±2.5%. Alflow
Rotational speed Speed sensor ±0.005% Micro-Epsilon

Fig. 11 The comparison of (a)

pressure ratio (b) isentropic
efficiency with mass flow rate
for experiment and numerical
result

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Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036
Fig. 12 Effect of rotational speed on temperature drop
resolutions for both the models are used to discretize
the computational domain. The isentropic efficiency and
computational time are compared which are mentioned in
Table 9. It is observed that among the four investigated
grid resolutions, the difference in isentropic efficiency of
the third and fourth row is least. After that, computational
time is increased with less effect on isentropic efficiency.
Therefore, as a compromise between the accuracy of
numerical results and computational time, the third row of
Table 9 is opted for the remainder of the analysis as shown
in Fig. 7.
Fig. 13 Pressure distribution at
0.5 span for different inlet
temperature
(a) 120 K
(c) 140 K
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1029
5 Experimental test-rig development
The experimental set-up comprises of different compo-
nents such as a screw compressor, an air filter, an air
purifier, precooler, plate-fin heat exchanger (PFHX), surge
tank, heat exchanger, and turboexpander assembly. The
schematic diagram, detailed experimental test set-up, and
other assembly components are shown in Figs. 8, 9, and 10
respectively.
The impurities like dust particles, water, and oil
molecules, etc. present in compressed air, diminishes the
performance of aerodynamic bearings, turbine profile, and
other turboexpander components. Thus, a purification unit
is necessary to overcome these problems. In this regard, a
screw compressor, air filter (dust and carbon particles
absorber), oil and water particle absorber and purifier sys-
tem together produce clean and compressed air. Addition-
ally, to produce dry and dehumidified air, a Freon precooler
is situated after the compressor unit. Thereafter, the process
gas flows through liquid nitrogen cooled PFHX [42] which
decreases its temperature up to the desired limit and sub-
sequently it will be stored in a surge tank. Finally, a high-
pressure and low temperature (150 K) air is supplied to the
turboexpander unit.
The experimental test-rig also contains different measur-
ing instruments like rotameter, ADAM, temperature sensor,
pressure gauge, and pressure transducer to measure flow
rate, temperature, and pressure at various positions. Also,
speed sensors are used to determine the rotational speed of
(b) 130 K
(d) 150 K
1030
Fig. 14 Area-averaged density variation along the streamwise location
the turbine. Table 10 shows the specifications of various
measuring components.
Chromium-vanadium steel and stainless steel materials
are chosen to manufacture shaft and brake compressor, and
other stationary components (nozzle and bearings) respec-
tively. Aluminum alloy (Al 6082) is used to manufacture
the turbine blades because of its high fatigue strength which
can sustain the higher rotational speed (60, 000 − 120, 000
rpm). To overcome the axial and radial forces act on the
(a) 120 K
(c) 140 K
Fig. 15 Mach number (rotating frame) contours at meridional plane
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Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036
shaft, aerodynamic journal and thrust bearings are used. The
brake compressor is mounted on the opposite end of the
same shaft to dissipate the power produced by the turbine.
This dissipated power shows the refrigerating capacity of
the turboexpander. The turboexpander assembly is placed
inside the bearing housing which is made up of stainless
steel (external diameter 160 mm and height 157.50 mm).
Also, O-rings are used to avoid leakage from the turboex-
pander assembly. Initially, the compressed air is supplied
to the aerodynamic journal and thrust bearings to float the
bearing unit. The bearing pressure is maintained to be 5 bar.
After that, the working fluid is supplied to the turbine at
different mass flow rates.
6 Results and discussions
6.1 Experimental validation
A series of experiments have been performed to analyze
the performance of turboexpander. The numerical results
are validated with experimental results by operating the
turboexpander unit at off-design condition. Figure 11 rep-
resents a comparison of experimental and numerical results
of isentropic efficiency and pressure ratio variation with
mass flow rate. It is noticed that pressure ratio decreases
by increasing the mass flow rate whereas isentropic effi-
ciency increases up to the mass flow rate of 0.04 kg/s after
that it decreases with increase in mass flow rate at constant
(b) 130 K
(d) 150 K
Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036
Fig. 16 Variation of Reynolds number along the streamwise location
rotational speed. The decrease in isentropic efficiency may
happen due to the possibility of choking at a higher mass
flow rate. The maximum isentropic efficiency is obtained
at a pressure ratio in the range of 4.38 − 4.58. It means
that isentropic efficiency increases with decrease in pres-
sure ratio up to the mass flow rate of 0.04 kg/s. After that, it
decreases with increase in mass flow rate. Figure 12 repre-
sents the effect of rotational speed of turbine on temperature
drop. It is noted that temperature drop increases with an
increase in rotational speed.
Fig. 17 Static entropy variation
for different inlet temperature of
the fluids at 0.5 span
(a) 120 K
(c) 140 K
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1031
There are two turbines and nozzle model is designed for
numerical investigation. Model 1 is used for fluid flow visu-
alization at 120 and 130 K (case 1 and 2) inlet temperature
whereas model 2 is used for 140 and 150 K (case 3 and 4)
inlet temperature at same inlet pressure (8 bar) boundary
condition. The results are represented for pressure contours,
Mach number, Reynolds number, Prandtl number, velocity
vectors, etc. Besides, the attention is also taken place on
temperature drop, static enthalpy, static entropy, and density.
6.2 Effect of pressure variation on fluid flow
properties
The fluid flow characteristics inside nozzle and turbine
are three-dimensional and completely different because of
variation in density and viscosity of fluid at cryogenic
temperature. Therefore, it is essential to compare the flow
properties of fluid under these conditions for significant use
in a turboexpander. Figure 13 represents pressure contours,
obtained from all the cases at 50% blade height (span). The
pressure drop inside the nozzle and turbine is approximately
1.2 and 3.4 bar respectively. It is noticed that fluid inlet
temperature affects the pressure variation inside the nozzle
and turbine. It happens because of severe changes in density
and molecular viscosity of cryogenic fluids at high-pressure
and ultra-low temperature (Fig. 14).
Figure 15 illustrates Mach number distribution of the
turbine at meridional plane. It indicates that Mach number at
inlet of the turbine is in subsonic regime which is important
for flow stability. The results also show that Mach number
at the inlet of the turbine is highest for case 1 and 2
(b) 130 K
(d) 150 K
1032
(model 1). It happens due to sonic velocity is proportional to
square root of absolute temperature of the fluid. Figure 16
illustrates the changes in Reynolds number along with the
streamwise location. It is noticed that the Reynolds number
is maximum for case 1 near the turbine inlet. For the
remaining cases, the variation is approximately similar.
6.3 Loss analysis
The main aim of the turboexpander designers is to increase
its efficiency which is directly entitled to the losses
(a) Span 0.2
(b) Span 0.5
(c) Span 0.8
Fig. 18 Velocity vectors for Model 1 (Pressure side (P ), Suction side
(S))
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Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036
incurred. These losses can be quantified in terms of entropy
generation for an adiabatic machine. The entropy generation
may occur due to either of these processes: (i) viscous
friction in boundary layer, (ii) heat transfer and (iii) sudden
expansion process (non-equilibrium process). Figure 17
represents the static entropy contours at 0.50 span. The
entropy remains almost constant throughout the nozzle for
all cases except near the trailing edges where it increases
slightly but increases rapidly in the turbine near leading and
trailing edges where the flow separation exist. The entropy
generation takes place inside the turbine due to boundary
(a) Span 0.2
(b) Span 0.5
(c) Span 0.8
Fig. 19 Velocity vectors for Model 2 (Pressure side (P ), Suction side
(S))
Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036
layer separation and vortices formation. It is highest at the
turbine exit due to non-ideal conditions such as viscous
friction, flow reversal, and other dissipative effects. Apart
from this, boundary layer formation and free stream layer
are also responsible for entropy generation which increases
irreversibility in the flow passages. It is also observed that
mixing of fluid streams from pressure and suction side of
the blade increases shear strain which leads to increase the
entropy of the fluid for case 3 and 4 (model 2).
Figures 18 and 19 represent the velocity vectors at 0.20,
0.50 and 0.80 span for model 1 and 2 respectively. The
tip leakage flow appears due to pressure difference which
further extends to the downstream where it is added to
secondary flow from the suction side. It introduces the
non-uniformity and turbulence in fluid flow and a major
cause of losses in rotating machines. It is noticed that
tip leakage flow occurs near the leading edge in model
1. For model 2, it occurs in the middle portion and
starts changing its direction. The secondary flow occurs
in vicinity of the blade wall boundary layer because of
relatively higher radial component of Coriolis acceleration
as compared to radial pressure gradient. This phenomenon
is also noticed by Zangeneh et al. [43] for the centrifugal
compressor. The secondary flow also appears due to
induced pressure gradient by curvature of blade profile.
The adverse pressure gradient along the downstream
direction is responsible for flow separation inside the
turbine which finally results in vortex generation. In the
first turbine blade, the velocity vectors deviate towards the
Fig. 20 Variation of temperature
distribution at different inlet
temperature of the fluids at 0.5
span
(a) 120 K
(c) 140 K
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1033
downstream causing the formation of passage vortices in
the turbine blade channel flow passages. These vortices
occur at 0.20 and 0.50 span near the leading edge which
is disappeared when they have strong interaction with
rotating blades in the mainstream fluids. It also inflicts
the negative flow incidence which is responsible for large
passage vortices and disturbing the flow towards the
second turbine blade. Due to this, the viscous friction and
irreversibility in the flow increases which ultimately leads
to entropy generation in these regions. Also, scraping flow
vortices are occurred near the leading edge at 0.50 span in
model 2 which generates higher entropy in these regions
(Fig. 21b). At higher span, these vortices are completely
disappeared.
6.4 Effect of pressure variation on the thermal
properties
The law of conservation of energy states that pressure
energy is converted into kinetic energy of the fluid during
the expansion process. In the energy conversion process,
velocity of fluid increases and enthalpy decreases, as a
result, decrease in temperature takes place. Figure 20
illustrates the temperature contours of the fluid at four
different inlet temperatures. It shows that temperature drop
is approximately 20, 24, 27, and 30 K for 120, 130, 140,
and 150 K inlet temperature fluids. Generally, for normal
expansion process, the temperature and enthalpy drop
depends on pressure change, but at cryogenic temperature,
(b) 130 K
(d) 150 K
1034
Fig. 21 a Static enthalpy b Static entropy variation along the streamwise location
it severely depends on other properties of the fluid. The
high-temperature nitrogen (case 4) contains higher enthalpy
as compared to other cases at the same inlet pressure
(Fig. 21a). During the expansion stage, it decreases at a
relatively higher rate due to which higher temperature drop
takes place. For other cases, temperature drop decreases
due to fluid approaches nearer to its boiling point. In
those cases, thermodynamic properties of the cryogenic
fluids are randomly changed which severely affect the
fluid flow and thermal behavior during expansion process.
Figure 21a represents the static enthalpy variation along
with the streamwise location. It shows that enthalpy drop
inside the turbine is higher as compared to nozzle. The
relatively higher enthalpy drop leads to higher velocity
inside the turbine. The main reason behind this is selection
of degree of reaction. In the design process, degree of
reaction is considered to be 0.62 and 0.78 for model 1 and 2
respectively.
Isentropic efficiency (ηis ) is an important parameter
which can be used to define the irreversibility during expan-
sion process. The ideal properties of the fluid are obtained
from REFPROP software at corresponding pressure and
temperature.
Table 11 Efficiency of the turbine and nozzle for different cases (1-D
/ Numerical)
Isentropic efficiency(ηis ) Power (kW )
Case 1 (Model 1) 0.771/0.722 3.15/2.87
Case 2 (Model 1) 0.771/0.765 3.15/3.04
Case 3 (Model 2) 0.813/0.783 3.39/3.24
Case 4 (Model 2) 0.813/0.801 3.39/3.36
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Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036
The isentropic efficiency of turboexpander is calculated
as:
h1 − h3
ηis = (39)
h1 − h3s
The isentropic efficiency and power output obtained from
the 1 − D design and numerical results are mentioned in
Table 11.
7 Conclusion
In this work, a comprehensive 1-D design procedure
of a radial inflow turbine including loss models are
presented. The work is further incorporated with artificial
intelligence techniques to estimate the optimum range of
non-dimensional design variables for higher efficiency of
the radial turbine. Results show that total-to-static efficiency
and power output of the turbine is increased by 4% and
18.9% as compared to the existing one. An experimental
set-up is developed to determine the performance of the
turboexpander at different rotational speed using air as a
working fluid. It is noticed that the isentropic efficiency
of the turboexpander is maximum (0.78 − 0.81) when the
mass flow rate and pressure ratio vary in the range of
0.04 kg/s and 4.38 − 4.58 respectively. After that, a CFD
analysis is carried out to visualize the fluid flow and thermal
characteristics in the flow passage. The analysis deduced
that the temperature drop (approximately 30 K) is maximum
for an inlet temperature of 150 K due to the higher enthalpy
drop. Additionally, a comparison between experimental and
CFD results (case 4) indicates that the present numerical
studies are reliable. The author believes the proposed work
Heat Mass Transfer (2020) 55:1015–1036
is quite beneficial for the development of an experimental
prototype of a cryogenic turboexpander.
Compliance with Ethical Standards
Conflict of interests The authors declared that there is no conflict of
interest to any person or organisation.
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