Axial Flow Compressor Characteristics

The Euler Turbine Equation

Figure : Control volume for Euler Turbine Equation

The Euler turbine equation relates the power added to or removed from the
flow, to characteristics of a rotating blade row.
The equation is based on the concepts of conservation of angular momentum
and conservation of energy.

 Applying conservation of angular momentum, we note that the

torque (T) must be equal to the time rate of change of angular
momentum in a streamtube that flows through the device
Linear momentum = m velocity
Angular momentum = radius of rotation m vel.

This is true whether the blade row is rotating or not.

The sign matters (i.e. angular momentum is a vector- positive
means it is spinning in one direction, negative means it is
spinning in the other direction). So depending on how things
are defined, there can be positive and negative torques, and
positive and negative angular momentum.

Torque is positive when --

 If the blade row is moving, then work is done on/by the fluid. The work
per unit time, or power (P) is the torque multiplied by the angular
velocity (w) :
Eq.( 1)

If torque and angular velocity are of like sign, work is being done on the
fluid (a compressor).
If torque and angular velocity are of opposite sign work is being
extracted from the fluid (a turbine).
If the tangential velocity increases across a blade row (where positive
tangential velocity is defined in the same direction as the rotor motion)
then work is added to the flow (this happens in a compressor).

If the tangential velocity decreases across a blade row (where positive

tangential velocity is defined in the same direction as the rotor motion)
then work is removed from the flow (this happens in a turbine).