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MEFLUMACH QUIZ #3
Centrifugal Compressor and Centrifugal Pump

Quiz #3: Any form of cheating - automatically gets 0%.

Note: don’t forget to put name on the answer sheets

I. Discussion (5 pts each)

1.) Describe how pressure, temperature, fluid velocity and Mach number changes as it passes
through a centrifugal compressor.
2.) How fluid reacts as it flows into the impeller and diffuser of a centrifugal compressor?
3.) Give some industrial applications of a centrifugal compressor.
4.) What are the advantages and disadvantages of centrifugal compressor over an axial
compressor?
5.) Derive the specific work equation from 1st law of thermodynamics for centrifugal
compressor.
6.) How NPSH affects the cavitation in a centrifugal compressor?
7.) What are the assumptions for a good centrifugal pump design?
8.) Give some industrial applications of a centrifugal pump.
9.) Derive the specific work equation from 1st law of thermodynamics for centrifugal pump.

II. Problem Solving (20 pts each)

1.) A centrifugal compressor has 23 radial vanes and an exit area equal to 0.12 m2, where the
radial velocity is 27 m/s, and the tip speed of the impeller is 350 m/s. The total-to-total
efficiency is 0.83.
(a) Find the mass flow rate of air, given that the total pressure and temperature are 101.3
kPa and 298 K at the inlet,
(b) What is the exit Mach number?
(c) If the blade height at the exit is b = 3 cm and there is no leakage flow, what is the tip
radius of the impeller?
(d) Find the rotational speed of the compressor wheel, and the required power neglecting
mechanical losses.

2.) A centrifugal-pump that handles water operates with backward-curving blades. The
angle between the relative velocity and the tip section is 45°. The radial velocity at the tip
section is 4.5 m/s, the flow at the inlet is axial, and the impeller rotational speed is 1800
rpm. Assume that there is no leakage and that the mechanical friction may be neglected,
and that the total-to-total efficiency is 70%.
(a) Construct the velocity diagram at the impeller exit and
(b) evaluate the required tip radius for a water pressure rise of 600 kPa across the pump,
 (c) For the total pressure rise of 600 kPa, evaluate the difference between the total and
static pressure of water at the impeller tip section.

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