Compressor test facility for water evaporation (Wet Compression)

• Subject Area: Fluid Mechanics, Technical Thermodynamics and Thermal Energy Engineering
• Term: Funded in 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 498757678

The investigation of water injection into a 4-stage axial compressor with controlled ambient conditions is the foundation of this researchidea. The water injection occurs via nozzles into the axial compressor and evaporates depending on the temperature, pressure and humidityof the air. The test facility consist out of the conditioner for the ambient air with an air heater and the test object itself an axial compressorincluding the drive unit. The application of equipment (Großgeräteantrag) comprises the conditioning of the ambient air by heating and the required increase of the drive unit as well as the heating of the injected water. The axial compressor itself is at our disposal and currently used for research with water injection without evaporation. The conditioning allows investigations of the flow in an axial compressor (a) with evaporation of water, (b) at different inlet conditions (amount of water, water pressure, water temperature and type of nozzles) and (c) at different operating points such as part load of the axial compressor. The objective is to improve the knowledge of evaporation process within the compressor and to provide high quality test data for validation of simulation models.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Verdichterversuchsanlage für Wasserverdunstung (Naßverdichtung)
• Instrumentation Group: 8010 Gasverdichter, Kompressoren
• Applicant Institution: Universität Duisburg-Essen
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Dieter Brillert