Session: 19-03 Radial High Speed Compressors & Turbines

Paper Number: 100418

100418 - Compressor Design for Compact, High-Speed Electric Drives 

Advances in the manufacturing industry allow the cost-effective production of gas bearings, highly loaded permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM), and high frequency power electronics. This advancement gives rise to the trend towards compact gas supply systems using high rotational speed electric drives: Compact, high speed electric motors with comparably large power allow the use of turbo compressors in applications where traditionally larger, lower speed blowers or displacement compressors were used.

Using high-speed, electrically powered turbo compressors for these applications typically leads to significantly increased gas supply system efficiency. The higher rotational speed of the electric motor leads to lower required torque for a given power, resulting in reduced size and mass of the machine. Small size allows easier integration of the gas supply in the overall application. The reduced material use in the machine also bears the potential for cost reduction. This general approach promises to improve efficiency and lower environmental impact of gas supply systems.

Aiming at a large variety of gas supply applications, the required mass flow, pressure ratio and power also greatly varies. To cover all applications, the full design space of axial, mixed, and radial flow compressors is relevant. The required flow rates (5-300 g/s) and resulting compressor diameters (about 15-30 mm) are significantly smaller than for typical compressors. This poses challenges in the aerodynamic design process since established design guidelines and loss models do not necessary apply.

This paper will highlight the design considerations and design process of compact, electrically powered compressor for gas supply in the fields of general gas supply, fuel cells, refrigeration, and the underlying requirements for the electric drive system. Exemplary compressor designs will be analyzed using CFD and test data. General design guidelines for these types of compressors with special consideration of the requirements of the electric drive system will be illustrated.

Presenting Author: Sönke Teichel ebm-papst Mulfingen GmbH & Co. KG

Presenting Author Biography: Undergraduate study in Mechanical Engineering at the Leibniz University Hannover, Germany.
Graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
PhD in Mechanical Engineering focusing on the optimized design of mixed flow compressors at the Institute for Turbomachinery and Fluid Dynamics, Leibniz University Hannover.
Worked four years as a development engineer for turbo charger compressors at IHI Charging Systems International, Heidelberg, Germany.
Since 2021 development engineer for turbomachinery at ebm-papst, Mulfingen, Germany.

Authors:

Sönke Teichel ebm-papst Mulfingen GmbH & Co. KG
Ahmet Çokşen ebm-papst Mulfingen GmbH & Co. KG
Philipp Handschuh ebm-papst Mulfingen GmbH & Co. KG