The evolutionary characteristics of flow for the positive displacement blower were identified and visually analysed by performing numerical simulation of unsteady compressible flow in an involute-type three-lobe positive discharge blower using computational fluid dynamics. The two exhaust rate curves obtained by the semi-empirical method and the simulation were compared, and the differences were analysed by showing pressure contours and velocity vectors at different moments in one working period. The simulation results showed the exhaust rate having two V-type fluctuations, whereas the semi-empirical method shows the exhaust rate having only one V-type fluctuation. These differences are due to pressure fluctuations and the existence of a vortex in the mixing zone.

The design of high efficiency, high pressure ratio, and wide flow range centrifugal impellers is a challenging task. The paper describes the application of a multiobjective, multipoint optimization methodology to the redesign of a transonic compressor impeller for this purpose. The aerodynamic optimization method integrates an improved nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA‐II), blade geometry parameterization based on NURBS, a 3D RANS solver, a self‐organization map (SOM) based data mining technique, and a time series based surge detection method. The optimization results indicate a considerable improvement to the total pressure ratio and isentropic efficiency of the compressor over the whole design speed line and by 5.3% and 1.9% at design point, respectively. Meanwhile, surge margin and choke mass flow increase by 6.8% and 1.4%, respectively. The mechanism behind the performance improvement is further extracted by combining the geometry changes with detailed flow analysis.

Dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) is widely used for extracting dominant structures of unsteady flow fields. However, the traditional mode time coefficient of DMD is assumed to change exponentially over the time. Consequently, it cannot deal with the unstable flow fields whose modes present nonexponential evolution regularities. Also, the inaccurate mode time coefficient might cause an unreasonable rank of decomposed modes, leading to the dominant modes to be ignored. To overcome these shortcomings, an improved mode time coefficient based on the Moore–Penrose pseudoinverse is proposed for the DMD, and a new integrated parameter based on the improved mode time coefficient is defined to rank the decomposed modes. The DMD with the improved mode time coefficient (abbreviated as DMD-TC) is expected to accurately describe the temporal evolutions of modes in complex forms for unstable systems and results in a more reasonable rank for the modes. To validate the DMD-TC, two complex analytical functions (a continuous case and an intermittent case) and two typical unstable flows (the flow around a cylinder and the dynamic stall of a pitching airfoil) are investigated. The results indicate that the DMD-TC can accurately describe temporal evolutions of modes with complex nonlinear regularities, including exponential, logarithmic, linear, gradually intermittent, transiently intermittent, and other complex regularities. Also, due to the improved mode time coefficient, the DMD-TC can provide a more reasonable rank for unstable modes. These improvements help to identify instantaneous dominant dynamic modes (even with minor initial amplitudes) of real unstable flow fields and accurately describe their temporal evolutions.

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (SCO₂) is considered as a potential working fluid in next generation power and energy systems. The SCO₂ Brayton cycle is advantaged with higher cycle efficiency, smaller compression work, and more compact layout, as compared with traditional cycles. When the inlet total condition of the compressor approaches the critical point of the working fluid, the cycle efficiency is further enhanced. However, the flow acceleration near the impeller inducer causes the fluid to enter two-phase region, which may lead to additional aerodynamic losses and flow instability. In this study, a new impeller inlet design method is proposed to achieve a better balance among the cycle efficiency, compressor compactness, and inducer condensation. This approach couples a concept of the maximum swallowing capacity of real gas and a new principle for condensation design. Firstly, the mass flow function of real gas centrifugal compressors is analytically expressed by non-dimensional parameters. An optimal inlet flow angle is derived to achieve the maximum swallowing capacity under a certain inlet relative Mach number, which leads to the minimum energy loss and a more compact geometry for the compressor. Secondly, a new condensation design principle is developed by proposing a novel concept of the two-zone inlet total condition for SCO₂ compressors. In this new principle, the acceptable acceleration margin (AAM) is derived as a criterion to limit the impeller inlet condensation. The present inlet design method is validated in the design and simulation of a low-flow-coefficient compressor stage based on the real gas model. The mechanisms of flow accelerations in the impeller inducer, which form low-pressure regions and further produce condensation, are analyzed and clarified under different operating conditions. It is found that the proposed method is efficient to limit the condensation in the impeller inducer, keep the compactness of the compressor, and maintain a high cycle efficiency.