Gas/Steam Medium

• If the medium is already a gas/steam, the

phenomenon that the flow medium will change
from the liquid to the gas phase does not to occur,
thus no cavitation has to be considered.

• However, the phenomenon of sonic velocity has

to be consider.

Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 1

• Compressible flow (gas dynamics) is the branch of fluid mechanics that deals with

flows having significant changes in fluid density.

• Gases, but not liquids, display such behavior.

• To distinguish between compressible and incompressible flow in air, the Mach

number (the ratio of the speed of the flow to the speed of sound) must be greater

than about 0.3 (since the density change is greater than 5% in that case) before

significant compressibility occurs.

• The study of compressible flow is relevant to high-speed aircraft, jet engines, rocket

motors, hyperloops, high-speed entry into a planetary atmosphere, gas pipelines,

commercial applications such as abrasive blasting, and many other fields.

Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 2

 Classification of Compressible Flow
gas/steam
❖Definition:- Mach Number(Ma) = Fluid speed(Flow velocity)
LOCAL sound speed(Soni c velocity)

❖The flow is called P

Sonic Velocity, a = k = kRT
sonic when Ma=1, 
subsonic when Ma <1,
supersonic when Ma >1,
hypersonic when Ma»1, and
For supersonic Flow the flow pattern changes
completely compared with the subsonic flow(‘shock
waves’, or surfaces of discontinuities, can occur in
supersonic but NOT subsonic flows.)
Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 3
• As an aircraft moves through the air, the air molecules near the aircraft are disturbed
and move around the aircraft.
• If the aircraft passes at a low speed, it is observed that the density of the air remains
constant.
• For higher speeds, some of the energy of the aircraft goes into compressing the air and
locally changing the density of the air.
• This compressibility effect alters the amount of resulting force on the aircraft since
the aerodynamic force depends on the air density.
• The effect becomes more important as speed increases. Near and beyond the speed of
sound, about 330 m/s at sea level, small disturbances in the flow are transmitted to other
locations isentropically or with constant entropy.
• Sharp disturbances generate shock waves that affect both the lift and drag of the
aircraft, and the flow conditions downstream of the shock wave.
• There is dependence between density change and Mach number of the flow.
• The Mach number is the ratio of the speed of the aircraft, or the speed of the gas, to the
speed of sound in the gas.

Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 4

Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 5
Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 6
 Shock Waves (cont’d)
(1) Thought experiment: A gas in a very long cylinder
is at rest. A piston is pushed into the gas and the
piston is allowed to accelerate.
(2) As the gas is compressed, a sequence of wave
fronts is generated. However, the wave fronts
generated more recently have a higher velocity as
the piston is accelerating.
 Shock Waves (cont’d)
(3) As these ‘younger’ (i.e. generated more recently)
wave fronts travel faster than the older wave
fronts, we eventually have a piling up of wave
fronts, and they form a relatively sharp
discontinuity which is known as a shock wave.
(4) The thickness of a shock wave is of a few ‘mean
free paths’, but in practice the shock is taken as
having zero thickness.
 Shock Waves
Normal Shocks

• Shocks which occur in a plane normal

to the direction of flow are called

normal shock waves

• Flow process through the shock wave

is highly irreversible and cannot be

approximated as being isentropic.

Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 9

Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 10
 Oblique Shock Wave

• Above sonic velocity(supersonic flow) their is an occurrence of

shock waves which represent losses of Turbomachinery.

Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 11

 C
M= P
a a= k = kRT

• Since for a given gas k and R are constant, the
locally prevailing temperature determines the
sonic velocity a, the danger or reaching sonic
velocity is greatest where the temperature is the
lowest.
• In general, this is at the suction end of the
turbomachine (Compressor).
• In general, Ma=1 and Ma>1 have to be Avoided
during design of Turbomachine
Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 12
 A. Using Sonic Number To Avoid Sonic velocity
• Similar to the definition of the suction number Sq, a sonic number may be
defined as follows:

Vg
Where: n speed aS = n
r 3
δr = 1 – (Coua/U1a)
ka
Vg = volume at suction end but at velocity equal to zero.
K = 1-(dn/ds)2
a = sonic velocity related to the flow temp. at velocity zero

For δr = 1, Sa = 0.12 to 0.14

• The sonic number Sa can be used for determining the maximum speed n which
still avoids sonic velocity.
• Sonic velocity is avoided as long as the sonic number calculated from the data
of the machine is
Sa < δr ( 0.12 to 0.14)
Increase of U1a (increase of n) by pre-rotation<1
with the same Woa & βoa

Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 13

 B. To Avoid Sonic Velocity:-
The Suction Diameter (Ds), The inlet Number (ε)
and the Discharge Number (ε2 )
• The suction diameter has to be chosen so that βoa obtains its
desired value with regard to avoiding cavitation or sonic velocity
or with regard to obtaining lowest friction loss at the vane suction
edge.
• The following βoa were mentioned in the pervious chapters.
 oa  170 Pump : avoiding cavitation 

 oa  20 0
Turbine avoiding cavitation 
 oa  35 0
SmallestWoa : 

if  r = 1
Compressor: avoiding sonic velocity 
all turbomachine : obtaininglowest frictionloss at 

suctionedgeof rotor vanes 

Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 14
Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 15
 Pre-rotation factor
Coua woua
r = 1− =
u1a u1a
dn
k = 1−
Ds

Coma Coma
tan  oa= =
u1a − Coua  r u1a
D1a
Coma =  r (u1a ) tan  oa=  r (  ) tan  oa= f1Cs with D1a = f 2 DS
2
• Where f1, f2 factors of proportionality
• It follows V' f V' D
Coma = f1CS = f1 = 1 =  r ( f 2 s  ) tan  oa
As k  D 2 2
S
4
• and Ds = 3
8 f1V '
=3
4V ' f1
kr tan  oaf 2 k 2 n tan  oa f 2 r
Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 16
• The suction diameter Ds may also be determined using the
following dimensionless numbers:
• Inlet (Intake) Number (for pumps and compressors)
Com Com
= =
2Y CY
• Discharge Number(turbines)
C02m C02m
 =
2
= 2
2Y CY
• After some derivation:


2/3

 = 1.643 f1 f 22 f 3  r tan  oa N shape  and V'
 k  where f3 =
V
 r
4/3

 2 = 2.70( f1 f 22 f 3 )

tan  oa N shape 
2/3

 k 

Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 17

Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 18
 • The inlet Number for pumps and compressors, assuming:
δr = 1, k = 1-(dn/Ds)2 ≈0.8 and βoa = 14 to 380 is

 
 

 = 0  .70 to 1.5
3
f f
 1 2 3
2
f (N shape )2/3 Where 3
f1 f 22 f 3  1.1
 Cavitation Sonic velocity / 
Low friction loss at 
 rotor inlet 

• For Slow-running rotor with Nshape < 0.1 and k =1; The value of
ε may be taken independent of Nshape as

 = 0
.1 to 0
.3
Cavitation Sonic velocity / Low friction loss at rotor inlet

• The ε2 for turbines has to be calculated from the equation

given above taking into account the actual values of δr and k.
Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 19
Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 20
 End of Chapter

Wallaga University, College of Engineering and Technology 21