Devising a method for designing multicomponent diffusers of compressors in turbogenerators with hydrogen cooling
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15587/1729-4061.2025.337285Keywords:
turbogenerator, compressor diffuser, multilayer seal, gas-dynamic calculations, circulating currentsAbstract
This study's object is the aerodynamic characteristics of the compressor diffusers in hydrogen-cooled turbogenerators.
This paper reports a solution to the task of improving the efficiency of a cooling system discharge unit. This issue relates to enabling the necessary gas consumption while reducing the number of diffuser blades. The problem was solved by introducing a seal with improved technological control capabilities and step-by-step optimization of the diffuser flow part.
Another issue is the thermal loads on the power components of the diffuser unit due to the action of circulating currents and temperature gradients. The problem was solved by introducing dielectric and non-magnetic elements into the structure, by additional finning and multi-component design for the diffuser strength circuits.
The main result is the designed multi-component diffuser structure with a number of blades of 20 while enabling a head of Hst = 978 mm H2O. The adopted duct opening angle was 20°. Other necessary geometric parameters were determined. The introduction of a multilayer seal made it possible to reduce the gap between the impeller and the diffuser to 0.9 mm. The proposed design was tested on the bench at a manufacturing enterprise.
The results of the study are attributed to the use of non-magnetic and dielectric materials (AISI 321 steel and fiberglass), as well as the introduction of additional strength decoupling elements.
A special feature of the proposed method is the application of mathematical models based on the basic equations of gas dynamics, taking into account the composition principles of engineering alloys and synthetic materials. This could be achieved via a step-by-step optimization of the design.
The proposed structure could be implemented when designing and modernizing hydrogen-cooled turbogenerators
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Copyright (c) 2025 Oleksii Tretiak, Stanislav Kravchenko, Bogdan Shestak, Denys Shpitalnyi, Mariia Arefieva, Iryna Tretiak, Serhii Serhiienko, Anton Kovryga

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