The Influence of Water Droplets on the Heat and Mass Transfer of the Wet Compression of Single Stage Compressor

Abstract

In the present study, numerical simulation of wet compression in a transonic single stage compressor (NASA stage 35) was performed. Thermodynamic processes, heat and mass transfer that greatly influenced the water droplets in the wet compression of the gas turbine compressor were also studied. The results show that, injecting substantial amount of water droplets at the compressor inlet, fully evaporated inside the rotating blade rows, raises the amount of mass flow rates and lower the compression work which greatly influence the compressor performance and maximize its efficiency. Evaporation of water droplets decreases the temperature in front of the rotor blade position, which boosts the moisture content in the air and the formation of vapor. Combination of these factors changes the thermodynamics properties of the fluids, thus, accelerates the convective heat and mass transfer of the mixture. The convective heat between water droplets and compressed air is the primary factor for cooling in the compressor channel and helps to overcome the flow loss caused by water injection and improve the performance and efficiency of the compressor. The overall efficiency of the wet compression process growths to an average of 84%, roughly, 2 percent above the dry and experimental values of 82%.