Abstract
This paper describes the blower performance used for single-stage high pressure regenerative blower. The blower considered is widely applied to the field of a fuel cell system, a medical equipment and a sewage treatment plant. Flow rate and rotating frequency of a impeller of the blower are considered as design parameters for the proper operation of the blower. Three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations are introduced to analyze the performance and internal flow of the blower. Relatively good agreement between experimental measurements and numerical simulation is obtained. Throughout a numerical simulation, it is found that small and stable vortical flow generated inside the blade passage is effective to increase pressure and efficiency of the blower. Large local recirculation flow having low velocity in the blade passage obstructs the generation of stable vortical flow, thus increases the pressure loss of the blower. Detailed flow field inside the blower is also analyzed and discussed.
