Validation of the Axial Thrust Estimation Method for Radial Turbomachines

The fast preliminary design and safe operation of turbomachines require a simple and accurate prediction of axial thrust. An underestimation of these forces may result in undersized bearings that can easily overload and suffer damage. While large safety margins are used in bearing design to avoid overloading, this leads to costly oversizing. In this study, the accuracy of currently available axial thrust estimation methods is analyzed by comparing them to each other and to theoretical pressure distribution, numerical simulations, and new experimental data. Available methods tend to underestimate the maximum axial thrust and require data that are unavailable during the preliminary design of turbomachines. This paper presents a new, simple axial thrust estimation method that requires only a few preliminary design parameters as the input data and combines the advantages of previously published methods, resulting in a more accurate axial thrust estimation. The method is validated against previously public data from a radial pump and new experimental data from a centrifugal compressor, the latter measured at Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT, Finland, and two gas turbines measured at Aurelia Turbines Oy, Finland. The maximum deviation between the estimated axial thrust using the hybrid method and the measured one is less than 13%, while the other methods deviate by tens of percent.