The present study has tested most of the loss models previously published in the open literature and found an optimum set of empirical loss models for a reliable performance prediction of centrifugal compressors. In order to improve the prediction of efficiency curves, this paper recommends a modified parasitic loss model. The performance analyses by using various empirical loss models are also compared with those by the two-zone modelling. Predicted performance curves by the proposed optimum set agree fairly well with experimental data for a variety of centrifugal compressors. The prediction method developed through this study can serve as a tool for preliminary design and assist the understanding of the operational characteristics of general purpose centrifugal compressors.

By considering the entrainment effect on the intermittency in the free boundary of shear layers, a set of turbulence model equations for the turbulent kinetic energy k, the dissipation rate ε, and the intermittency factor γ is proposed. This enables us to incorporate explicitly the intermittency effect in the conventional K–ε turbulence model equations. The eddy viscosity νt is estimated by a function of K, ε and γ. In contrast to the closure schemes of previous intermittency modelling which employ conditional zone averaged moments, the present model equations are based on the conventional Reynolds averaged moments. This method is more economical in the sense that it halves the number of partial differential equations to be solved. The proposed K–ε–γ model has been applied to compute a plane jet, a round jet, a plane far wake and a plane mixing layer. The computational results of the model show considerable improvement over previous models for all these shear flows. In particular, the spreading rate, the centreline mean velocity and the profiles of Reynolds stresses and turbulent kinetic energy are calculated with significantly improved accuracy.

Palladium(0)-catalyzed silane alcoholysis was applied to sugars for the first time using tert-butyldimethylsilane (TBDMS-H) and Ph(3)SiH as the silanes. The catalyst is a colloidal solution of Pd(0) generated in situ from PdX(2) (X = Cl(-), OAc(-)) and TBDMS-H in N,N-dimethylacetamide. The colloid has been characterized by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy and consists of catalytically highly active nanoparticles of approximately 2 nm diameter. The silane alcoholysis reaction is an effective method for the regioselective silylation of methyl and phenyl glycosides and generates hydrogen gas as the only side product. For many of the sugar substrates investigated, the distribution of regioisomers obtained is complementary to that of the traditional R(3)SiCl/base (base = pyridine, imidazole) methodology and gives convenient access to the 3,6- rather than the 2,6-silylated pyranosides, obtained as the main product by the silyl chloride method. The method also allows a selective axial silylation of levoglucosan and 1,3,5-O-methylidene-myo-inositol. In an attempt to rationalize the observed regioselectivities, ab initio predictions (HF/3-21G) have been made on the relative energies of some of the silylated products. They suggest that the observed regioselectivities do not reflect a kinetic vs thermodynamic product distribution but are induced by the silylation agent employed. Models for the possible origin of the observed regioselectivity in both silylation methods (silane- and silyl chloride-based) are discussed.

On the basis of the momentum exchange theory, an improved mathematical model is developed to analyse the complicated helical flow in regenerative turbomachines and to suggest a systematic way to design such kind of machines. The helical flow in the machines is resolved into a peripheral component and a circulatory component, and a theoretically sound method is proposed to calculate the circulatory flow velocity and slip factor, which are closely related to the machine performance. To implement the present method, the concepts of a circulatory pivot and an effectiveness of the circulatory flow are introduced. The circulatory flow loss was successfully estimated by introducing a bend-combination factor by adding four right angle bends losses. It was found that the overall head rise and the hydraulic efficiency can be accurately predicted by the proposed model equation and the present loss models. Development of the static pressure along the peripheral direction could be predicted satisfactorily.