vi
Preface
fluids. For technical thermodynamics, the supposed prior knowledge encompasses
thermal properties of fluids, first law and second law of thermodynamics, basic heat
engine cycles, gas mixtures, combustion and detailed analysis of steam cycles.
The course on turbomachines is taught at Ghent University in two parts. Chapters
1–10 form a first part, taught to all master students in electromechanical engineering. This part requires basic knowledge of flow past profiles, boundary layer flow
and high speed flow of compressible fluids, which are topics often covered in an
advanced fluid mechanics course. The necessary fundamentals of these topics are
explained in the beginning of Chap. 2 and in Chap. 4. The second part is Chaps. 11–
15, taught to students with specialisation in mechanical energy engineering. This
part requires somewhat more advanced knowledge of fluid mechanics. Relevant
topics are transition, turbulence and heat transfer in boundary layer flows and shock
and expansion phenomena in high speed flows of compressible fluids. However,
care has been taken not to rely too much on prior knowledge of these topics.
The objective of the book is, as already said, study of the fundamentals of turbomachines. The approach is analysis of all kinds of turbomachines with the same
theoretical framework. Basic equations are formulated for a general equation of
state of a fluid. Specification of constant density or ideal gas is only done when analysing particular machines. The building up of theory is mixed in the sense that first
derivations are general, but that elaboration of the theoretical concepts is done on a
particular machine, however taking into account the possibility for reuse on other
machines or generalisation from constant density formulation to variable density
formulation. The analysis starts with radial and axial fans, because these machines
are the simplest ones. The next machines are steam turbines. The order of treating
the different types of turbomachines is governed by the possibility of gradually
building up the theoretical concepts. For each of the machine types, a balance is
sought between fundamental understanding and acquiring knowledge of practical
aspects. The main concern is always fundamental understanding and bringing the
reader to independent reasoning. The point of view taken by the author is that readers should be able to understand what they see when a turbomachine is opened.
They should also be able to make a reasoned choice of a turbomachine for a specific
application and understand its operation. Design is not a primary objective. Design
requires a more specialised study, although basic design of the simplest turbomachines such as a centrifugal fan, an axial steam turbine or a centrifugal pump is
possible with the topics covered in the book.
Erik Dick
Ghent, September 2014
Preface
fluids. For technical thermodynamics, the supposed prior knowledge encompasses
thermal properties of fluids, first law and second law of thermodynamics, basic heat
engine cycles, gas mixtures, combustion and detailed analysis of steam cycles.
The course on turbomachines is taught at Ghent University in two parts. Chapters
1–10 form a first part, taught to all master students in electromechanical engineering. This part requires basic knowledge of flow past profiles, boundary layer flow
and high speed flow of compressible fluids, which are topics often covered in an
advanced fluid mechanics course. The necessary fundamentals of these topics are
explained in the beginning of Chap. 2 and in Chap. 4. The second part is Chaps. 11–
15, taught to students with specialisation in mechanical energy engineering. This
part requires somewhat more advanced knowledge of fluid mechanics. Relevant
topics are transition, turbulence and heat transfer in boundary layer flows and shock
and expansion phenomena in high speed flows of compressible fluids. However,
care has been taken not to rely too much on prior knowledge of these topics.
The objective of the book is, as already said, study of the fundamentals of turbomachines. The approach is analysis of all kinds of turbomachines with the same
theoretical framework. Basic equations are formulated for a general equation of
state of a fluid. Specification of constant density or ideal gas is only done when analysing particular machines. The building up of theory is mixed in the sense that first
derivations are general, but that elaboration of the theoretical concepts is done on a
particular machine, however taking into account the possibility for reuse on other
machines or generalisation from constant density formulation to variable density
formulation. The analysis starts with radial and axial fans, because these machines
are the simplest ones. The next machines are steam turbines. The order of treating
the different types of turbomachines is governed by the possibility of gradually
building up the theoretical concepts. For each of the machine types, a balance is
sought between fundamental understanding and acquiring knowledge of practical
aspects. The main concern is always fundamental understanding and bringing the
reader to independent reasoning. The point of view taken by the author is that readers should be able to understand what they see when a turbomachine is opened.
They should also be able to make a reasoned choice of a turbomachine for a specific
application and understand its operation. Design is not a primary objective. Design
requires a more specialised study, although basic design of the simplest turbomachines such as a centrifugal fan, an axial steam turbine or a centrifugal pump is
possible with the topics covered in the book.
Erik Dick
Ghent, September 2014