Water Droplet Collison and Erosion on High-Speed Spinning Wheels

Abstract

The water droplet erosion (WDE) on high-speed rotating wheels appears in several engineering fields such as wind turbines, stationary steam turbines, fuel cell turbines, and turbochargers. The main reasons for this phenomenon are the high relative velocity difference between the colliding particles and the rotor, as well as the presence of inadequate material structure and surface parameters. One of the latest challenges in this area is the compressor wheels used in turbochargers, which has a speed up to 300,000 rpm and have typically been made of aluminum alloy for decades, to achieve the lowest possible rotor inertia. However, while in the past this component was only encountered with filtered air, nowadays, due to developments in compliance with tightening emission standards, various fluids also collide with the spinning blades, which can cause mechanical damage. One such fluid is the condensed water in the low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation channel (LP-EGR) formulated at cold starts and low-speed high load conditions. This kind of design has been developed to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions and is used in both gasoline and diesel engines. This article presents a state-of-the-art review of this WDE process, focusing on the formation of the condensed water before the compressor wheel, summarizing the influencing factors of WDE and the effects of the damage including using component testbench experiences and simulation methodologies. Inspection possibilities such as high-speed camera measurement and vibration analysis are also an important part of the document.