(Press-News.org)
The automotive industry is undergoing a transformative shift toward sustainable propulsion systems to meet stringent environmental regulations, such as the European Union’s push for near-zero-emission vehicles. Among the promising alternatives, proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) stand out due to their high efficiency and rapid response times. However, optimizing PEMFC performance requires advanced turbocharging systems to supply compressed air to the fuel cell stack. Centrifugal compressors, a key component in these systems, face challenges in maintaining stable operation across varying conditions, particularly near surge limits—a phenomenon causing disruptive flow fluctuations. To address this, researchers have explored passive flow control methods, with the ported shroud emerging as a critical innovation for extending compressor operability.
A recent study developed a simplified computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to evaluate how ported shrouds influence centrifugal compressor performance. The findings reveal that the ported shroud extends the operational range by approximately 10% by redirecting low-momentum flow away from the impeller, thereby delaying surge conditions. Additionally, the pressure ratio near the surge limit improves, enhancing overall system efficiency. Flow analysis demonstrates that the ported shroud modifies the relative flow angle at the rotor’s tip region, altering the tangential velocity component. This adjustment allows the compressor blade to operate more effectively under surge-prone conditions.
Beyond performance gains, the study introduces an analytical model that predicts the impact of different ported shroud geometries without requiring extensive CFD simulations. By calibrating the model using baseline compressor data, engineers can efficiently compare cavity designs, reducing development time and costs. This breakthrough is particularly valuable for industries seeking rapid prototyping and optimization of turbocharging systems for fuel cell applications.
The implications of this research extend beyond fuel cell turbocharging. The ported shroud technology could benefit other turbomachinery applications, such as industrial compressors and gas turbines, where operational stability and efficiency are paramount. Future studies could explore integrating adaptive control systems with passive flow devices to further enhance performance under dynamic conditions. Additionally, the analytical model’s framework may be adapted for other flow control mechanisms, accelerating innovation in turbomachinery design.
This study underscores the innovative potential of ported shroud technology in advancing centrifugal compressor performance, a critical enabler for next-generation fuel cell systems. By combining CFD insights with a streamlined analytical approach, the research offers a practical pathway for optimizing turbocharger designs while reducing computational overhead. As the automotive industry transitions toward sustainable energy solutions, such advancements will play a pivotal role in achieving higher efficiency, reliability, and environmental compatibility. The ported shroud’s success exemplifies how targeted engineering solutions can drive progress in clean energy technologies.
Reference
Author: Carlo Cravero a, Philippe Joe Leutcha b, Davide Marsano a
Title of original paper: Development of an analytical model to evaluate the effect of the ported shroud on centrifugal compressors
Article link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geits.2024.100248v
Journal: Green Energy and Intelligent Transportation
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773153724001014
DOI: 10.1016/j.geits.2024.100249
Affiliations:
a Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica, Energetica, Gestionale e dei Trasporti, Università di Genova, Via Montallegro 1, 16145 Genoa, Italy
b SireLab srl, Via Magliotto 2, 17100 Savona, Italy
END
In agricultural ecosystems, there exists a remarkable heterogeneity in the spatial and temporal distribution of soil nutrients. This heterogeneity can cause the nutrient concentrations that different roots of the same plant are exposed to vary by several orders of magnitude, which undoubtedly poses a great challenge to plant growth. In the face of such a complex soil environment, plants have gradually developed a series of coping strategies during the long evolutionary process. Their roots can keenly sense the nutrient-rich hotspots and make corresponding responses. However, traditional fertilization methods are difficult to precisely meet the needs of plants. They not ...
Molecules like DNA are capable of storing large amounts of data without requiring an energy source, but accessing this molecular data is expensive and time consuming. Publishing May 16 in the Cell Press journal Chem, researchers have developed an alternative method to encode information in synthetic molecules, which they used to encode and then decode an 11-character password to unlock a computer.
“Molecules can store information for very long periods without needing power. Nature has given us the proof of principle that this works,” says corresponding author and ...
Intakes of dietary fiber, high-quality and total carbohydrates in midlife were favorably linked to healthy aging and other positive health outcomes in older women, according to a new study by researchers from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study was published May 16 in the journal JAMA Network Open.
“We’ve all heard that different carbohydrates can affect health differently, whether for weight, energy, or blood sugar ...
About The Study: In this cohort study of women, intakes of high-quality carbohydrates and dietary fiber were associated with positive health status in older adulthood, suggesting that dietary carbohydrate quality may be an important determinant of healthy aging.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Andres V. Ardisson Korat, ScD, email andres.ardisson_korat@tufts.edu.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.11056)
Editor’s ...
About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that home health use is high and has increased among people with dementia. Decreasing rates of home health use since 2020 in this high-need population suggest a need for ongoing monitoring of service use and outcomes for people with dementia.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Rachel M. Werner, MD, PhD, email rwerner@upenn.edu.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.10933
Editor’s ...
For the first time, researchers from King’s College London, Imperial College London and The Alan Turing Institute, have created over 3,800 anatomically accurate digital hearts to investigate how age, sex and lifestyle factors influence heart disease and electrical function.
Creating cardiac ‘digital twins’ at this scale has helped scientists discover that age and obesity cause changes in the heart’s electrical properties, which could explain why these factors are linked to a higher risk of heart disease.
The results, published today in Nature Cardiovascular Research, show the opportunities that cardiac digital twins at scale ...
While Alzheimer’s disease is mostly considered a disorder of the brain, emerging evidence suggests that the condition also affects other organs of the body. Working with the laboratory fruit fly, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital (Duncan NRI) and collaborating institutions provide a new understanding of how Alzheimer’s disease affects different tissues across the entire body. The findings, published in Neuron, reveal ...
Advances in medical technology over the last 30 years have made it easier to detect and treat diabetes, leading to significant health improvements in people with the disease. Despite this, workforce participation among people with diabetes has not improved over time, finds new USC Schaeffer Center research in JAMA Health Forum.
Historically, workforce participation rates have been much lower among people with diabetes due to factors like health complications, time needed to manage the disease and workplace barriers. ...
A team led by Prof. Zheng-Tian Lu and Prof. Wei Jiang from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), have developed a novel technique known as All-Optical Atom Trap Trace Analysis. In collaboration with American glaciologists, they have successfully performed krypton-81 dating on 1-kilogram samples of ancient Antarctic ice using this method. This advance provides a powerful new tool for studying paleoclimate changes on million-year timescales. The findings were published in the Nature ...
In satellite system design, optimizing component layout is crucial for enhancing satellite performance. Recently, a research team led by Professor Wen Yao from the Defense Innovation Institute at the Chinese Academy of Military Science has made new progress in the field of 3D satellite component layout optimization. This innovative approach can rapidly provide engineers with high-quality component layout candidates, promising to improve spacecraft layout design efficiency and efficacy.
The research, published in the Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, introduces a new Satellite ...
