Numerical analysis and experimental verification of the radial growth of a turbocharger centrifugal compressor impeller

Steady state stress analysis was carried out on a typical automotive turbocharger centrifugal compressor impeller using the finite element method and the concept of cyclic symmetry. Since the rotational speed of the impeller is very high and the size of the impeller is quite small, experimental verification of the stresses is extremely difficult. A novel method of measuring the radial growth of the impeller tip has been presented and a suitable instrumentation was designed and developed. This paper describes the numerical and experimental work carried out on a centrifugal compressor impeller.