ABSTRACT
In plotting the results of turbomachinery tests and in analyzing performance characteristics, it is useful to use dimensionless groups of variables. Appropriate groups of variables are found by application of a dimensional methodology (dimensional analysis), and it is known from the Buckingham pi theorem that the dimensionless groups so formed have a functional relationship, although the nature of the relationship is frequently unknown except by experimentation. An important benefit of dimensional analysis is that the results of model studies so analyzed and plotted may then be used to predict full-scale performance. This is important for efforts to reduce the cost of the development of turbomachines. It is also useful in the analysis of data from full-sized machines when the aim is to predict the performance of other full-sized machines that are of a different size than those tested or that operate under different conditions.
