a compressor in which the flow of gas to be compressed is moved away from the center rapidly, usually by a series of blades, or turbines. It is a continuous-flow compressor with a low pressure ratio, often used to transmit gas through a pipeline. Gas passing through the compressor contacts a rotating impeller, from which it is discharged into a diffuser, where its velocity is slowed and its kinetic energy changed to static pressure. Centrifugal compressors are nonpositive-displacement machines, often arranged in series on a line to achieve multistage compression.
