Definition
A type of compressor used in some turbine engines that accelerates incoming air outward from the center of a spinning impeller, then slows that air in a diffuser to raise its pressure before it enters the combustion section.
Plain English
A spinning disc inside the engine that flings air outward to squeeze it. The squeezed air is then fed into the part of the engine where fuel is burned.
Context Anchor
Seen in turbine engine descriptions, especially when comparing compressor types and explaining how air moves through a jet or turboprop engine.
Derivation
Centrifugal comes from the Latin centrum (center) and fugere (to flee). It describes motion away from the center. The compressor works exactly like that — air enters near the middle of a spinning wheel and is thrown outward.
Why Pilots Care
Knowing the compressor type helps explain engine behavior: centrifugal designs are simpler, more rugged, and tolerate damage better than axial designs, but they are bulkier and less efficient at high airflows. This is why they are common in smaller turbine engines.
Analogy
Think of a spinning lawn sprinkler head. Water enters at the center and is flung outward with force. A centrifugal compressor does the same thing with air, then captures and slows that fast-moving air to build pressure.
Intuition Check
Do not picture the air simply going straight through the engine in a line. In a centrifugal flow compressor, the air is driven outward from the center before it continues through the engine.
Example Sentence 1
The PT6 turboprop uses a centrifugal flow compressor as its final compression stage before the combustion section.
Example Sentence 2
During preflight, the instructor explained how the centrifugal flow compressor increases air pressure before fuel is added in the combustion chamber.