Axial-Flow compressors do not
significantly change the direction of the flow stream, thus
Axial-Flow Compressor allows for multiple stages. Radial-Flow
Compressors can not be staged.
While the Radial-Flow
Compressor has a larger Compressor Pressure Ratio (CPR) per
stage, the multi-stages of the
Axial-Flow compressor
allows for a larger overall CPR.
The frontal area for a given
air flow rate is smaller for an Axial-Flow Compressor than for a
Radial-Flow Compressor.
The Axial-Flow Compressor has a higher
efficiency.
Disadvantages are the higher
cost to manufacture the Axial-Flow Compressor, and the
Radial-flow Compressor is more durable than the Axial-Flow Compressor.