To determine the formation reason for the stall inception in a centrifugal compressor and analyze the relationship between the volute tongue and the stall inception position,the stall characteristics of a highspeed and small-flow centrifugal compressor was numerically investigated. The results indicate that the spiketype stall in this centrifugal compressor occurs as the flow structure changes during stall process. The stall inception is induced by the volute tongue blocking effect which results in the high...