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Tangential leakage loss reduction has great significance on improving the performance of scroll compressors. In this study, the flow field of a scroll compressor working with CO2 was numerically investigated. The development characteristics of the tangential leakage flow in different working chambers were carried out, which was obtained by analyzing the field quantities distributions. The impacts of the radial clearances and sidewall roughness on the tangential leakage were also taken into consideration, in order to explore the feasible method of the flow control for the tangential leakage in scroll compressors. Results showed that the tangential leakage flow had various characteristics in the suction and compression chambers due to the different interactions between the tangential leakage flow and mainstream. Owing to little reverse pressure gradient, the tangential leakage flow maintained the typical jet form in the suction chambers. By contrast, the mixing of the tangential leakage flow and mainstream induced the passage vortex and secondary flows in the compression chamber. The secondary flow was the primary factor that results in the occurrence of localized high temperature region rather than the tangential leakage. With the increase of the radial clearance, the volumetric efficiency declined and the discharge temperature increased rapidly. In terms of flow control of the tangential leakage, the increase of sidewall roughness by 2 µm could achieve the same effect as the decrease of the radial clearance by 4 µm, while the volumetric efficiency increased by almost 5% and average discharge temperature decreased by 5 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]