Numerical investigation and modeling of sweep effects on inlet flow field of axial compressor cascades

Swept blades are widely utilized in transonic compressors/fans and provide high load,high through-flow,high efficiency,and adequate stall margin.However,there is limited quantitative research on the mechanism of the effect of swept blades on the flow field,resulting in a lack of direct quantitative guidance for the design and analysis of swept blades in fans/compressors.To better understand this mechanism,this study employs a reduced-dimensional force equilibrium method to analyze more than 1500 swept cascades data.Results verify that circumferential fluctuation terms are responsible for inducing radial migration in the inlet airflow field of the swept blade,resulting in variations in the incidence angle and consequently leading to changes in the characteristics of the swept blade.Thus,a combination of simple functions and machine learning is utilized to model the circumferential fluctuation terms and quantify the sweep mechanism.The prediction accuracy of the model is high,with coefficient of determination greater than 0.95 on the test set.When the model is applied in a meridional flow analysis program,the calculation accuracy of the program for the incidence angle is improved by 0.4°and 0.6°at the design and off-design conditions respectively,compensating for the program’s original deficiencies.Meanwhile,the model can also provide quantitative guidance for the design of swept blades,thereby reducing the number of design iterations and improving design efficiency.

Blade bowing effects on radial equilibrium of inlet flow in axial compressor cascades

The circumferentially averaged equation of the inlet flow radial equilibrium in axial compressor was deduced. It indicates that the blade inlet radial pressure gradient is closely related to the radial component of the circumferential fluctuation（CF） source item. Several simplified cascades with/without aerodynamic loading were numerically studied to investigate the effects of blade bowing on the inlet flow radial equilibrium. A data reduction program was conducted to obtain the CF source from three-dimensional（3D） simulation results. Flow parameters at the passage inlet were focused on and each term in the radial equilibrium equation was discussed quantitatively. Results indicate that the inviscid blade force is the inducement of the inlet CF due to geometrical asymmetry. Blade bowing induces variation of the inlet CF, thus changes the radial pressure gradient and leads to flow migration before leading edge（LE） in the cascades. Positive bowing drives the inlet flow to migrate from end walls to mid-span and negative bowing turns it to the reverse direction to build a new equilibrium. In addition, comparative studies indicate that the inlet Mach number and blade loading can efficiently impact the effectiveness of blade bowing on radial equilibrium in compressor design.