Numerical Investigation into the Transient Behavior of the Spike-Type Rotating Stall for a Transonic Compressor Rotor

In this paper,a numerical investigation into a spike-type rotating stall process is carried out considering a transonic compressor rotor(the NASA Rotor 37).Through solution of the Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes(URANS)equations,the evolution process from an initially circumferentially-symmetric near-stall flow field to a stable stall condition is simulated without adding any artificial disturbance.At the near-stall operating point,periodic fluctuations are present in the overall flow of the rotor.Moreover,the blockage region in the channel periodically shifts from middle span to the tip.This fluctuating condition does not directly lead to stall,while the full-annulus calculation eventually evolves to stall.Interestingly,a kind of“early disturbance”feature appears in the dynamic signals,which propagates forward ahead of the rotor.

Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Shock-Wave Boundary Layer Interactions in a Highly Loaded Transonic Compressor Cascade

Experimental and numerical investigations were conducted to investigate the variations of shock-wave boundary layer interaction(SBLI) phenomena in a highly loaded transonic compressor cascade with Mach numbers.The schlieren technique was used to observe the shock structure in the cascade and the pressure tap method to measure the pressure distribution on the blade surface.The unsteady pressure distribution on blade surface was measured with the fast-response pressure-sensitive paint(PSP) technique to obtain the unsteady pressure distribution on the whole blade surface and to capture the shock oscillation characteristics caused by SBLI.In addition,the Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes simulations were used to compute the three-dimensional steady flow field in the transonic cascade.It was found that the shock wave patterns and behaviors are affected evidently with the increase in incoming Mach number at the design flow angle,especially with the presence of the separation bubble caused by SBLI.The time-averaged pressure distribution on the blade surface measured by PSP technique showed a symmetric pressure filed at Mach numbers of 0.85,while the pressure field on the blade surface was an asymmetric one at Mach numbers of 0.90 and 0.95.The oscillation of the shock wave was closely with the flow separation bubble on the blade surface and could transverse over nearly one interval of the pressure taps.The oscillation of the shock wave may smear the pressure jump phenomenon measured by the pressure taps.

Effects of Number of Bleed Holes on Shock-Wave/Boundary-Layer Interactions in a Transonic Compressor Stator

An extensive numerical investigation is conducted to characterize the flow separation control in a transonic compressor cascade with a porous bleed.The bleed holes are arranged on the suction surface in a single row,two staggered rows and three staggered rows.For each bleed scheme,five bleed pressure ratios are examined at an inlet Mach number of 1.0.The results indicate that the aerodynamic performance of the cascade is significantly improved by the porous bleed.For the single-row scheme,the maximum reduction in total pressure losses is 57%.For the two-staggered-row and three-staggered-row schemes,there is an optimal bleed pressure ratio of 1.0,and the maximum reductions in total pressure loss are 68% and 75%,respectively.The low loss in the cascade is due to the well-controlled boundary layer.The new local supersonic region created by the bleed hole is the key reason for the improved boundary layer.The vortex induced by side bleeding provides another mechanism for delaying flow separation.Increasing the bleed holes could create multiple local supersonic regions,which reduce the range of the adverse pressure gradient that the boundary layer needs to withstand.This is the reason why cascades with more bleed holes perform better.

Numerical Research on Inlet Total Pressure Distortion in a Transonic Compressor with Non-Axisymmetric Stator Clearance

Inlet total pressure distortion has great adverse effects on the aero-engine performance. The distorted flow passes through the compressor and becomes non-uniform in the downstream blade rows. Different from previous studies based on the assumption of circumferential uniformity, this study aims to improve circumferential non-uniform flow with the non-axisymmetric structure. Non-axisymmetric stator clearance was adopted to resolve the effects of non-uniform flow caused by inlet total pressure distortion in this paper. The 9 stators with tip clearance were installed in the distorted region and the flow field structure and performance under different operating conditions was studied. The study finds that the non-axisymmetric compressor with 9 tip clearance stators can ensure compressor efficiency while improving compressor stability margin. What’s more, the separation range and strength in the distorted region can be reduced significantly and the anti-distortion capability of compressor can be enhanced.

Numerical Investigation of Circumferential Groove Casing Treatment in a Highly-Loaded Low-Reaction Transonic Compressor Rotor

In this paper, a computational investigation of circumferential groove casing treatment in a highly-loaded low-reaction transonic compressor rotor is conducted, in which the stage reaction is significantly reduced due to a larger meridional contraction with respect to conventional transonic compressors. Steady computation at near-stall point is performed first to capture the stall inception of the rotor with smooth casing. Detailed observations, which mainly focus on the tip leakage flow behavior, obstruction and vortical structures in the tip region, determine the reason for the compressor stall. There is tip leakage vortex breakdown in the tip region. Moreover, it yields passage obstruction, and finally leads to the compressor stall. Then, attempts are made to investigate how the circumferential grooves can be applied for the compressor’s stall margin enhancement without compromising efficiency. Three configurations are obtained and analyzed by changing axial position and the number of the circumferential grooves. The results of computational parametric study indicate the optimal location of the groove is near the leading edge and the downstream grooves combine their influence on the compressor’s stabilization and performance in a cumulative manner. The optimal circumferential groove configuration produces an increase of 1% in total pressure ratio at the near-stall point and a gain of 3.7% in stall margin, without any penalty in efficiency. Furthermore, the impact the grooves will exert on the flow mechanisms between the grooves and the main flow is also considered.

Transition from Unsteady Flow Inception to Rotating Stall and Surge in a Transonic Compressor

Since the transition from rotating stall to surge in a transonic compressor at high speed is very quick,quite often there is no time to take measures to prevent the surge.Therefore,it is desired to find any rotating stall precursors,of which the occurrence can offer sufficient time for stall or surge prevention.In this study,a series of unsteady flow analyses were performed on a transonic compressor under operating conditions before rotating stall with unsteady results scrutinized to find rotating stall precursors.Particular attention is paid to the spatial modes and time modes of static pressure near the casing and around the blade leading and trailing edges.The results show that the characteristics of the precursor in both spatial and time domains can be used as rotating stall warnings.

Passage shock wave/boundary layer interaction control for transonic compressors using bumps

Flow separation due to shock wave/boundary layer interaction is dominated in blade passage with supersonic relative incoming flow,which always accompanies aerodynamic performance penalties.A loss reduction method for smearing the passage shock foot via Shock Control Bump(SCB)located on transonic compressor rotor blade suction side is implemented to shrink the region of boundary layer separation.The curved windward section of SCB with constant adverse pressure gradient is constructed ahead of passage shock-impingement point at design rotor speed of Rotor 37 to get the improved model.Numerical investigations on both two models have been conducted employing Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes(RANS)method to reveal flow physics of SCB.Comparisons and analyses on simulation results have also been carried out,showing that passage shock foot of baseline is replaced with a family of compression waves and a weaker shock foot for moderate adverse pressure gradient as well as suppression of boundary layer separations and secondary flow of low-momentum fluid within boundary layer.It is found that adiabatic efficiency and total pressure ratio of improved blade exceeds those of baseline at 95%-100%design rotor speed,and then slightly worsens with decrease of rotatory speed till both equal below 60%rated speed.The investigated conclusion implies a potential promise for future practical applications of SCB in both transonic and supersonic compressors.

Experiments of effects of inlet-air distortion on aerodynamic performance in transonic compressor

The inlet-air distortion which was caused by high angle-of-attack flight was simulated by plugboard.Experiments were conducted on a transonic axial-flow compressor's rotor at 98% rotating speed.The flow-field characteristics and mechanism of performance degradation were analyzed in detail.The compressor inlet was divided into four sectors at circumference under inlet-air distortion.They were undistorted sector,transition sector A where the rotor was rotating into the distortion sector,distorted sector and transition sector B where the rotor was rotating out of the distortion sector.The experimental results show that compared with undistorted sector,there is a subsonic flow in transition sector A,so the pressure ratio is decreased by a large margin in this sector.However,the shock wave is enhanced in distortion sector and transition sector B,and thus the pressure ratio increases in these sectors.Because of the different works at circumference,the phase angle of total pressure changes 90° when the inlet total pressure distortion passes through compressor rotor.In addition,the frequency and amplitude of disturbances in front of the rotor strengthenes under inlet distortion,so the unstable flow would take place in advance.In addition,the position of stall inception is in one of the transition sectors.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Non-synchronous Blade Vibration Excitation in a Transonic Axial Compressor

The complex flow phenomenon of rotating instability(RI) and its induced non-synchronous vibration(NSV) have become a significant challenge as they continuously increase aerodynamic load.This study aims to provide an understanding of the non-synchronous blade vibration phenomenon caused by the rotating instability of a transonic axial compressor rotor.In this case,blade vibrations and non-synchronous excitation are captured by strain gauges and unsteady wall pressure transducer sensors.Unsteady numerical simulations for a full-annulus configuration are used to obtain the non-synchronous flow excitation.The results show that the first-stage rotor blade exhibits an NSV close to the first bending mode;NSV is accompanied by a sharp increase in pressure pulsation;amplitude can reach 20%,and unsteady aerodynamic frequency will lock in a structural mode frequency when the blade vibrates in a large-amplitude motion.The predicted NSV frequency aligns well with the experimental results.The dominant mode of circumferential instability flow structure is approximately 47% of the number blades,and the cell size occupies 2-3 pitches in the circumferential direction.The full-annulus unsteady simulations demonstrate that the streamwise oscillation of the shedding and reattachment vortex structure is the main cause of NSV owing to the strong interaction between the tip leakage and separation vortices near the suction surface.

Experimental Investigation of the Transonic Shock Oscillation Characteristics in a Heavy-Duty Gas Turbine Compressor Cascade

This paper presents an experimental study of the self-sustained transonic shock oscillating behaviors in a heavy-duty gas turbine compressor cascade under the inlet Mach number of 0.85,0.90 and 0.95.The transonic shock patterns and the surface flow structures are captured by schlieren imaging and oil flow visualization.The time-averaged and instantaneous transonic shock oscillating behaviors at the near choke point and the near stall point are investigated by the Anodized Aluminum Pressure-Sensitive Paint(AA-PSP)surface pressure measurement.The normal passage shock dominant pattern and the detached bow shock dominant pattern at the near choke point and the near stall point are experimental characterized,respectively.The passage shock oscillation behaviors at the near choke point have been observed to undergo periodic pressure perturbations of the shock shift between the upstreamλshock feet mode and the downstreamλshock feet mode.The detached bow shock oscillation behaviors at the near stall point have been observed to undergo the pressure perturbations of the shock cycle movement between the upstream detached bow shock mode and the downstream detached bow shock mode.The differences between the shock shift mode and the shock cycle movement mode lead to the different streamwise oscillation travel ranges and different shock intensity variations under the same inlet Mach number.

Effect of system response on partial surge initiated instability in a transonic axial flow compressor

Partial surge is a type of instability inception in transonic compressors and occurs in the form of axisymmetric low-frequency disturbances localized in the hub region.Previous studies illustrate that the frequency of partial surge is set by the Helmholtz frequency of the entire system,which motivates to propose a hypothesis that the system response performs an important role in the formation of partial surge.For further verification,a series of experiments are conducted to explore the link between the propagating of the partial surge and the system feedback in this study.In the first case,an additional test point is set on the wall of the plenum to detect the system response.Combining the flow behaviors inside the plenum with the disturbances in the rotor tip and stator hub/tip regions,the effects of the system feedback on the occurrence of the continuous disturbances and the rotating stall cells are illustrated.In the second case,a screen is mounted at the compressor outlet to prevent positive feedback from the plenum.The experimental results demonstrate that in the absence of system feedback,it is the occurrence of spike-type stall inception that leads to the flow instability instead of that of partial surge.In addition,three flow phenomena in the second case are discussed,including the occurrence of the single pulse,the unstable process during the stall evolution and the switch of instability inception.

Influence of Hub Contouring on the Performance of a Transonic Axial Compressor Stage with Low Hub-Tip Ratio

The rotor blade height with low hub-tip ratio is relatively longer,and the aerodynamic parameters change drastically from hub to tip.Especially the organization of flow field at hub becomes more difficult.This paper takes a transonic 1.5-stage axial compressor with low hub-tip ratio as the research object.The influence of four types of rotor hub contouring on the performance of transonic rotor and stage is explored through numerical simulation.The three-dimensional numerical simulation results show that different hub contourings have obvious influence on the flow field of transonic compressor rotor and stage,thus affecting the compressor performance.The detailed comparison is conducted at the rotor peak efficiency point for each hub contouring.Compared with the linear hub contouring,the concave hub contouring can improve the flow capacity,improve the rotor working capacity,and increase the flow rate.The flow field near blade root and efficiency of transonic rotor is improved.The convex hub contouring will reduce the mass flow rate,pressure ratio and efficiency of the transonic rotor.Full consideration should be given to the influence of stator flow field by hub contouring.

InvesInvestigation of the Effects of Airfoil-probes on the Aerodynamic Performance of an Axial Compressor

In order to investigate the effects of the airfoil-probes on the aerodynamic performance of an axial compressor,a numerical simulation of 3D flow field is performed in a 1.5-stage axial compressor with airfoil-probes installed at the stator leading-edge（LE）.The airfoil-probes have a negative influence on the compressor aerodynamic performance at all operating points.A streamwise vortex is induced by the airfoil-probe along both sides of the blade.At the mid-operating point,the vortex is notable along the pressure side and is relatively small along the suction side（SS）.At the near-stall point,the vortex is slightly suppressed in the pressure surface（PS）,but becomes remarkable in the suction side.A small local-separation is induced by the interactions between the vortex and the end-wall boundary layer in the corner region near the hub.That the positive pitch angle of the airfoil-probe at 6.5% span is about 15° plays an important role in the vortex evolution near the hub,which causes the fact that the airfoil-probe near the hub has the largest effects among the four airfoil-probes.In order to get a further understanding of the vortex evolution in the stator in the numerical simulation,a flow visualization experiment in a water tunnel is performed.The flow visualization results give a deep insight into the evolution of the vortex induced by the airfoil-probe.

Unsteady cooperative flow in compression system

When there are several bodies with relative motion in a flow field,such as the flow in the compression system of modern aero-engine,the flow field will have certain special features,one of which is that the time-space structure of such multi-bodies unsteady vorticity flow field would be either of unsteady natural flow(UNF)pattern or of unsteady cooperative flow(UCF)pattern.If we further examine the aerodynamic design system of aero-engine,there is no mechanism for the unsteady cooperative flow to occur,in other words the flow field must be of the unsteady natural flow type.If certain technical measures can be adopted to transform UNF into UCF,the aerodynamic performances will surely be improved.This is the main task the author and their colleague have been devoted to and the results are reviewed in the present paper with emphases laid on basic ideas,technical approaches and experimental verifications.