INVESTIGATING MULTISTAGE AXIAL FLOW COMPRESSOR INSTABILITIES

A numerical methodology for investigating compressor instabilities in a multistage environment is presented. The method is based on a stage-by-stage dynamic compression model and considers air compressibility explicitly throughout the compressor. It involves discretizing the compression system into distinct elements and a use of the local elemental characteristic of mean performance. The models are presented in both nonlinear and linearized forms. The linearised form permits well surge condition prediction for multistage axial compressors, while the non-linear form is able to investigate the growth of local flow disturbances, and helps to develop practical control strategy. Validations were carried out using the data from several aircraft engine compressors. A good experiment-model consistency is achieved.

A numerical simulation strategy for a compressor’s underlying axisymmetric characteristic and its application in body force model

Accurate prediction of the aerodynamic response of a compressor under inlet distortion is crucial for next-generation civil aircraft,such as Boundary Layer Ingestion(BLI)silent aircraft.Therefore,research on the Body Force(BF)model plays a significant role in achieving this objective.However,distorted inlet airflow can lead to varying operating conditions across different spatial locations of the compressor,which may cause some regions to operate outside the stability boundary.Consequently,the accuracy of BF model simulations might be compromised.To address this issue,this paper proposes a numerical simulation strategy for acquiring the steady axisymmetric three-dimensional flow field of a compressor operating at low mass flow rates,which is known as the Underlying Axisymmetric Pressure Rise Characteristic(UAPRC).The proposed simulation accounts for two different rotor speeds of a transonic compressor and identifies initial positions in the flow field where deterioration occurs based on prior experimental investigations.Moreover,simulation results are incorporated into the BF model to replicate hub instability observed in experiments.Obtained results demonstrate that this strategy provides valid predictions of the UAPRC of the compressor,thereby addressing the limitations associated with the BF model.

A high-order model of rotating stall in axial compressors with inlet distortion

In this paper,a high-order distortion model is proposed for analyzing the rotating stall inception process induced by inlet distortion in axial compressors.A distortion-generating screen in the compressor inlet is considered.By assuming a quadratic function for the local flow total pressure-drop,the existing Mansoux model is extended to include the effects of static inlet distortion,and a new high-order distortion model is derived.To illustrate the effectiveness of the distortion model,numerical simulations are performed on an eighteenth-order model.It is demonstrated that long length-scale disturbances emerge out of the distorted background flow,and further induce the onset of rotating stall in advance.In addition,the circumferential non-uniform distribution and time evolution of the axial flow are also shown to be consistent with the existing features.It is thus shown that the high-order distortion model is capable of describing the transient behavior of stall inception and will contribute further to stall detection under inlet distortion.