Unsteady Behavior and Control of Vortices in Centrifugal Compressor

Two examples of the use of vortex control to reduce noise and enhance the stable operating range of a centrifugal compressor are presented in this paper.In the case of high-flow operation of a centrifugal compressor with a vaned diffuser,a discrete frequency noise induced by interaction between the impeller-discharge flow and the diffuser vane,which appears most notably in the power spectra of the radiated noise,can be reduced using a tapered diffuser vane(TDV) without affecting the performance of the compressor.Twin longitudinal vortices produced by leakage flow passing through the tapered portion of the diffuser vane induce secondary flow in the direction of the blade surface and prevent flow separation from the leading edge of the diffuser.The use of a TDV can effectively reduce both the discrete frequency noise generated by the interaction between the impeller-discharge flow and the diffuser surface and the broadband turbulent noise component.In the case of low-flow operation,a leading-edge vortex(LEV) that forms on the shroud side of the suction surface near the leading edge of the diffuser increases significantly in size and blocks flow in the diffuser passage.The formation of an LEV may adversely affect the performance of the compressor and may cause the diffuser to stall.Using a one-side tapered diffuser vane to suppress the evolution of an LEV,the stable operating range of the compressor can be increased by more than 12 percent,and the pressure-rise characteristics of the compressor can be improved.The results of a supplementary examination of the structure and unsteady behavior of LEVs,conducted by means of detailed numerical simulations,are also presented.

Experimental and numerical study of tip injection in a subsonic axial flow compressor

Parametric study of tip injection was implemented experimentally on a subsonic axial flow compressor to understand the underlying flow mechanisms of stability improvement of the compressor with discrete tip injection.Injector throat height varied from 2 to 6 times the height of rotor tip clearance,and circumferential coverage percentage ranged from 8.3% to 25% of the annulus.Static pressure fluctuations over the rotor tip were measured with fast-response pressure transducers.Whole-passage time-accurate simulations were also carried out to help us understand the flow details.The combinations of tip injection with traditional casing treatments were experimentally studied to generate an engineering-acceptable method of compressor stall control.The results indicate that the maximum stability improvement is achieved when injectors are choked despite their different sizes.The effect of circumferential coverage percentage on compressor stability depends on the value of injector throat height for un-choked injectors,and vice versa.Tip blockage in the blade passage is greatly reduced by the choked injectors,which is the primary reason for stability enhancement.The accomplishment of blockage diminishment is maintained in the circumferential direction with the unsteady effect of tip injection,which manifests as a hysteresis between the recovery of tip blockage and the recovery of tip leakage vortex.The unsteady effect is primarily responsible for the effectiveness of tip injection with a partial circumferential coverage.Tip injection cannot enhance the stability of the rotor with axial slots significantly,but it can improve the stability of the rotor with circumferential grooves further.The combined structure of tip injection with circumferential grooves is an alternative for engineering application.