Application of an Analytical Method to Locate a Mixing Plane in a Supersonic Compressor

In order to achieve greater pressure ratios, compressor designers have the opportunity to use transonic configurations. In the supersonic part of the incoming flow, shock waves appear in the front part of the blades and propagate in the upstream direction. In case of multiple blade rows, steady simulations have to impose an azimuthal averaging （mixing plane） which prevents these shock waves to extend upstream. In the present paper, several mixing plane locations are numerically tested and compared in a supersonic configuration. An analytical method is used to describe the shock pattern. It enables to take a critical look at the CFD （computational fluid dynamics） steady results. Based on this method, the shock losses are also evaluated. The good agreement between analytical and numerical values shows that this method can be useful to wisely forecast the mixing plane location and to evaluate the shift in performances due to the presence of the mixing plane.

Temporal Behaviour of a Corner Separation in a Radial Vaned Diffuser of a Centrifugal Compressor Operating near Surge

The temporal behaviour of a flow separation in the hub-suction side comer of a transonic diffuser is studied thanks to unsteady numerical simulations based on the phase-lagged approach. The validity of the numerical re- sults is confn＇med by comparison with experimental unsteady pressure measurements. An analysis of the instan- taneous skin-friction pattern and particles trajectories is presented. It highlights the topology of the separation and its temporal behaviour. The major result is that, despite of a highly time-dependent core flow, the separation is found to be a ＂fixed unsteady separation＂ characterized by a fixed location of the main saddle of the separation but an extent of the stall region modulated by the pressure waves induced by the impeller-diffuser interaction.

Full-Annulus Simulation of the Surge Inception in a Transonic Centrifugal Compressor

Full annulus simulations of the flow which develops in a transonic centrifugal compressor are performed at two stable operating points （peak efficiency and near surge） and during the path to surge. At stable conditions, the flow field properties are analyzed by comparisons with experimental data and numerical simulations using a phase lagged approach previously carried out. Regarding the stage overall performance, an excellent agreement is obtained between the numerical results （both with time lagged approach and full-annulus calculation） and the ex- periments. From the full-annnlus simulations, the change in flow pattern from peak efficiency to surge is found to be perfectly similar to that obtained from the simulations using the time lagged approach. In particular, pro- vided that the operating point is stable, the flow proves to be chorochronic. The full-annulus simulations were continued after a unique small change in the throttle law applied at the exit of the numerical domain. The mass flow, pressure ratio and efficiency then significantly drop all the more the time progresses. The simulation becomes unstable and the surge inception well underway. The path to surge is found to be due to the enlargement of the boundary layer separation on the suction side of the diffuser vanes in accordance with the conclusions drawn from the chorochronic simulations and experiments. But as the time progresses, the flow loses its chorochronic character. Stall cells rotating at around 7% of the rotor speed develop and lead to surge in around 5 revolutions.