An Experimental Study of the Compressor Rotor Blade Boundary Layer

1985 ◽  
Vol 107 (2) ◽  
pp. 364-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Pouagare ◽  
J. M. Galmes ◽  
B. Lakshminarayana

The three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer developing on a rotor blade of an axial flow compressor was measured using a minature “x” configuration hot-wire probe. The measurements were carried out at nine radial locations on both surfaces of the blade at various chordwise locations. The data derived includes streamwise and radial mean velocities and turbulence intensities. The validity of conventional velocity profiles such as the “power law profile” for the streamwise profile, and Mager and Eichelbrenner’s for the radial profile, is examined. A modification to Mager’s crossflow profile is proposed. Away from the blade tip, the streamwise component of the blade boundary layer seems to be mainly influenced by the streamwise pressure gradient. Near the tip of the blade, the behavior of the blade boundary layer is affected by the tip leakage flow and the annulus wall boundary layer. The “tangential blockage” due to the blade boundary layer is derived from the data. The profile losses are found to be less than that of an equivalent cascade, except in the tip region of the blade.

Author(s):  
Hari Krishna Borra ◽  
Dilipkumar Bhanudasji Alone

This paper describes the method to improve the stall margin of transonic axial flow compressor by controlling the boundary layer on the suction surface of the rotor blade tip through natural aspiration. Aspiration slots in the compressor blade are intended to energize the flow by increasing its momentum on the suction surface. This phenomenon of boundary layer control can delay the flow separation and hence results in enhancement of the stall margin of the compressor stage. Flow behavior with aspiration slots and its performance are evaluated using commercially available numerical software. Steady state RANS simulations with three dimensional implicit pressure-based coupled solver and turbulence model SST k-ω are used. The effect of natural aspiration slot on the rotor blade performance is computed numerically. The main objective of the study was to identify the optimum location of the aspiration slot along the chord of the compressor on the rotor blade. The axial location chosen for the performance evaluations were 20%,40%,50%,60% and 70% of the rotor blade axial tip chord. By comparing the numerical simulation results with the steady state behavior in the absence of the aspirated slots, the optimized location of the aspiration slot that results in maximum stall improvement is identified. At the optimized location, natural aspiration slots on the rotor blade tip improved the stall margin with the minimum reduction in efficiency and stage pressure ratio when compared to base model. After critically understanding the performance with straight aspiration slots the compressor stage performance has enhanced further by orienting the aspiration slots. The numerical three dimensional results conclude an optimal improvement in the stall margin for the slots near the trailing edge of the rotor. The prediction shows that with the inclined aspiration slots at proper location it is possible to improve the stall margin of the compressor stage and also to restore the stage efficiency.


1995 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 336-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Lakshminarayana ◽  
M. Zaccaria ◽  
B. Marathe

Detailed measurements of the flow field in the tip region of an axial flow compressor rotor were carried out using a rotating five-hole probe. The axial, tangential, and radial components of relative velocity, as well as the static and stagnation pressures, were obtained at two axial locations, one at the rotor trailing edge, the other downstream of the rotor. The measurements were taken up to about 26 percent of the blade span from the blade tip. The data are interpreted to understand the complex nature of the flow in the tip region, which involves the interaction of the tip leakage flow, the annulus wall boundary layer and the blade wake. The experimental data show that the leakage jet does not roll up into a vortex. The leakage jet exiting from the tip gap is of high velocity and mixes quickly with the mainstream, producing intense shearing and flow separation. There are substantial differences in the structure of tip clearance observed in cascades and rotors.


1984 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-345
Author(s):  
B. Lakshminarayana ◽  
N. Sitaram

The annulus wall boundary layer inside the blade passage of the inlet guide vane (IGV) passage of a low-speed axial compressor stage was measured with a miniature five-hole probe. The three-dimensional velocity and pressure fields were measured at various axial and tangential locations. Limiting streamline angles and static pressures were also measured on the casing of the IGV passage. Strong secondary vorticity was developed. The data were analyzed and correlated with the existing velocity profile correlations. The end wall losses were also derived from these data.


Author(s):  
Yanhui Wu ◽  
Wuli Chu ◽  
Xingen Lu ◽  
Junqiang Zhu

The current paper reports on investigations with an aim to advance the understanding of the flow field near the casing of a small-scale high-speed axial flow compressor rotor. Steady three dimensional viscous flow calculations are applied to obtain flow fields at various operating conditions. To demonstrate the validity of the computation, the numerical results are first compared with available measured data. Then, the numerically obtained flow fields are analyzed to identify the behavior of tip leakage flow, and the mechanism of blockage generation arising from flow interactions between the tip clearance flow, the blade/casing wall boundary layers, and non-uniform main flow. The current investigation indicates that the “breakdown” of the tip leakage vortex occurs inside the rotor passage at the near stall condition. The vortex “breakdown” results in the low-energy fluid accumulating on the casing wall spreads out remarkably, which causes a sudden growth of the casing wall boundary layer having a large blockage effect. A low-velocity region develops along the tip clearance vortex at the near stall condition due to the vortex “breakdown”. As the mass flow rate is further decreased, this area builds up rapidly and moves upstream. This area prevents incoming flow from passing through the pressure side of the passage and forces the tip leakage flow to spill into the adjacent blade passage from the pressure side at the leading edge. It is found that the tip leakage flow exerts little influence on the development of the blade suction surface boundary layer even at the near stall condition.


Author(s):  
G. Perrin ◽  
F. Leboeuf ◽  
W. N. Dawes

A three-dimensional computation has been performed for a supersonic axial flow compressor rotor by solving the Navier-Stokes equations. The results of the computation are used to analyse the tip leakage flow in more detail. As well as the global behaviour of the tip leakage vortex, the analysis focuses on the origins of this vortex. It is shown that the main source of its vorticity is the shear layer at the tip of the blade associated with the shedding of the blade loading. A separation occurs, with respect to the axial velocity component, as the jet leakage flow, crossing the clearance gap, encounters the upstream incoming flow. Although the entropy increase of this separation is low, it has a strong effect on the mixing around the leakage vortex. Overall, for this compressor and the choosen operating point, the tip leakage effects are localised near the tip wall and suction side of the blade.


Author(s):  
I. G. Nikolaou ◽  
K. C. Giannakoglou ◽  
K. D. Papailiou

A three-dimensional space marching code is used for the numerical modelling of the flow in an isolated axial flow compressor rotor. The rotor is analyzed at four operating points, up to near stall conditions. Numerical results are first validated versus available experimental data and then further exploited in order to illuminate flow patterns in the inter-blade region. The tip leakage impact on the main passage flow and losses level as well as the effect of blade loading on the hub corner stall extent and the radial displacement of the flow are fully detailed. In order to account for the rotor geometry, the modifications performed in an existing software are mainly concerned with the accurate modelling of the clearance which is formed above the curved blade tip; for this purpose, a local H-type mesh is embedded to the main passage grid.


Author(s):  
Hiroaki Kikuta ◽  
Ken-ichiro Iwakiri ◽  
Masato Furukawa ◽  
Kazutoyo Yamada ◽  
Satoshi Gunjishima ◽  
...  

The unsteady behaviors and three-dimensional flow structure of the spike-type stall inception in an axial flow compressor rotor have been investigated by experimental and numerical analyses. In order to capture the transient phenomena of spike-type stall inception experimentally, “SFMT (Simultaneous Field Measurement Technique)”, by which instantaneous pressure distributions on the casing wall were acquired, was developed. By applying this technique, the unsteady flow pattern on the casing wall was extracted for each phase of development process of the stall inception. The details of three-dimensional flow structure in the stall inception process were revealed by the numerical analysis using a detached-eddy simulation (DES). At the stall inception, the characteristic patterns of the casing wall pressure distributions are observed in the experimental results: the low pressure regions moving in the circumferential direction and the variations of the low pressure regions at the leading edge. Considering the results of DES, these patterns are made by the vortices fragmented from the deformed tip leakage vortex or the tornado-type separation vortex and also are made by the tornado-type separation vortex itself, as well. The vortical flow structures have been elucidated. These vortices actually result from the leading edge separation at the blade tip. Therefore, it has been found that spike-type stall inception is dominated by the leading edge separation at the rotor blade tip.


1986 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Lakshminarayana ◽  
P. Popovski

A comprehensive study of the three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer on a compressor rotor blade at peak pressure rise coefficient is reported in this paper. The measurements were carried out at various chordwise and radial locations on a compressor rotor blade using a rotating miniature “V” configuration hot-wire probe. The data are compared with the measurement at the design condition. Substantial changes in the blade boundary layer characteristics are observed, especially in the outer sixteen percent of the blade span. The increased chordwise pressure gradient and the leakage flow at the peak pressure coefficient have a cumulative effect in increasing the boundary layer growth on the suction surface. The leakage flow has a beneficial effect on the pressure surface. The momentum and boundary layer thicknesses increase substantially from those at the design condition, especially near the outer radii of the suction surface.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (19) ◽  
pp. 6143
Author(s):  
Xiaoxiong Wu ◽  
Bo Liu ◽  
Botao Zhang ◽  
Xiaochen Mao

Numerical simulations have been performed to study the effect of the circumferential single-grooved casing treatment (CT) at multiple locations on the tip-flow stability and the corresponding control mechanism at three tip-clearance-size (TCS) schemes in a transonic axial flow compressor rotor. The results show that the CT is more efficient when its groove is located from 10% to 40% tip axial chord, and G2 (located at near 20% tip axial chord) is the best CT scheme in terms of stall-margin improvement for the three TCS schemes. For effective CTs, the tip-leakage-flow (TLF) intensity, entropy generation and tip-flow blockage are reduced, which makes the interface between TLF and mainstream move downstream. A quantitative analysis of the relative inlet flow angle indicates that the reduction of flow incidence angle is not necessary to improve the flow stability for this transonic rotor. The control mechanism may be different for different TCS schemes due to the distinction of the stall inception process. For a better application of CT, the blade tip profile should be further modified by using an optimization method to adjust the shock position and strength during the design of a more efficient CT.


1981 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 430-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Strazisar ◽  
J. A. Powell

A laser anemometer system employing an efficient data acquisition technique has been used to make measurements upstream, within, and downstream of the compressor rotor. A fluorescent dye technique allowed measurements within endwall boundary layers. Adjustable laser beam orientation minimized shadowed regions and enabled radial velocity measurements outside of the blade row. The flow phenomena investigated include flow variations from passage to passage, the rotor shock system, three-dimensional flows in the blade wake, and the development of the outer endwall boundary layer. Laser anemometer measurements are compared to a numerical solution of the streamfunction equations and to measurements made with conventional instrumentation.


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