Effect of Boundary Layer Suction on the Corner Separation in a Highly Loaded Axial Compressor Cascade

2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tian Liang ◽  
Bo Liu ◽  
Stephen Spence
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Compressor Cascade ◽  
Flow Uniformity ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Corner Separation ◽  
Boundary Layer Suction ◽  
End Wall ◽  
Highly Loaded

Abstract Control of corner separation in axial compressor blade rows has attracted much interest due to its potential to improve compressor efficiency and the energy utilization in turbomachinery. This paper investigates the effectiveness and mechanisms of boundary layer suction in controlling the corner separation of a highly loaded axial compressor cascade. Numerical simulations have been carried out to investigate the effect of different suction schemes on the loss downstream of the cascade and the change in incidence characteristics with the variation of the suction flowrate. The results show that the effectiveness of flow suction in controlling the flow separation depends heavily on the proportion of the blade for which it is applied. It was found that suction along part of the blade span on the suction surface could effectively remove the separation at the region of the span influenced by the suction slot. However, this resulted in a deterioration of the flow field at other parts of the span. The full-span suction scheme on the suction surface not only eliminated the separation of the boundary layer in the middle of the blade but also significantly improved the flow uniformity near the end-wall. Despite the improvement in flow uniformity using the full-span suction scheme, a three-dimensional (3D) corner separation still existed due to the strong cross-passage pressure gradient. To improve the flow field uniformity further, two combined suction schemes with one spanwise slot on the suction surface and another slot on the end-wall were designed in order to fully remove both the separated flow on the blade suction surface and the 3D corner separation. It was found that the total pressure loss coefficient was reduced significantly by 63.8% with suction flowrates of 1.88% and 0.82% for the slots on the suction surface and the end-wall, respectively. Further work showed that the behavior of the loss coefficient is different as the combination of suction flowrates is changed for different incidence. The cascade loss at high incidence operation can be more effectively reduced with suction control on the end-wall. When implementing combined suction, it is necessary to determine the best combination of suction flowrate according to the incidence level.

Effect of Boundary Layer Suction on the Corner Separation in a Highly Loaded Axial Compressor Cascade

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tian Liang ◽  
Bo Liu ◽  
Stephen Spence
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Compressor Cascade ◽  
Flow Uniformity ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Corner Separation ◽  
Boundary Layer Suction ◽  
End Wall ◽  
Suction Flow

Abstract Control of corner separation in axial compressor blade rows has attracted much interest due to its potential to improve compressor efficiency and the energy utilization in turbomachinery. This paper investigates the effectiveness and mechanisms of boundary layer suction in controlling the corner separation of a highly loaded axial compressor cascade. Numerical simulations have been carried out to investigate the effect of different suction schemes on the loss downstream of the cascade and the change in incidence characteristics with the variation of the suction flow rate. The results show that the effectiveness of flow suction in controlling the flow separation depends heavily on the proportion of the blade for which it is applied. It was found that suction along part of the blade span on the suction surface could effectively remove the separation at the region of the span influenced by the suction slot. However, this resulted in a deterioration of the flow field at other parts of the span. The full span suction scheme on the suction surface not only eliminated the separation of the boundary layer in the middle of the blade, but also significantly improved the flow uniformity near the end-wall. Despite the improvement in flow uniformity using the full-span suction scheme, a three-dimensional (3D) corner separation still existed due to the strong cross-passage pressure gradient. To improve the flow field uniformity further, two combined suction schemes with one spanwise slot on the suction surface and another slot on the end-wall were designed in order to fully remove both the separated flow on the blade suction surface and the 3D corner separation. It was found that the total pressure loss coefficient was reduced significantly by 63.8% with suction flow rates of 1.88% and 0.82% for the slots on the suction surface and the end-wall respectively. Further work showed that the behavior of the loss coefficient is different as the combination of suction flow rates is changed for different incidence. The cascade loss at high incidence operation can be more effectively reduced with suction control on the end-wall. When implementing combined suction, it is necessary to determine the best combination of suction flow rate according to the incidence level.

Location Effect of Boundary Layer Suction on Compressor Hub-Corner Separation

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping-Ping Chen ◽  
Wei-Yang Qiao ◽  
Karsten Liesner ◽  
Robert Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Base Flow ◽  
Total Pressure Loss ◽  
Compressor Cascade ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Corner Separation ◽  
Boundary Layer Suction

The large secondary flow area in the compressor hub-corner region usually leads to three-dimensional separation in the passage with large amounts of total pressure loss. In this paper numerical simulations of a linear high-speed compressor cascade, consisting of five NACA 65-K48 stator profiles, were performed to analyze the flow mechanism of hub-corner separation for the base flow. Experimental validation is used to verify the numerical results. Active control of the hub-corner separation was investigated by using boundary layer suction. The influence of the selected locations of the endwall suction slot was investigated in an effort to quantify the gains of the compressor cascade performance. The results show that the optimal chordwise location should contain the development section of the three-dimensional corner separation downstream of the 3D corner separation onset. The best pitchwise location should be close enough to the vanes’ suction surface. Therefore the optimal endwall suction location is the MTE slot, the one from 50% to 75% chord at the hub, close to the blade suction surface. By use of the MTE slot with 1% suction flow ratio, the total-pressure loss is substantially decreased by about 15.2% in the CFD calculations and 9.7% in the measurement at the design operating condition.

Effects of Boundary Layer Suction on the Performance of Compressor Cascades

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fu Chen ◽  
Yanping Song ◽  
Huanlong Chen ◽  
Zhongqi Wang
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Aerodynamic Performance ◽  
Compressor Cascade ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Boundary Layer Suction ◽  
Suction Flow ◽  
Suction Slot ◽  
Highly Loaded

The effects of boundary layer suction on the aerodynamic performance of compressor cascade are mainly determined by: (1) the location of the suction slot; (2) the suction flow rate; (3) the suction slot geometry; and (4) the aerodynamic parameters of the cascade (e.g. solidity and incidence). In this paper, an extensive numerical study has been carried out to investigate the effects of these influencing factors in a highly-loaded compressor cascade by comparing the aerodynamic performance of the cascade in order to give guidance for the application of boundary layer suction to improve the performance of modern highly-loaded compressors. The results show that boundary layer suction alleviates the accumulation of low-energy fluid at suction surface corners and enhances the ability of flow turning, and this improvement in flow behavior depends on the location of the suction slot and the suction flow rate. When the location of the suction slot and the suction flow rate are fixed, as the cascade solidity decreases from 1.819 to 1.364 and 1.091, the cascade total pressure loss is reduced at most by 25.1%, 27.7% and 32.9% respectively, and the cascade exit flow deviation is decreased by 3.1°, 4.2° and 5.0° accordingly. Moreover, boundary layer suction also has the largest effect in the cascade with smaller solidity at large positive incidences, which means that boundary layer suction is an effective way to widen the stable operating range of the highly-loaded compressor cascade. The suction slot geometry is described by the suction slot width and the suction slot angle with respect to the direction normal to the blade suction surface. The results show that the flow behavior is improved and the endwall loss is reduced further as the increase of the suction slot width. The suction slot angle has an obvious influence on the pressure inside the slot, therefore, should be considered in the design of the suction slot since the maximum pressure inside the slot is usually required.

Control of Three-Dimensional Separations in Axial Compressors by Tailored Boundary Layer Suction

2007 ◽  
Vol 130 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Semiu A. Gbadebo ◽  
Nicholas A. Cumpsty ◽  
Tom P. Hynes
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Surface Flow ◽  
Compressor Cascade ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Blade Passage ◽  
Boundary Layer Suction ◽  
End Wall

One of the important ways of improving turbomachinery compressor performance is to control three-dimensional (3D) separations, which form over the suction surface and end wall corner of the blade passage. Based on the insights gained into the formation of these separations, this paper illustrates how an appropriately applied boundary layer suction of up to 0.7% of inlet mass flow can control and eliminate typical compressor stator hub corner 3D separation over a range of operating incidence. The paper describes, using computational fluid dynamics, the application of suction on the blade suction surface and end wall boundary layers and exemplifies the influence of end wall dividing streamline in initiating 3D separation in the blade passage. The removal of the separated region from the blade suction surface is confirmed by an experimental investigation in a compressor cascade involving surface flow visualization, surface static pressure, and exit loss measurements. The ensuing passage flow field is characterized by increased blade loading (static pressure difference between pressure and suction surface), enhanced average static pressure rise, significant loss removal, and a uniform exit flow. This result also enables the contribution of the 3D separation to the overall loss and passage blockage to be assessed.

Effect of Boundary Layer Suction on Aerodynamic Performance of High-Turning Compressor Cascade

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Longxin Zhang ◽  
Shaowen Chen ◽  
Hao Xu ◽  
Jun Ding ◽  
Songtao Wang
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Aerodynamic Performance ◽  
Parameter Distribution ◽  
Compressor Cascade ◽  
Boundary Layer Suction ◽  
End Wall ◽  
Low Speed Wind Tunnel ◽  
Good Agreement

Compared with suction slots, suction holes are (1) flexible in distribution; (2) alterable in size; (3) easy to fabricate and (4) high in strength. In this paper, the numerical and experimental studies for a high turning compressor cascade with suction air removed by using suction holes in the end-wall at a low Mach numbers are carried out. The main objective of the investigation is to study the influence of different suction distributions on the aerodynamic performance of the compressor cascade and to find a better compound suction scheme. A numerical model was first made and validated by comparing with the experimental results. The computed flow visualization and exit parameter distribution showed a good agreement with experimental data. Second, the model was then used to simulate the influence of different suction distributions on the aerodynamic performance of the compressor cascade. A better compound suction scheme was obtained by summarizing numerical results and tested in a low speed wind tunnel. As a result, the compound suction scheme can be used to significantly improve the performance of the compressor cascade because the corner separation gets further suppressed.

Boundary Layer Control of an Axial Compressor Cascade Using Nonconventional Vortex Generators

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Diaa ◽  
Mohammed F. El-Dosoky ◽  
Mahmoud A. Ahmed ◽  
Omar E. Abdel-Hafez
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Passive Control ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Vortex Generators ◽  
Boundary Layer Control ◽  
Geometrical Parameters ◽  
Compressor Cascade ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Flow Equations ◽  
Layer Control

Boundary layer control plays a decisive role in controlling the performance of axial compressor. Vortex generators are well known as passive control devices of the boundary layer. In the current study, two nonconventional types of vortex generators are used and their effects are investigated. The used vortex generators are doublet, and wishbone. Three dimensional turbulent compressible flow equations through an axial compressor cascade are numerically simulated. Comparisons between cascade with and without vortex generators are performed to predict the effect of inserting vortex generator in the overall performance of the axial compressor. Results indicate that using vortex generators leads to eliminate or delay the separation on the blade suction surface, as well as the endwall. Furthermore, the effects of the vortex generators and their geometrical parameters on the aerodynamic performance of the cascade are documented. In conclusion, while the investigated vortex generators cause a slight increase in the total pressure loss, a significant reduction in the skin friction coefficient at the bottom endwall is found. This reduction is estimated to be about 46% using doublet and 32% using wishbone.

Flow Structure and Unsteady Behavior of Hub-Corner Separation in a Stator Cascade of a Multi-Stage Transonic Axial Compressor

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seishiro Saito ◽  
Kazutoyo Yamada ◽  
Masato Furukawa ◽  
Keisuke Watanabe ◽  
Akinori Matsuoka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Mining ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Unsteady Flow ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Flow Fields ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Corner Separation ◽  
High Loss ◽  
Stator Blade ◽  
Transonic Axial Compressor

This paper describes unsteady flow phenomena of a two-stage transonic axial compressor, especially the flow field in the first stator. The stator blade with highly loaded is likely to cause a flow separation on the hub, so-called hub-corner separation. The flow mechanism of the hub-corner separation in the first stator is investigated in detail using a large-scale detached eddy simulation (DES) conducted for its full-annulus and full-stage with approximately 4.5 hundred million computational cells. The detailed analysis of complicated flow fields in the compressor is supported by data mining techniques. The data mining techniques applied in the present study include vortex identification based on the critical point theory and topological analysis of the limiting streamline pattern. The simulation results show that the flow field in the hub-corner separation is dominated by a tornado-type separation vortex. In the time averaged flow field, the hub-corner separation vortex rolls up from the hub wall, which is generated by the interaction between the mainstream flow, the leakage flow from the front partial clearance and the secondary flow across the blade passage toward the stator blade suction side. The hub-corner separation vortex suffers a vortex breakdown near the mid chord, where the high loss region due to the hub-corner separation expands drastically. In the rear part of the stator passage, a high loss region is migrated radially outward by the induced velocity of the hub-corner separation vortex. The flow field in the stator is influenced by the upstream and downstream rotors, which makes it difficult to understand the unsteady effects. The unsteady flow fields are analyzed by applying the phase-locked ensemble averaging technique. It is found from the phase-locked flow fields that the wake interaction from the upstream rotor has more influence on the stator flow field than the shock wave interaction from the downstream rotor. In the unsteady flow field, a focal-type separation also emerges on the blade suction surface, but it is periodically swept away by the wake passing of the upstream rotor. The separation vortex on the hub wall connects with the one on the blade suction surface, forming an arch-like vortex.

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