Analysis of Aspect Ratio Effects on Transonic Rotor Performance Using a 3D Viscous Solver
This paper presents the results of a numerical study into the effects of aspect ratio on compressor rotor performance. The test cases studied are NASA rotors 37 and 38, which have aspect ratios of 1.19 and 1.63 respectively. A 3D, single-passage steady flow Navier-Stokes solver was used to predict complete performance characteristics, including the numerical instability point, for both rotors. The predictions are generally in good agreement with the test data (characteristics, radial profiles and rotor over tip measurements) at all conditions modelled for rotor 37. The performance for rotor 38 is overpredicted, with slightly less than half of the measured performance difference between the two rotors being captured. The effect of a pure aspect ratio change (divorced from the rotor inlet to exit area changes present in the rotor 37/38 comparisons) was also investigated, and a case with an aspect ratio double that of rotor 37 was also modelled. The results indicated that the code predicted little effect on rotor performance due to an aspect ratio change alone (from 1.19 to 2.38). This is surprising and it raises doubts about the ability of current codes (or at least the one used in the study) to predict this important aspect of a compressor design adequately.