Characteristics of Stable Rotating Stall Cells in an Axial Compressor

Author(s):  
Adam R. Hickman ◽  
Scott C. Morris

Flow field measurements of a high-speed axial compressor are presented during pre-stall and post-stall conditions. The paper provides an analysis of measurements from a circumferential array of unsteady shroud static pressure sensors during stall cell development. At low-speed, the stall cell approached a stable size in approximately two rotor revolutions. At higher speeds, the stall cell developed within a short amount of time after stall inception, but then fluctuated in circumferential extent as the compressor transiently approached a stable post-stall operating point. The size of the stall cell was found to be related to the annulus average flow coefficient. A discussion of Phase-Locked Average (PLA) statistics on flow field measurements during stable operation is also included. In conditions where rotating stall is present, flow field measurements can be Double Phase-Locked Averaged (DPLA) using a once-per-revolution (1/Rev) pulse and the period of the stall cell. The DPLA method provides greater detail and understanding into the structure of the stall cell. DPLA data indicated that a stalled compressor annulus can be considered to contained three main regions: over-pressurized passages, stalled passages, and recovering passages. Within the over-pressured region, rotor passages exhibited increased blade loading and pressure ratio compared to pre-stall values.

Author(s):  
Joel M. Haynes ◽  
Gavin J. Hendricks ◽  
Alan H. Epstein

A three-stage, low speed axial research compressor has been actively stabilized by damping low amplitude circumferentially travelling waves which can grow into rotating stall. Using a circumferential array of hot wire sensors, and an array of high speed individually positioned control vanes as the actuator, the first and second spatial harmonics of the compressor were stabilized down to a characteristic slope of 0.9, yielding an 8% increase in operating flow range. Stabilization of the third spatial harmonic did not alter the stalling flow coefficient. The actuators were also used open loop to determine the forced response behavior of the compressor. A system identification procedure applied to the forced response data then yielded the compressor transfer function. The Moore-Greitzer, 2-D, stability model was modified as suggested by the measurements to include the effect of blade row time lags on the compressor dynamics. This modified Moore-Greitzer model was then used to predict both the open and closed loop dynamic response of the compressor. The model predictions agreed closely with the experimental results. In particular, the model predicted both the mass flow at stall without control and the design parameters needed by, and the range extension realized from, active control.


Author(s):  
Jan Siemann ◽  
Ingolf Krenz ◽  
Joerg R. Seume

Reducing the fuel consumption is a main objective in the development of modern aircraft engines. Focusing on aircraft for mid-range flight distances, a significant potential to increase the engines overall efficiency at off-design conditions exists in reducing secondary flow losses of the compressor. For this purpose, Active Flow Control (AFC) by aspiration or injection of fluid at near wall regions is a promising approach. To experimentally investigate the aerodynamic benefits of AFC by aspiration, a 4½-stage high-speed axial-compressor at the Leibniz Universitaet Hannover was equipped with one AFC stator row. The numerical design of the AFC-stator showed significant hub corner separations in the first and second stator for the reference configuration at the 80% part-load speed-line near stall. Through the application of aspiration at the first stator, the numerical simulations predict the complete suppression of the corner separation not only in the first, but also in the second stator. This leads to a relative increase in overall isentropic efficiency of 1.47% and in overall total pressure ratio of 4.16% compared to the reference configuration. To put aspiration into practice, the high-speed axial-compressor was then equipped with a secondary air system and the AFC stator row in the first stage. All experiments with AFC were performed for a relative aspiration mass flow of less than 0.5% of the main flow. Besides the part-load speed-lines of 55% and 80%, the flow field downstream of each blade row was measured at the AFC design point. Experimental results are in good agreement with the numerical predictions. The use of AFC leads to an increase in operating range at the 55% part-load speed-line of at least 19%, whereas at the 80% part-load speed-line no extension of operating range occurs. Both speed-lines, however, do show a gain in total pressure ratio and isentropic efficiency for the AFC configuration compared to the reference configuration. Compared to the AFC design point, the isentropic efficiency ηis rises by 1.45%, whereas the total pressure ratio Πtot increases by 1.47%. The analysis of local flow field data shows that the hub corner separation in the first stator is reduced by aspiration, whereas in the second stator the hub corner separation slightly increases. The application of AFC in the first stage further changes the stage loading in all downstream stages. While the first and third stage become unloaded by application of AFC, the loading in terms of the De-Haller number increases in the second and especially in the fourth stage. Furthermore, in the reference as well as in the AFC configuration, the fourth stator performs significantly better than predicted by numerical results.


2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. S. Spakovszky ◽  
C. H. Roduner

In turbocharger applications, bleed air near the impeller exit is often used for secondary flow systems to seal bearing compartments and to balance the thrust load on the bearings. There is experimental evidence that the performance and operability of highly-loaded centrifugal compressor designs can be sensitive to the amount of bleed air. To investigate the underlying mechanisms and to assess the impact of bleed air on the compressor dynamic behavior, a research program was carried out on a preproduction, 5.0 pressure ratio, high-speed centrifugal compressor stage of advanced design. The investigations showed that bleed air can significantly reduce the stable flow range. Compressor rig experiments, using an array of unsteady pressure sensors and a bleed valve to simulate a typical turbocharger environment, suggest that the path into compression system instability is altered by the bleed flow. Without the bleed flow, the prestall behavior is dominated by short-wavelength disturbances, or so called “spikes,” in the vaneless space between the impeller and the vaned diffuser. Introducing bleed flow at the impeller exit reduces endwall blockage in the vaneless space and destabilizes the highly-loaded vaned diffuser. The impact is a 50% reduction in stable operating range. The altered diffuser characteristic reduces the compression system damping responsible for long-wavelength modal prestall behavior. A four-lobed backward traveling rotating stall wave is experimentally measured in agreement with calculations obtained from a previously developed dynamic compressor model. In addition, a self-contained endwall blockage control strategy was employed, successfully recovering 75% of the loss in surge-margin due to the bleed flow and yielding a one point increase in adiabatic compressor efficiency.


2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
O. G. McGee ◽  
K. L. Coleman

General methodologies are proposed in this two-part paper that further phenomenological understanding of compressible stall inception and aeromechanical control of high-speed axial compressors and engine performance. Developed in Part I are strategies for passive stabilization of compressible rotating stall, using tailored structural design and aeromechanical feedback control, implemented in certain classes of high-speed axial compressors used in research laboratories and by industry. Fundamentals of the stability of various dynamically-compensated, high-speed compressors was set down from linearized, compressible structural-hydrodynamic equations of modal stall inception extended further in this study from previous work. A dimensionless framework for performance-based design of aeromechanically-controlled compression system stall mitigation and engine performance is established, linking specified design flow and work-transfer (pressure) operability to model stages or local blade components, velocity triangle environment, optimum efficiency, extended stall margin and operability loci, and aeromechanical detailed design. A systematic evaluation was made in Part II (Coleman and McGee, 2013, “Aeromechanical Control of High-Speed Axial Compressor Stall and Engine Performance—Part II: Assessments of Methodology,” ASME J. Fluids Eng. (to be published)) on the performance of ten aeromechanical feedback controller schemes to increase the predicted range of stable operation of two laboratory compressor characteristics assumed, using static pressure sensing and local structural actuation to rudimentary postpone high-speed modal stall inception. The maximum flow operating range for each of the ten dynamically-compensated, high-speed compression systems was determined using optimized or “tailored” structural controllers, and the results described in Part II of the companion paper are compared to maximum operating ranges achieved in corresponding low-speed compression systems.


Author(s):  
Z. S. Spakovszky ◽  
C. H. Roduner

In turbocharger applications bleed air near the impeller exit is often used for secondary flow systems to seal bearing compartments and to balance the thrust load on the bearings. There is experimental evidence that the performance and operability of highly loaded centrifugal compressor designs can be sensitive to the amount of bleed air. To investigate the underlying mechanisms and to assess the impact of bleed air on the compressor dynamic behavior, a research program was carried out on a pre-production, 5.0 pressure ratio, high-speed centrifugal compressor stage of advanced design. The investigations showed that bleed air can significantly reduce the stable flow range. Compressor rig experiments, using an array of unsteady pressure sensors and a bleed valve to simulate a typical turbocharger environment, suggest that the path into compression system instability is altered by the bleed flow. Without bleed flow, the pre-stall behavior is dominated by short wavelength disturbances, or so called ‘spikes’, in the vaneless space between the impeller and the vaned diffuser. Introducing bleed flow at impeller exit reduces endwall blockage in the vaneless space and destabilizes the highly-loaded vaned diffuser. The impact is a 50% reduction in stable operating range. The altered diffuser characteristic reduces the compression system damping responsible for long wavelength, modal pre-stall behavior. A four-lobed backward traveling rotating stall wave is experimentally measured, in agreement with calculations obtained from a previously developed dynamic compressor model. In addition, a self-contained, endwall blockage control strategy was employed, successfully recovering 75% of the loss in surge-margin due to bleed flow and yielding a 1 point increase in adiabiatic compressor efficiency.


Author(s):  
ZX Liu ◽  
HZ Diao ◽  
XC Zhu ◽  
ZH Du

In this paper, a three-dimensional body force model for predicting compressor performance and stability is implemented in the Ansys CFX. The influence of the blade rows on the flow field is represented by the source terms of CFX-solver equation. At first, a high-speed and high-pressure-ratio transonic compressor with the clean inlet is investigated. The overall performance and the flow fields are in agreement well with those of the experimental date, so the model is reliable and correct. Then, the effects of the circumferential distortions in the inlet total pressure and the total temperature on the compressor performance and flow field are also illustrated, respectively. In summary, the proposed body force model is suitable to investigate the flow field of the compressor with the inlet distortions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Adam R. Hickman ◽  
Scott C. Morris

This research investigated unsteady events such as stall inception, stall-cell development, and surge. Stall is characterized by a decrease in overall pressure rise and nonaxisymmetric throughflow. Compressor stall can lead to surge which is characterized by quasi-axisymmetric fluctuations in mass flow and pressure. Unsteady measurements of the flow field around the compressor rotor are examined. During the stall inception process, initial disturbances were found within the rotor passage near the tip region. As the stall cell develops, blade lift and pressure ratio decrease within the stall cell and increase ahead of the stall cell. The stall inception event, stall-cell development, and stall recovery event were found to be nearly identical for stable rotating stall and surge cases. As the stall cell grows, the leading edge of the cell will rotate at a higher rate than the trailing edge in the rotor frame. The opposite occurs during stall recovery. The trailing edge of the stall cell will rotate at the approximate speed as the fully developed stall cell, while the leading edge decreases in rotational speed in the rotor frame.


2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Krug ◽  
Peter Busse ◽  
Konrad Vogeler

An important aspect of the aerodynamic flow field in the tip region of axial compressor rotors is the unsteady interaction between the tip clearance vortex (TCV) and the incoming stator wakes. In order to gain an improved understanding of the mechanics involved, systematic studies need to be performed. As a first step toward the characterization of the dynamic effects caused by the relative movement of the blade rows, the impact of a stationary wake-induced inlet disturbance on a linear compressor cascade with tip clearance will be analyzed. The wakes were generated by a fixed grid of cylindrical bars with variable pitch being placed at discrete pitchwise positions. This paper focuses on experimental studies conducted at the newly designed low-speed cascade wind tunnel in Dresden. The general tunnel configuration and details on the specific cascade setup will be presented. Steady state flow field measurements were carried out using five-hole probe traverses up- and downstream of the cascade and accompanied by static wall pressure readings. 2D-particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements complemented these results by visualizing the blade-to-blade flow field. Hence, the structure of the evolving secondary flow system is evaluated and compared for all tested configurations.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryosuke Seki ◽  
Satoshi Yamashita ◽  
Ryosuke Mito

Abstract The aerodynamic effects of a probe for stage performance evaluation in a high-speed axial compressor are investigated. Regarding the probe measurement accuracy and its aerodynamic effects, the upstream/downstream effects on the probe and probe insertion effects are studied by using an unsteady computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis and by verifying in two types of multistage high-speed axial compressor measurements. The probe traverse measurements were conducted at the stator inlet and outlet in each case to evaluate blade row performance quantitatively and its flow field. In the past study, the simple approximation method was carried out which considered only the interference of the probe effect based on the reduction of the mass flow by the probe blockage for the compressor performance, but it did not agree well with the measured results. In order to correctly and quantitatively grasp the mechanism of the flow field when the probe is inserted, the unsteady calculation including the probe geometry was carried out in the present study. Unsteady calculation was performed with a probe inserted completely between the rotor and stator of a 4-stage axial compressor. Since the probe blockage and potential flow field, which mean the pressure change region induced by the probe, change the operating point of the upstream rotor and increase the work of the rotor. Compared the measurement result with probe to a kiel probe setting in the stator leading edge, the total pressure was increased about 2,000Pa at the probe tip. In addition, the developed wake by the probe interferes with the downstream stator row and locally changes the static pressure at the stator exit. To evaluate the probe insertion effect, unsteady calculations with probe at three different immersion heights at the stator downstream in an 8-stage axial compressor are performed. The static pressure value of the probe tip was increased about 3,000Pa in the hub region compared to tip region, this increase corresponds to the measurement trend. On the other hand, the measured wall static pressure showed that there is no drastic change in the radial direction. In addition, when the probe is inserted from the tip to hub region in the measurement, the blockage induced by the probe was increased. As a result, operating point of the stator was locally changed, and the rise of static pressure of the stator increased when the stator incidence changed. These typical results show that unsteady simulations including probe geometry can accurately evaluate the aerodynamic effects of probes in the high-speed axial compressor. Therefore, since the probe will pinpointed and strong affects the practically local flow field in all rotor upstream passage and stator downstream, as for the probe measurement, it is important to pay attention to design the probe diameter, the distance from the blade row, and its relative position to the downstream stator. From the above investigations, a newly simple approximation method which includes the effect of the pressure change evaluation by the probe is proposed, and it is verified in the 4-stage compressor case as an example. In this method, the effects of the distance between the rotor trailing edge (T.E.) and the probe are considered by the theory of the incompressible two-dimensional potential flow. The probe blockage decreases the mass flow rate and changes the operating point of the compressor. The verification results conducted in real compressor indicate that the correct blockage approximation enables designer to estimate aerodynamic effects of the probe correctly.


Author(s):  
Marcus Lejon ◽  
Niklas Andersson ◽  
Lars Ellbrant ◽  
Hans Mårtensson

In this paper, the impact of manufacturing variations on performance of an axial compressor rotor are evaluated at design rotational speed. The geometric variations from the design intent were obtained from an optical coordinate measuring machine and used to evaluate the impact of manufacturing variations on performance and the flow field in the rotor. The complete blisk is simulated using 3D CFD calculations, allowing for a detailed analysis of the impact of geometric variations on the flow. It is shown that the mean shift of the geometry from the design intent is responsible for the majority of the change in performance in terms of mass flow and total pressure ratio for this specific blisk. In terms of polytropic efficiency, the measured geometric scatter is shown to have a higher influence than the geometric mean deviation. The geometric scatter around the mean is shown to impact the pressure distribution along the leading edge and the shock position. Furthermore, a blisk is analyzed with one blade deviating substantially from the design intent, denoted as blade 0. It is shown that the impact of blade 0 on the flow is largely limited to the blade passages that it is directly a part of. The results presented in this paper also show that the impact of this blade on the flow field can be represented by a simulation including 3 blade passages. In terms of loss, using 5 blade passages is shown to give a close estimate for the relative change in loss for blade 0 and neighboring blades.


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