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Experimental investigation and design of a shape-variable compressor cascade

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Abstract

The design of jet engine compressor blading always implies a compromise between design and off-design operation. The reason for this is a fixed blade geometry which has to be operated over a wide range of operating conditions. Consequently, maximum achievable efficiencies at design operation are limited by off-design requirements, e.g., a certain stall margin. This paper describes an approach using shape-variable blades equipped with integrated piezoceramic-based macro fiber composite (MFC) Actuators on the blade’s suction and pressure sides. By applying a voltage to these actuators, it is possible to increase and to decrease the blade stagger angle and therefore the blade turning. Compared to a conventional fixed blade profile, the actuated design is thus adaptable within a certain range regarding ambient conditions. The first part of the paper describes the geometry and structure of the shape-variable blades for use in a compressor cascade experiment. In the next part, the three-dimensional deformation behavior of all manufactured blades at different shape conditions is characterized with a photogrammetric measurement system called ATOS. The first results without aerodynamic loads show an average displacement at the trailing edge of approximately Δz ≈ 0.9 mm compared to the non-actuated condition. This corresponds to an average outlet angle variation of approximately ∆κ2 ≈ ± 1°. The third part of the paper presents the results of the low speed cascade experiment using a fully actuated cascade. On the one hand, the objective is to determine the influence of blade actuation on aerodynamic characteristics such as flow outlet angle, total pressure loss and pressure distributions. On the other hand, optical blade displacement measurements are used to investigate combined 2D- and 3D-deformation effects of blade actuation in conjunction with aerodynamic loads. For these measurements, the ATOS system is also used. The wake evaluations show that maximum blade actuation leads to flow outlet angle deviations up to ± 1° which can be described by an almost linear shift of the cascade performance without changing the loss distribution significantly. Furthermore, for the chosen profile this margin is approximately constant over the operating range.

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Abbreviations

AoA:

Angle of attack

GFRK:

Glass fiber reinforced plastic

VSV:

Variable stator vanes

cp :

Pressure coefficient

h:

Blade span (mm)

l:

Chord length (mm)

Ma:

Mach number (–)

n:

Rotational speed (min−1)

q:

Dynamic pressure (Pa)

s:

Standard deviation (μm)

t:

Blade pitch (mm)

w:

Flow velocity (m/s)

x:

x-coordinate of ATOS-measurements (mm)

y:

y-coordinate of ATOS-measurements (mm)

z:

z-coordinate of ATOS-measurements (mm)

xC :

x-coordinate of cascade (mm)

yC :

y-coordinate of cascade (mm)

zC :

z-coordinate of cascade (mm)

Δz:

Displacement variation in z-direction (mm)

B:

Flow angle (°)

βS :

Probe angle (°)

Δβ:

Blade turning (°)

ζV :

Total pressure loss (–)

κ:

Blade angle (°)

Δκ:

Blade angle variation (°)

λ :

Stagger angle (°)

Δλ :

Stagger angle variation (°)

σ:

Solidity (–)

ϕ:

Camber angle (°)

1, 2:

Stations

REF:

Reference condition/blade

MAX:

Maximum stagger angle condition

MIN:

Minimum stagger angle condition

AL:

Aerodynamic loading (windtunnel “on”)

LE:

Leading edge

MFC:

Macro fibre composite

pp:

Peak-to-peak

TE:

Trailing edge

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Jet Propulsion and Turbomachinery, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Hermann-Blenk-Str. 37, 38108, Brunswick, Germany

    J. H. Krone, F. Schur & J. Friedrichs

  2. Institute of Composite Structures and Adaptive Systems, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Lilienthalplatz 7, 38108, Brunswick, Germany

    O. Huxdorf, J. Riemenschneider, H. P. Monner & M. Wiedemann

Authors
  1. J. H. Krone
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  2. O. Huxdorf
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  3. J. Riemenschneider
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  4. H. P. Monner
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  5. F. Schur
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  6. J. Friedrichs
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  7. M. Wiedemann
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. H. Krone.

Additional information

This paper is based on a presentation at the German Aerospace Congress, September 22-24, 2015, Rostock, Germany.

Appendix

Appendix

See Figs. 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 41, 42.

Fig. 21
figure 21

Blade deformations at the pressure side between condition MIN and REF without aerodynamic loads for β 1 = 25°

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Fig. 22
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Blade deformations at the pressure side between condition MAX and REF without aerodynamic loads for β 1 = 25°

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Blade deformations at the pressure side between condition MIN and REF without aerodynamic loads for β 1 = 45°

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Fig. 24
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Blade deformations at the pressure side between condition MAX and REF without aerodynamic loads for β 1 = 45°

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Fig. 25
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Blade deformations at the pressure side caused by the flow between condition REFAL and REF for β 1 = 25°

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Fig. 26
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Blade deformations at the pressure side caused by the flow between condition MINAL and MIN for β 1 = 25°

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Fig. 27
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Blade deformations at the pressure side caused by the flow between condition MAXAL and MAX for β 1 = 25°

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Fig. 28
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Blade deformations at the pressure side caused by the flow between condition MINAL and MIN for β 1 = 30°

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Fig. 29
figure 29

Blade deformations at the pressure side caused by the flow between condition MAXAL and MAX for β 1 = 30°

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Fig. 30
figure 30

Blade deformations at the pressure side caused by the flow between condition REFAL and REF for β 1 = 45°

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Fig. 31
figure 31

Blade deformations at the pressure side caused by the flow between condition MINAL and MIN for β 1 = 45°

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Fig. 32
figure 32

Blade deformations at the pressure side caused by the flow between condition MAXAL and MAX for β 1 = 45°

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Fig. 33
figure 33

Actuator-induced displacements Δz at the middle section of the pressure side of blade 1 for β 1 = 30° along chord (y)

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Fig. 34
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Actuator-induced displacements Δz at the middle section of the pressure side of blade 2 for β 1 = 30° along chord (y)

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Fig. 35
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Actuator-induced displacements Δz at the middle section of the pressure side of blade 4 for β 1 = 30° along chord (y)

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Fig. 36
figure 36

Actuator-induced displacements Δz at the middle section of the pressure side of blade 5 for β 1 = 30° along chord (y)

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Fig. 37
figure 37

Actuator-induced trailing edge displacements of blade 1 at y = 5 mm for different flow angles over span (x axis) without aerodynamic loads

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Fig. 38
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Actuator-induced trailing edge displacements of blade 2 at y = 5 mm for different flow angles over span (x axis) without aerodynamic loads

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Fig. 39
figure 39

Actuator-induced trailing edge displacements of blade 4 at y = 5 mm for different flow angles over span (x axis) without aerodynamic loads

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Fig. 40
figure 40

Actuator-induced trailing edge displacements of blade 5 at y = 5 mm for different flow angles over span (x axis) without aerodynamic loads

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Fig. 41
figure 41

Trailing edge displacements Δz over span (x axis) of blade 3 at y = 5 mm caused by the flow for β 1 = 25°

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Fig. 42
figure 42

Trailing edge displacements Δz over span (x axis) of blade 3 at y = 5 mm caused by the flow for β 1 = 45°

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Krone, J.H., Huxdorf, O., Riemenschneider, J. et al. Experimental investigation and design of a shape-variable compressor cascade. CEAS Aeronaut J 8, 105–127 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13272-016-0224-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13272-016-0224-1

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