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Analysis of characteristics and mechanism of flow unsteadiness in a transonic compressor

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Abstract

This paper reveals the flow mechanism of unsteady flow oscillations at small mass flow rate conditions in a transonic compressor rotor. A series of unsteady RANS simulations were performed to achieve time-accurate and time-averaged flow fields. The predicted results were validated by experimental data. The present analysis indicates that the tip leakage vortex (TLV) breakdown occurs with the operating condition approaching the stability limit due to an interaction between the TLV and the shock wave. A bubble-type vortex breakdown is first observed. However, the TLV breakdown does not directly cause flow oscillations. Only if the breakdown region develops beyond a threshold volume value (9.15e−9 m3 in current case), it will influence the static pressure distribution at the pressure side of blade tip region. After that the flux of tip leakage flow, the strength of TLV, the shock/TLV interaction are varied, which in return changed the size of the breakdown region in the adjacent passage. In such a way, a self-sustained system which causes periodical flow oscillations is established. When the compressor is further throttled, the bubble- and spiral-type TLV breakdown occur alternatively, which induces a change in the frequency of the periodical flow oscillation. Although the characteristic frequency of flow oscillation changes with the transition of operating conditions, the trigger for flow unsteadiness is the same as that in the bubble-type breakdown case, namely the changes of static pressure distribution at the pressure side of blade tip. Moreover, during the transition from bubble- to spiral-type breakdown, the breakdown region significantly increases, resulting in a more severe pressure fluctuation in the flow field.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.

Code availability

The study was performed by NUMECA software.

Abbreviations

Π :

Total pressure ratio

m :

Mass flow rate, kg/s

V t :

Tangential velocity, m/s

A m :

Amplitude of mass flow oscillation, kg/s

f :

Frequency

P RMS :

Root mean square of static pressure

ξ n :

Normalized absolute vorticity

W :

Relative velocity, m/s

P :

Static pressure, pa

τ :

Physical time step, s

Vol:

Volume of reverse flow region, m3

Q :

Flux of tip leakage flow, m3/s

H n :

Normalized helicity

LE:

Leading edge

TE:

Trailing edge

TLV:

Tip leakage vortex

CAL:

Calculation

EXP:

Experiment

TAV:

Time-averaged

PE:

Peak-efficiency

FFT:

Fast Fourier transform

BPF:

Blade passing frequency

PS:

Pressure side of the blade

SS:

Suction side of the blade

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the supports of National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant Nos. 51790512, 11572257, 51536006 and the Innovation Foundation for Doctor Dissertation of Northwestern Polytechnical University No. CX201911.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Power and Energy, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, 710129, Shaanxi, China

    Guangyao An, Yanhui Wu, Jinhua Lang & Zhiyang Chen

  2. Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Internal Aerodynamics in Aero-Engine, Xi’an, 710072, Shaanxi, China

    Yanhui Wu

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  1. Guangyao An
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Correspondence to Yanhui Wu.

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An, G., Wu, Y., Lang, J. et al. Analysis of characteristics and mechanism of flow unsteadiness in a transonic compressor. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 43, 98 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-021-02830-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-021-02830-y

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