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Investigation of Unsteady Flow Behavior in Transonic Compressor Rotors with LES and PIV MeasurementsIn the present study, unsteady flow behavior in a modern transonic axial compressor rotor is studied in detail with large eddy simulation (LES) and particle image velocimetry (PIV). The main purpose of the study is to advance the current understanding of the flow field near the blade tip in an axial transonic compressor rotor near the stall and peak-efficiency conditions. Flow interaction between the tip leakage vortex and the passage shock is inherently unsteady in a transonic compressor. Casing-mounted unsteady pressure transducers have been widely applied to investigate steady and unsteady flow behavior near the casing. Although many aspects of flow have been revealed, flow structures below the casing cannot be studied with casing-mounted pressure transducers. In the present study, unsteady velocity fields are measured with a PIV system and the measured unsteady flow fields are compared with LES simulations. The currently applied PIV measurements indicate that the flow near the tip region is not steady even at the design condition. This self-induced unsteadiness increases significantly as the compressor rotor operates near the stall condition. Measured data from PIV show that the tip clearance vortex oscillates substantially near stall. The calculated unsteady characteristics of the flow from LES agree well with the PIV measurements. Calculated unsteady flow fields show that the formation of the tip clearance vortex is intermittent and the concept of vortex breakdown from steady flow analysis does not seem to apply in the current flow field. Fluid with low momentum near the pressure side of the blade close to the leading edge periodically spills over into the adjacent blade passage. The present study indicates that stall inception is heavily dependent on unsteady behavior of the flow field near the leading edge of the blade tip section for the present transonic compressor rotor.
Document ID
20090042383
Acquisition Source
Glenn Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Hah, Chunill (NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Voges, Melanie (Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt Cologne, Germany)
Mueller, Martin (Technische Univ. Darmstadt, Germany)
Schiffer, Heinz-Peter (Technische Univ. Darmstadt, Germany)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
September 7, 2009
Subject Category
Fluid Mechanics And Thermodynamics
Report/Patent Number
ISABE-2009-02
E-17156-P
Meeting Information
Meeting: 2009 ISABE Conference
Location: Montreal
Country: Canada
Start Date: September 7, 2009
End Date: September 11, 2009
Funding Number(s)
WBS: WBS 984754.02.07.03.13.03
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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