67th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics (November 23, 2014 — November 25, 2014)

P0042: Boundary Layer Separations in a Multistage Axial Compressor

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Authors

• Natalie R. Smith, Purdue University
• Nicole L. Key, Purdue University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/APS.DFD.2014.GFM.P0042

Axial compressors for jet engines consist of sets of rotating blade rows and stationary vane rows, rotors and stators, respectively. The boundary layers on these surfaces are most susceptible to separation at the endwalls where the blade or vane meets the annulus hub and/or tip. These flow visualization images highlight the surface streaklines in the separated regions on the stators, which are critical for a few reasons:

1. They are regions of high loss. Reducing the size of these separated flow regions can help improve efficiency and reduce fuel consumption.
2. Over the life of an engine, rotor tip clearances increase and affect the inlet flow to the stators. The resulting changes in stator boundary layer flow patterns and separation are shown with increasing rotor tip clearance.
3. The computational methods used by compressor designers are typically unable to accurately predict the flow patterns pictured. These images help designers understand where their models are miscalculating losses, and ultimately, help to improve their design codes.