Numerical simulation of shock wave/tip leakage vortex interaction for a transonic axial fan rotor

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents the steady numerical investigation on SW/TLV interaction with SST turbulence model at two characteristic operating conditions for a transonic fan rotor, NASA Rotor 67. The main purpose of the present work is to reveal the main flow structures and properties during the SW/TLV interaction, and a theoretical criterion for vortex stability is engineeringly utilized to determine such shock wave-induced vortex stability. The validations for all numerical schemes have been conducted by comparing the RANS solutions with detailed experimental data before the analyses of flow phenomenon and mechanism. The simulation results indicate that numerical methods used in NUAA-Turbo 2.0 solver, independently developed by our team, enable to accurately capture the complex flow structures including shock wave and vortex systems within the blade passages, especially in the tip region. Similar to wing-tip vortex created by vortex generator, the TLV has the same wake-type characteristics. The flow pattern generated by such interaction is characterized by the bulged-forward shock front followed by a subsonic flow region and a slight expansion of vortex core. No apparent vortex breakdown was examined by both intuitive visualization of three-dimensional vortex structure and a theoretical criterion.