Transonic fan and compressor design

Abstract

Transonic fans and compressors are now widely used in gas turbine engines because of their benefits in terms of compactness and reduced weight and cost. However, careful and precise design is essential if high levels of performance are to be achieved. In this paper, the evolution of transonic compressor designs and methods is outlined, followed by more detailed descriptions of current compressor configurations and requirements and modern aerodynamic design methods and philosophies. Current procedures employ a range of methods to allow the designer to refine a new design progressively. Overall parameters, such as specific flow and mean stage loading, the axial matching between the stages at key operating conditions and the radial matching between the blade rows are set in turn, using one- and two-dimensional techniques. Finally, detailed quasi-three-dimensional and three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses are employed to refine the design. However, it is important to appreciate that the methods all have significant limitations and designers must take this into account if successful compressors are to be produced.