Performance evaluation of a transonic axial compressor with circumferential casing grooves

Abstract

This article presents an investigation on the performance characteristics of a transonic axial compressor with the application of the circumferential casing grooves. Three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations with the shear stress turbulence model are discretized by finite volume approximations and solved on hexahedral grids for the flow analysis. The numerical results for the pressure ratio and the adiabatic efficiency show good agreement with the experimental data. The numerical stall inception point is identified from the last converged point by the convergence criterion, and the stall margin (SM) is numerically predicted. The performances of an axial compressor with rectangular shape of the circumferential casing grooves are analysed in comparison with the case of smooth casing. Additionally, the SMs and the peak adiabatic efficiencies with various shapes of the circumferential casing grooves are compared and evaluated in order to explore the influence of groove shape. The application of the circumferential casing grooves leads to significant improvement in the operating stability of compressors with slight reduction in the peak efficiency.