Numerical and Experimental Investigation on a Low-Speed Compressor Cascade With Circulation Control

Abstract

Experimental and numerical results for the flow through a stator cascade with active flow control are discussed. By blowing air through a slot close to the trailing edge of the aerofoils, the deflection angle as well as the static pressure rise in the stator are increased. The aerofoil design is representative for a 1st-stage stator geometry of a multi-stage compressor adapted for low–speed applications. To allow a reasonable transfer of the high-speed results to low-speed wind tunnel conditions, a corresponding cascade geometry was generated applying the Prandtl–Glauert analogy. With this modified cascade numerical simulations and experiments have been conducted at a Reynolds number of 5 · 105. As a reference case two-dimensional flow simulations without circulation control are considered using a Navier–Stokes solver. In the related wind tunnel tests three–dimensional conditions occur in the test rig. Nevertheless five–hole probe measurements in the wake of the blade mid section show a good agreement with the theoretical characteristics. Additional investigation along the whole blade span gives a deeper insight into the flow topology. For design conditions different blowing rates are applied. The wind tunnel tests confirm the positive benefit, which is predicted by two-dimensional calculations. The offset between simulated and measured pressure rise decreases with increasing blowing mass flows due to the reduction of the axial velocity ratio. This result is related to a redistribution of the passage flow which can only be explained in a three–dimensional analysis including the side wall influence. The benefit of the circulation control at varying blowing rates is finally characterized by the efficiency and the static pressure rise per injected energy.