An Experimental Investigation of Stator Clocking Effects in a Two-Stage Low-Speed Axial Compressor

Abstract

The impact of stator clocking on performance and flow of a 2.5-stage axial compressor has been investigated. Stator clocking, the circumferential indexing of adjacent stator rows with equal blade counts, is known as a potential means to modify the flow field in multistage turbomachinery and increase overall efficiencies of both turbines and compressors. These potential effects on turbomachine performance are due to wake-airfoil interactions and primarily depend on the alignment of the downstream stator row with the upstream stator wake path. The present survey describes and discusses the experimental research on stator clocking effects in a low-speed 2.5-stage axial flow compressor, using front loaded CDA blade sections and cantilevered stator rows with identical blade counts. Conventional static pressure tappings were used to locate global peaks in compressor performance for varying Stator 2 clocking positions at different flow coefficients. Results of unsteady total pressure measurements obtained by means of a high-frequency pressure transducer, embedded in the Stator 2 leading edge, give information on Stator 1 wake propagation. Traverse data from pneumatic 5-hole probes show the impact of stator indexing on Stator 2 exit total pressure at different blade spans. Regardless of flow coefficient, the variations of overall compressor efficiency due to Stator 2 clocking are around 0.2% and are exhibiting a near-sinusoidal trend over the clocking angle. It is shown that total pressure measurements at mid-span of Stator 2 leading edge suggest best overall performances for design and low loading conditions, if the Stator 1 wakes pass through mid-passage of Stator 2. At high loading, however, maximum efficiency locates the wake path directly at the leading edge. Due to a considerable span-wise skewness of the upstream stator wake, the aerodynamic clocking position for Stator 2 varies from hub to tip. While it is shown again that this effect weakens the advantages of airfoil indexing on a global scale, stator clocking shows much more potential if only a single blade section is considered.