Optimization of Rotor-Stator-Strut Potential Flow Interaction Including Rotor Feedback Effects

Abstract

A method for the optimization of stator blade stagger angles and of strut circumferential position in order to shield a rotor cascade from downstream strut pressure disturbances is presented. Potential flow interaction between rotor, stator and strut rows is analyzed by a boundary integral method for unsteady incompressible 2-D flows, based on singularity superposition over every blade profile. The flow field is solved in terms of velocity, and the pressure field is computed using the unsteady Bernoulli equation. An optimization technique based on a constrained minimization problem is applied; objective functions related to pressure coefficient and lift coefficients are considered. Force coefficients in the tangential and axial directions, and the momentum coefficient acting on the blades are calculated by integrating the pressure distribution over the blade profile. Results of the stagger angle and strut position optimization are presented and discussed. An analysis in the frequency domain is also performed.