Compressor geometric uncertainty quantification under conditions from near choke to near stall

Abstract

Geometric and working condition uncertainties are inevitable in a compressor, deviating the compressor performance from the design value. It’s necessary to explore the influence of geometric uncertainty on performance deviation under different working conditions. In this paper, the geometric uncertainty influences at near stall, peak efficiency, and near choke conditions under design speed and low speed are investigated. Firstly, manufacturing geometric uncertainties are analyzed. Next, correlation models between geometry and performance under different working conditions are constructed based on a neural network. Then the Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) method is introduced to explain the output of the neural network. Results show that under real manufacturing uncertainty, the efficiency deviation range is small under the near stall and peak efficiency conditions. However, under the near choke conditions, efficiency is highly sensitive to flow capacity changes caused by geometric uncertainty, leading to a significant increase in the efficiency deviation amplitude, up to a magnitude of −3.6%. Moreover, the tip leading-edge radius and tip thickness are two main factors affecting efficiency deviation. Therefore, to reduce efficiency uncertainty, a compressor should be avoided working near the choke condition, and the tolerances of the tip leading-edge radius and tip thickness should be strictly controlled.