Effects of Number of Circumferential Casing Grooves on Stall Flow Characteristics of a Transonic Axial Compressor

Abstract

This work investigates the effects of circumferential casing grooves on stall flow characteristics of a transonic axial compressor. Numerical analysis is conducted by solving three-dimensional steady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the shear stress transport turbulence model. The results of flow analysis for an axial compressor with smooth casing are validated in comparison with experimental data for the pressure ratio and adiabatic efficiency. The numerical stall inception point is identified from the last converged point by convergence criteria, and the stall margin is predicted numerically. The peak adiabatic efficiency point is also obtained by reducing the normalized mass flow in the high mass flow region. In order to explore the influence of number of the circumferential casing grooves on the performance of the compressor, the stall margins and peak adiabatic efficiencies are evaluated compared to the case smooth casing. The stability of the axial compressor with circumferential casing grooves is found to be sensitively influenced by the number of grooves.