Experimental and numerical investigation on compressor cascade flows with tip clearance at a low Reynolds number condition

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High flow rate aeroengines typically employ axial flow compressors, where aerodynamic loss is predominantly due to secondary flow features such as tip leakage and corner vortices. In very high altitude missions, turbomachinery operates at low density ambient atmosphere, and the recent trend toward more compact engine core inevitably leads to the reduction of blade size, which in turn increases the relative height of the blade tip clearance. Low Reynolds number flowfield as a result of these two factors amplifies the relative importance of secondary flow effects. This paper focuses on the behavior of tip leakage flow, investigating by use of both experimental and numerical approaches. In order to understand the complex secondary flow behavior, cascade tests are usually conducted using intrusive probes to determine the loss. However relatively few experimental studies are published on tip leakage flows which take into account the interaction between a rotating blade row and its casing wall. Hence a new linear cascade facility has been designed with a moving belt casing in order to reproduce more realistic flowfield as encountered by a rotating compressor row. Numerical simulations were also performed to aid in the understanding of the complex flow features. The experimental results indicate a significant difference in the flowfield when the moving belt casing is present. The numerical simulations reveal that the leakage vortex is pulled by the shearing motion of the endwall toward the pressure side of the adjacent blade. The results highlight the importance of casing wall relative motion in analyzing leakage flow effects.