Experimental and Numerical Researches in a Four-Stage Low Speed Research Compressor Facility

Abstract

Abstract The flow fields in rear stages of multi-stage axial compressor is difficult to measure in detail owing to the limited height and space. Thus, low speed research compressor (LSRC) facilities which are modelled from rear stages have been widely used to explore the internal flow fields and improve compressor design. A newly-designed vertical LSRC facility is established and put into used in Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The construction and design features of this LSRC facility are introduced in this paper. A cantilevered stage has been tested in this test rig. Compressor performance, inter-stage parameters distributions and contours are measured at design point and near stall point. Steady single passage simulations for four-stage compressor are carried out to validate numerical methods and further interpret the internal flow fields in test stages. This vertical LSRC facility consists of inlet guide vane (IGV) and four repeated stages with an external diameter of 1.5 meter and a rotating speed of 900 RPM. The third stage is the mainly tested one, while the first and second stages provide the inlet conditions and the fourth stage provides the outlet conditions. Complete measuring methods and systems are established for this newly-built LRSC facility. The measurements of overall performance and inter-stage flow fields are carried out for test stage with cantilevered stator rows. The simulation for four-stage compressor are also performed for cantilevered configuration. The results of steady single-passage simulation have a similar trend with experimental ones, in terms of overall performance and parameters distributions.