Experimental Validation of an Optimized Design Process for Transonic Mixed-Flow Compressors

Abstract

A novel active high-lift system for future commercial aircraft uses electrically driven compressors to provide the required jet momentum for steady blowing over a Coanda flap. This application necessitates high total pressure ratios and high flow rates. A newly developed aeromechanical optimization approach was applied to fulfill these requirements under the given constraints. The optimization resulted in an mixed-flow compressor design featuring a transonic flow regime. A prototype of this compressor stage was designed and manufactured. In this paper, the optimization process is extended to account for the requirements of the electrical components of the compressor system. The compressor performance of the prototype at rotational speeds up to the design speed of 60,000 rpm is measured. A sensitivity study and post-test calculations using Computational Fluid Dynamics are performed. To correct for the influence of leakage flow within the design optimization process, a simple speed-dependent penalty function is implemented. The results confirm the design calculations at points with sufficient surge margin.