Modeling and Analysis of the Inlet Circumferential Fluctuations in Subsonic Rotors

Abstract

Throughflow method has the limitation inherited from the axisymmetric assumption. With this assumption, the effects induced by three-dimensional blade shaping, such as sweep, cannot be sufficiently described. To conquer these shortcomings, a transport model for the circumferential fluctuation (CF) stresses is developed and integrated into a throughflow model. Three subsonic rotors are selected to validate the transport model and investigate the effect of the CF source terms on the flow fields. The results show that the CF source terms can affect the prediction of mass flow, and redistribute the radial distribution of blade loading. Besides, the radial equilibrium at the inlet of the blade passage is also altered by the CF source terms. Moreover, the CF source terms may have different effects for different swept blades.