Numerical Analysis of Flow in a Transonic Compressor With a Single Circumferential Casing Groove: Application to Two Different Compressor Rotors

Abstract

The effect of a single circumferential casing groove on the stability enhancement of two different transonic compressors has been examined with CFD analysis. The differences in flow field and stall inception mechanism between two rotors are presented with principal focus on passage blockage and tip leakage flow behavior. Detailed observation showed that the blockage flow which leads the compressor to stall was different between each other. A parametric study conducted with respect to the axial location of the groove has clarified that the effect which groove has on the tip leakage flow behavior changes according to the blade tip loading and the design tip clearance gap at the location where the groove is applied. When the casing treatment was applied to the compressors with different instability mechanism, whether the casing treatment could enhance the stability of compressor or not was not only dependant on the extent of the influence which it had on the flow field but also on whether it could affect the original stall-initiating phenomena at the adequate location.