On the prediction of the reverse flow and rotating stall characteristics of high-speed axial compressors using a three-dimensional through-flow code

Abstract

This paper presents the development of a low-order three-dimensional through-flow code created at Cranfield University in the UK, named ACROSS (Axial Compressor Rotating Stall and Surge simulator), and its application to create the reverse flow and rotating stall characteristics of a modern high-speed compressor. The compressor modelled is a six-stage axial-flow machine, representative of a modern aero-engine high-pressure compressor. The tool has been previously validated using experimental data from two low-speed compressor rigs. This article describes how the tool's robustness and computational speed have been improved by introducing higher-order schemes to model the circumferential fluxes and the rigid movement of the flow in the rotating blade rows. Further improvements include variable axial discretization, an algorithm to introduce random flow perturbations in the flow field and an improved plenum model. The compressor is first modelled in reverse flow conditions to create its reverse-flow characteristics and these are then compared against results from high-fidelity 3D CFD simulations. Results obtained suggest that despite the presence of three-dimensional flow features, 2D axi-symmetric simulations are adequate to generate the full range of reverse flow characteristics of the compressor. The rotating stall characteristics at 77% and 100% corrected rotational speed are created by modelling several steady rotating stall cases in 3D. Using the code ACROSS, the complete map of the compressor modelled, comprising of forward flow, reverse flow and rotating stall characteristics, was created in only 5 days using 3 desktop workstations. For comparison, state-of-the-art high-fidelity 3D CFD requires several days to simulate a single rotating stall case on a high performance computing facility.