Pressure loss control in a rotor-stator cavity with inward throughflow

Abstract

The back cavity of a centrifugal impeller is a typical rotor-stator cavity system with centripetal inflow in small or medium-sized aeroengines. In this paper, the effectiveness of using the “vortex control hole” structure to control the pressure loss in such a cavity is studied with experiment and numerical simulation. Vortex control hole refers to the passage connecting the internal and external air flow of the cavity. It distributes on the stationary casing circumferentially with a well-designed angle to produce an opposite tangential velocity to the main flow, thus reducing the tangential velocity of the main flow in the cavity. By controlling the swirl ratio, the pressure loss at cavity outlet could be decreased. The rotating Reynolds number Re φ = 6 × 105∼2.4 × 106, and turbulence parameter λt = 0.21∼0.55. Since the mainstream velocity has no tangential component at the inlet, it is considered that the inlet swirl ratio β0 is 0. The numerical simulation results were compared with the experimental results. The flow structure, the distribution of the swirl ratio, and the static pressure loss at the outlet of the cavity under different secondary air stream rates will be given. The coupling mechanism between the secondary airflow and the main flow in the cavity and the mechanism of the secondary air stream reducing the pressure loss in the disc cavity will be analyzed.