Rotating tip clearance asymmetry and role of endwall injection in stability desensitization of a transonic fan

Abstract

The current study is aimed at understanding the effect of rotating tip clearance asymmetry on the operability and performance of a transonic compressor. Another objective of this investigation is to determine the influence of tip injection on reducing the detrimental effects of clearance asymmetry. Three dimensional unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–stokes simulations have been performed from choke to stall for different arrangements of non-uniform blade heights in a transonic fan. Furthermore, numerical computations have been conducted with endwall injection of air. The numerical results have been validated against experimental data. Results show that having the same mean tip clearance, the asymmetric compressor is less stable than the axisymmetric configuration. However, the peak pressure rise is found to be almost linearly correlated to the mean tip clearance for both the axisymmetric and asymmetric compressors. It is found that tip injection can desensitize the compressor to the tip clearance asymmetry. Results further reveal that tip clearance asymmetry does not change the compressor path to instability. However, endwall injection is found to be able to change the compressor stalling mode. Investigations concerning rotating non-uniformity (caused by non-uniform blade heights) are very few in open literature. The obtained results can assist in predicting the effect of rotating tip clearance asymmetry on the stability and performance of high-speed compressor rotors. Furthermore, the results uncover how tip injection can desensitize the compressor stability and affect its path into instability, which is one of the most important questions in the turbomachinery world.