The Control of Corner Separation with Parametric Suction Side Corner Profiling on a High-Load Compressor Cascade

Abstract

Nowadays, with the increase of the thrust-to-weight ratio of the aero engines, the high aerodynamic load has made corner separation an issue for axial compressors. The complex three-dimensional flow field makes it challenging to suppress the corner separation, especially considering the performance at multi-working conditions. To suppress the corner separation and reduce loss, the investigation in this paper proposed a new parametric suction side corner profiling method, which includes few variables but enables the flexible variation of the shape. A bi-objective auto-optimization design process for the corner profiling was carried out on a high-load linear compressor cascade, with the companion of end wall and blade profiling. The aim was to investigate the effective flow control rules for the corner separation and practical design guidelines for its geometry under multiple working conditions. The numerical results identified that the suction side corner profiling brings a much more dominant effect to corner separation than end wall profiling and blade profiling. The most critical flow control rule is to accelerate the climbing second flow on the bottom of the suction surface to suppress the reverse trend of the boundary layer and further relieve the corner separation. In addition, the design point and near-stall point have different well-fitting thicknesses and axial positions. A medium value between the design and near-stall well-fitting parameters will make the suction side corner profiling a best-matching case for a medium inflow condition and adequate performance at a range of conditions.