Aerodynamic Analysis and Three-Dimensional Redesign of a Multi-Stage Axial Flow Compressor

• Main Authors: Tao Ning, Chun-Wei Gu, Wei-Dou Ni, Xiao-Tang Li, Tai-Qiu Liu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-04-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: axial compressor; multi-stage; stator; bow; re-camber; re-solidity
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/9/4/296

This paper describes the introduction of three-dimension (3-D) blade designs into a 5-stage axial compressor with multi-stage computational fluid dynamic (CFD) methods. Prior to a redesign, a validation study is conducted for the overall performance and flow details based on full-scale test data, proving that the multi-stage CFD applied is a relatively reliable tool for the analysis of the follow-up redesign. Furthermore, at the near stall point, the aerodynamic analysis demonstrates that significant separation exists in the last stator, leading to the aerodynamic redesign, which is the focus of the last stator. Multi-stage CFD methods are applied throughout the three-dimensional redesign process for the last stator to explore their aerodynamic improvement potential. An unconventional asymmetric bow configuration incorporated with leading edge re-camber and re-solidity is employed to reduce the high loss region dominated by the mainstream. The final redesigned version produces a 13% increase in the stall margin while maintaining the efficiency at the design point.