Research on aerodynamic characteristics through airflow clearances in compressor blades of gas turbine engine

Abstract

Reducing the loss in the airflow clearance among the compressor blades of the rotor disk and stationary blades (guide vanes) is an urgent issue. Furthermore, additional losses of airflow through the clearances among the blades and airfoil losses are the main cause of reducing the efficiency of an axial flow compressor, especially the blade height is small. With a view towards the efficiency improvement of a multistage axial compressor with a high-pressure ratio, it is necessary to manufacture a highly economical compressor with a variety of compression stages. Airflow in the circulation clearances alternating among compressor blades has viscosity, unstable compression, and quite complex flow structure. This needs to be researched into the design with the assistance of modern software (ANSYS CFX, FlowER, etc.). Although this is an important step in the current design orientation, it requires additional practical elements to perform, especially the problem of optimizing the outer rim, the level, and the number of compression stages in the whole compressor. In this paper, authors have used the method of creating three-dimensional (3D) models for blade profiles in a compressor based on analyzing the flow in three-dimensional form and studying their parameters. This paper deals with the geometry problems of the row of rotating blades (cascade) by proposing the structural arrangement of stacking blades in the circular direction and the blade profile formed the S-shape. Investigating and calculating the aerodynamic properties of the airflow through clearances of compressor blades by using ANSYS is one of the new methods. The researched result showed the dependence between the camber angle as the rotating blade formed an S-shape profile rotates regarding the stagger angle of the airfoil and the incident angle of airflow. Some characteristics of aerodynamic properties are distributed according to the blade height in conducting with different curved profiles of the rotating blades on the rotor disk and stationary blades.