CFD Analysis to Understand the Flow Behaviour of a Single Stage Transonic Axial Flow Compressor

This paper comprises the Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) analysis to investigate the flow behaviour of a high speed single stage transonic axial flow compressor. Steady state analyses were carried out at design and part speed conditions to obtain the overall performance map using commercial CFD software ANSYS FLUENT. Radial distribution of flow parameters were obtained at 90% of design speed for the choked flow and near stall flow conditions. The predicted data were validated against available experimental results. The end wall flow fields were studied with the help of velocity vector plots and Mach number contours at peak efficiency and near stall flow conditions at 60% and 100% design speeds. This study exhibited the nature of a transonic compressor, having strong interaction between the rotor passage shock and the tip leakage vortex at design speed, which generates a region of high blockage in the rotor blade passage. The influence of this interaction extends around15% of the blade outer span at design speed and in the absence of blade passage shock at 60% design speed, the influence of tip leakage flow observed was around 8%.