The effects of stepped-tip gaps and clearance levels on the performance of a transonic axial-flow compressor rotor were experimentally determined. A two-stage compressor with no inlet guide vanes was tested in a modern transonic compressor research facility. The first-stage rotor was unswept and was tested for an optimum tip clearance with variations in stepped gaps machined into the casing near the aft tip region of the rotor. Nine causing geometries were investigated consisting of three step profiles at each of three clearance levels. For small and intermediate clearances, stepped tip gaps were found to improve pressure ratio, efficiency, and flow range for most operating conditions. At 100 percent design rotor speed, stepped tip gaps produced a doubling of mass flow range with as much as a 2.0 percent increase in mass flow and a 1.5 percent improvement in efficiency. This study provides guidelines for engineers to improve compressor performance for an existing design by applying an optimum casing profile.
Issue Section:
Research Papers
1.
Adamczyk
J. J.
Celestina
M. L.
Greitzer
E. M.
1993
, “The Role of Tip Clearance in High-Speed Fan Stall
,” ASME JOURNAL OF TURBOMACHINERY
, Vol. 115
, pp. 29
–39
.2.
Basson
A.
Lakshminarayana
B.
1995
, “Numerical Simulation of Tip Clearance Effects in Turbomachinery
,” ASME JOURNAL OF TURBOMACHINERY
, Vol. 117
, pp. 348
–359
.3.
Chen
G. T.
Greitzer
E. M.
Tan
C. S.
Marble
F. E.
1991
, “Similarity Analysis of Compressor Tip Clearance Flow Structure
,” ASME JOURNAL OF TURBOMACHINERY
, Vol. 113
, pp. 260
–271
.4.
Copenhaver
W. W.
Mayhew
E. R.
Hah
C.
1996
, “The Effect of Tip Clearance on a Swept Transonic Compressor Rotor
,” ASME JOURNAL OF TURBOMACHINERY
, Vol. 118
, pp. 230
–239
.5.
Crook
A. J.
Greitzer
E. M.
Tan
C. S.
Adamczyk
J. J.
1993
, “Numerical Simulation of Compressor Endwall Casing Treatment Flow Phenomena
,” ASME JOURNAL OF TURBOMACHINERY
, Vol. 115
, pp. 501
–512
.6.
Cybyk, B. Z., Rabe, D. C., Russler, P. M., and Hah, C., 1995, “Characterization of the First-Stage Rotor in a Two-Stage Transonic Compressor,” AIAA Paper No. 95-2460.
7.
Dring
R. P.
Joslyn
H. D.
1986
, “Through-Flow Modeling of Axial Turbomachinery
,” ASME Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power
, Vol. 108
, pp. 246
–253
.8.
Dring
R. P.
Joslyn
H. D.
1987
, “Throughflow Analysis of a Multistage Compressor Operating at Near-Stall Conditions
,” ASME JOURNAL OF TURBOMACHINERY
, Vol. 109
, pp. 483
–491
.9.
Freeman, C., 1985, “Effect of Tip Clearance on Compressor Stability and Engine Performance,” Von Karman Institute Lecture Series on Tip Clearance Effects in Axial Turbomachines, Apr. 15–19.
10.
Grier
P.
1995
, “At the Aeronautical Frontier
,” Air Force Magazine
, Vol. 78
, No. 1
, pp. 22
–28
.11.
Hah
C.
1986
, “A Numerical Modeling of Endwall and Tip Clearance Flow of an Isolated Compressor Rotor
,” ASME Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power
, Vol. 108
, pp. 15
–21
.12.
Hall, E. J., Crook, A. J., and Delaney, R. A., 1994, “Aerodynamic Analysis of Compressor Casing Treatment With a 3-D Navier–Stokes Solver,” AIAA Paper No. 94-2796.
13.
Hill, P. P., and Peterson, C. R., 1992, Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Propulsion, 2nd ed., Addision-Wesley.
14.
Kunz
R. F.
Lakshminarayana
B.
Basson
A. H.
1993
, “Investigation of Tip Clearance Phenomena in an Axial Compressor Cascade Using Euler and Navier–Stokes Procedures
,” ASME JOURNAL OF TURBOMACHINERY
, Vol. 115
, pp. 453
–467
.15.
Moore, R. D., 1982, “Rotor Tip Clearance Effects on Overall and Blade-Element Performance of Axial-Flow Transonic Fan Stage,” NASA TP-2049.
16.
Peter, L. J., and King, P. I., 1996, “Moving Endwall Effects on Passage Losses in Compressor Cascade,” AIAA Paper No. 96-2653.
17.
Puterbaugh, S. L., 1994, “Tip Clearance Flow-Shock Interaction in an Advanced, Transonic, Axial-Flow Compressor Rotor,” PhD dissertation, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, Dec.
18.
Puterbaugh, S. L., and Brendel, M., 1995, “Tip Clearance Flow-Shock Interaction in a Transonic Compressor Rotor,” AIAA Paper No. 95-2459.
19.
Reitz, M. D., 1996, Compressor Research Facility Database User’s Guide, WL/POTX, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433.
20.
Russler, P. M., Rabe, D. C., Cybyk, B. Z., and Hah, C., 1995, “Tip Flow Fields in a Low Aspect Ratio Transonic Compressor,” ASME Paper No. 95-GT-89.
21.
Russler, P. M., 1995, “Acquisition and Reduction of Rotor Tip Static Pressure Transducer Data From a Low Aspect Ratio Transonic Fan,” Battelle Memorial Institute, Dayton, OH, Wright Laboratory Technical Report WL-TR-95-2022.
22.
Sellin, M. D., Puterbaugh, S. L., and Copenhaver, W. W., 1993, “Tip Shock Structures in Transonic Compressor Rotors,” AIAA Paper No. 93-1869.
23.
Society of Automotive Engineers, Aerospace Council Division, Technical Committee S-16, 1983, Inlet Total-Pressure-Distortion Considerations for Gas-Turbine Engines, Publishers Choice Book Mfg., Inc., Mars, PA, Aerospace Information Report 1419.
24.
Suder
K. L.
Celestina
M. L.
1996
, “Experimental and Computational Investigation of the Tip Clerance Flow in a Transonic Axial Compressor Rotor
,” ASME JOURNAL OF TURBOMACHINERY
, Vol. 118
, pp. 218
–229
.25.
Valenti
M.
1995
, “Upgrading Jet Turbine Technology
,” Mechanical Engineering
, Vol. 117
, No. 12
, Dec., pp. 56
–60
.26.
Wennerstrom
A. J.
1984
, “Experimental Study of a High Through-Flow Transonic Axial Compressor Stage
,” ASME Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power
, Vol. 106
, pp. 552
–560
.27.
White, F. M., 1991, Viscous Fluid Flow, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill.
28.
WL/POTX Pamphlet, 1995, Compressor Research Facility, Aero Propulsion and Power Directorate, Wright Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433.
29.
Yaras
M. I.
Sjolander
S. A.
1992
a, “Effects of Simulated Rotation on Tip Leakage in a Planar Cascade of Turbine Blades: Part I—Tip Gap Flow
,” ASME JOURNAL OF TURBOMACHINERY
, Vol. 114
, pp. 652
–659
.30.
Yaras
M. I.
Sjolander
S. A.
1992
b, “Effects of Simulated Rotation on Tip Leakage in a Planar Cascade of Turbine Blades: Part II—Downstream Flow Field and Blade Loading
,” ASME JOURNAL OF TURBOMACHINERY
, Vol. 114
, pp. 660
–667
.
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