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Experimental study on rotating instability mode characteristics of axial compressor tip flow

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Abstract

This paper investigates the rotating instabilities that occurred on the single-stage axial compressor designed for aerodynamic performance validation, which was tested with two sets of circumferential measuring points in combination. Circumferential mode characteristics of compressors are usually too high to be captured experimentally, and aliasing of the circumferential mode order occurs when not enough sensors are used. A calibration and prediction method to capture the higher circumferential mode of unsteady flow in a compressor was proposed. Unsteady pressure fluctuations near the tip region in an axial compressor were studied, and high circumferential mode characteristics were captured on both the blade passing frequency (BPF) and the rotational instability frequency (RIF) under different flow rate conditions based on this novel method. The characteristic RI spectrum with a broadband hump was present in a large range of flow conditions. Both the frequency range and the dominant circumferential mode order decreased as the flow rate decreased. Based on the calibrated mode characteristics, a rotating aerodynamic source model is used to explain the side-by-side peak of RIF spectrum and rotating characteristics of RI. The calibration and prediction method of the high circumferential mode is beneficial for the research of unsteady flow in an axial compressor.

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Abbreviations

B :

Number of rotor blades

V :

Number of inlet guide vanes

f :

Frequency

p :

Pressure

t :

Time

m :

Circumferential mode order

\({m_x}\) :

Actual mode order

\(m'\) :

Transition mode order

N :

Number of evenly spaced measuring points in a ring

\(\varphi\) :

Flow coefficient

\(\omega\) :

Angular velocity

\({\omega _m}\) :

Angular velocity of the rotating mode

\({\theta _s}\) :

Angular position

\(\psi\) :

Total pressure coefficient

\(\Delta \phi\) :

Circumferential phase difference

\(\eta\) :

Efficiency

\({\Omega _R}\) :

Angular velocity of rotor

\({\Omega _m}\) :

Angular velocity of mode m at BPF

LCM:

Least common multiple

\(\Omega _{{\text{Q}}}^{F}\) :

Angular velocity of source Q in the fixed reference frame

\(\omega _{{\text{m}}}^{F}\) :

Angular frequency of mode wave component m

\(\omega _{{}}^{{\text{Q}}}\) :

Angular frequency of the aerodynamic source Q

\(n_{Q}^{F}\) :

Source rotating speed

\(f_{{\text{m}}}^{F}\) :

Frequency of mode wave component m

\(f_{{}}^{{\text{Q}}}\) :

Frequency of the aerodynamic source Q

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation of China (grant no. 11202132).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200040, China

    Jie Tian, Dan Yao, Yadong Wu & Hua Ouyang

  2. Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Aero-Engine, Beijing, China

    Jie Tian, Yadong Wu & Hua Ouyang

Authors
  1. Jie Tian
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  2. Dan Yao
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  3. Yadong Wu
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  4. Hua Ouyang
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Correspondence to Hua Ouyang.

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Tian, J., Yao, D., Wu, Y. et al. Experimental study on rotating instability mode characteristics of axial compressor tip flow. Exp Fluids 59, 63 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-018-2517-0

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