Design, Optimization, and Analysis of a High-Turning Transonic Tandem Compressor Cascade
As a feasibility study for a stator guide vane a highly loaded transonic compressor stator blade row was designed, optimized, and tested in a transonic cascade facility. The flow entering the turning device with an inlet Mach number of 1.06 has to be turned by more than 60° and diffused extremely to leave the blade row without swirl. Therefore, the basic question was: Is it feasible to gain such a high amount of flow turning with an acceptable level of total pressure losses? The geometric concept chosen is a tandem cascade consisting of a transonic blade row with a flow turning of 10° followed by a subsequent high-turning subsonic cascade. The blade number ratio of the two blade rows was selected to be 1:2 (transonic: subsonic). Design and optimization have been performed using a modern Navier-Stokes flow solver under 2D assumptions by neglecting side wall boundary-layer effects. In the design process it was found to be necessary to guide the wake of the low turning transonic blade near the suction surface of the subsonic blade. Furthermore, it is advantageous to enlarge the blade spacing of the ‘wake’ passage in relation to the neighbouring one of the high turning part. The optimized design geometry of the tandem cascade was tested in the transonic cascade windtunnel of the DLR in Cologne. At design flow conditions the experiments confirmed the design target in every aspect. A flow turning of more than 60°, a static pressure ratio of 1.75, and a total pressure loss coefficient of 0.15 was measured. The working range at design inlet Mach number of 1.06 is about 3.5° in terms of the inlet flow angle. A viscous analysis of various operating points showed excellent agreement with the experimental results.