Core compressor exit stage study, volume 6

Abstract

Rear stage blading designs that have lower losses in their endwall boundary layer regions were studied. A baseline Stage A was designed as a low-speed model of stage 7 of a 10-stage compressor. Candidate rotors and stators were designed which have the potential of reducing endwall losses relative to the baseline. Rotor B uses a type of meanline in the tip region that unloads the leading edge and loads the trailing edge relative to the baseline rotor A designs. Rotor C incorporates a more skewed (hub strong) radial distribution of total pressure and smoother distribution of static pressure on the rotor tip than those of rotor B. Candidate stator B embodies twist gradients in the endwall region. Stator C embodies airfoil sections near the endwalls that have reduced trailing edge loading relative to stator A. The baseline and candidate bladings were tested using four identical stages to produce a true multistage environment. Single-stage tests were also conducted. The test data were analyzed and performances were compared. Several of the candidate configurations showed a performance improvement relative to the baseline.