Numerical Simulation of Stall and Stall Control in Axial and Radial Compressors
Jen-Ping Chen, Mississippi State University
Robert S. Webster, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
and
Michael D. Hathaway, Gregory P. Herrick, and Gary J. Skoch, Army Research Laboratory
The performance of gas turbine engines is limited by compressor stall, and further
exacerbated by combat conditions. Stall control technologies developed at the Army
Research Laboratory (ARL) Vehicle Technology Directorate (VTD) and NASA Glenn
Research Center (GRC) have demonstrated the effectiveness of steady tip injection to
increase the stable operating range of high-speed axial and centrifugal compressors. A major
element lacking in the development of the stall control technology is a fundamental
understanding of the fluid mechanic processes of stall inception, and how stall is mitigated
by the stall control technology to achieve increased compressor stall range. Such
understanding is essential for providing improved design guidance in implementing stall
control technology in engines. As such, in parallel with the engine demonstrator tests we are
generating time-accurate, full-annulus, three-dimensional Navier-Stokes code simulations of
single-stage axial and centrifugal compressors for which experimental compressor
performance data are available, both with and without stall control technology. This paper
presents results of the TURBO simulations, which show predicted range extension with stall
control technology compared to measurements, and characteristics of the compressor flow
field with and without stall control technology. |