Experimental and Numerical Study of the Response of an Axial Compressor to Distorted Inlet Flow

A model representing the response of fixed or rotating axial compressor blade-rows is coupled to a 3-D numerical simulation of the flow outside the blade rows. The code can be used to study nonuniform compressible 3-D flows through turbomachines. The fluid is assumed to be inviscid in the space outside the rows, while the viscous effects are taken into account inside. Numerical results are compared with experimental data obtained on a test stand with steady distorted inflow. This comparison shows that this numerical approach is capable of predicting the response of the compressor. This work is part of a larger project aimed at predicting the response of a compressor to a nonuniform inlet flow that is periodic in time, or fully unsteady.