NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE ORIGIN OF LOSSES IN THE ROTOR HUB REGION OF A MULTISTAGE AXIAL COMPRESSOR

Endwall losses and secondary air flow are considered to be responsible for a significant part of the flow losses in compressors. Their reduction can be achieved by 3D blade design and non-axisymmetric endwalls. In order to evaluate the potential of both effects, an analysis of secondary air flow and the origin of losses is realized. This paper presents multiple numerical simulations to determine the predominant phenomena at the origin of losses in the hub region of the last rotor of the Rig 250, a 4-stage compressor with cantilevered stators and rotor tip clearances. In a first study (I), an inviscid endwall condition at the hub of rotor 4 has been investigated. This condition strongly reduces the secondary air flow from the pressure side to the suction side and shows a significant reduction of the losses in the hub region. But the typical loss distribution over the blade height with a local maximum between 5 and 15 % of the blade height is not changed. Through this study the losses generated by the endwall boundary layer and the resulting secondary air flow are evaluated. Moreover, the potential for endwall contouring and 3D blading in the hub region is estimated, which can be used in future design studies. In the second study (II), ideal radial distributions of the velocity and of the inflow angles at the inlet of the rotor 4 are set. The results show the dependencies between the inflow condition and the loss production in the blade passage near the endwall. These studies sets the theoretical maximal potential for improvement techniques, like endwall contouring or the modification of the upstream stator.