Numerical investigation of effect of inlet swirl and total-pressure distortion on performance and stability of an axial transonic compressor

This paper represents numerical simulation of flow inside an axial transonic compressor subject to inlet flow distortion, to evaluate its effect on compressor performance and stability. Two types of inlet distortion, namely inlet swirl and total pressure distortion are investigated. To study the effect of combined distortion patterns, different combinations of inlet swirl and total pressure distortion are also studied. Results for cases with total pressure distortion indicate that hub radial distortion improves stability range of the compressor while tip radial distortion deteriorates it. An explanation for this observation is presented based on redistribution of flow parameters caused by distortion and the way it interacts with stall inception mechanisms in a transonic axial compressor. Results also show that while co-swirl patterns slightly improve stability range of the compressor, counter-swirl patterns diminish it. Study of combined distortion cases reveals that superimposition of effects of each individual pattern could predict the effect of a combined pattern on compressor’s performance within an accuracy of 1%. However, it is unable to predict the associated effect on compressor’s stability.