Vorticity Dynamics in Axial Compressor Flow Diagnosis and Design—Part II: Methodology and Application of Boundary Vorticity Flux

In a companion paper (2008, “Vorticity Dynamics in Axial Compressor Flow Diagnosis and Design,” ASME J. Fluids Eng., 130, p. 041102), a study has been made on the critical role of circumferential vorticity (CV) in the performance of axial compressor in through-flow design (TFD). It has been shown there that to enhance the pressure ratio, the positive and negative CV peaks should be pushed to the casing and hub, respectively. This criterion has led to an optimal TFD that indeed improves the pressure ratio and efficiency. The CV also has great impact on the stall margin as it reflects the end wall blockage, especially at the tip region of the compressor. While that work was based on inviscid and axisymmetric theory, in this paper, we move on to the diagnosis and optimal design of fully three-dimensional (3D) viscous flow in axial compressors, focusing on the boundary vorticity flux (BVF), which captures the highly localized peaks of pressure gradient on the surface of the compressor blade, and thereby signifies the boundary layer separation and dominates the work rate done to the fluid by the compressor. For the 2D cascade flow we show that the BVF is directly related to the blade geometry. BVF-based 2D and 3D optimal blade design methodologies are developed to control the velocity diffusion, of which the results are confirmed by Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations to more significantly improve the compressor performance than that of CV-based TFD. The methodology enriches the current aerodynamic design system of compressors.