Effect of inlet Mach number on performance and flow structure of an axial supersonic through-flow fan cascade

Ensuring the high efficiency and stable operation of a supersonic through-flow fan (STFF) in a wide range of inlet Mach numbers is of vital importance. The influence of inlet Mach number (M) ranging from 0.3 to 2.36 on the aerodynamic performance and flow structure in the STFF cascade is studied. The results indicate that at design incidence, the transonic inflow condition has a greater loss, a lower static pressure ratio, and a larger flow turning than the non-transonic inflow condition. The evolution of shock structure with the increasing inlet Mach number is as follows: shock-free → passage quasi-normal shock → leading edge (LE) local normal shock + λ shock → LE normal shock + trailing edge (TE) fishtail shock → LE bow shock + TE fishtail shock + multiple reflected oblique shocks → multiple oblique shocks. Under subsonic inflow conditions, the blade loss is dominated by boundary layer friction loss and wake loss. Under transonic inflow conditions, when the inlet Mach number rises from 0.66 to 0.86, the rear branch of passage λ shock impinges on the thickened separation region of the adjacent blade. This increases the loss. When the inlet Mach number rises to 1.06, the λ shock evolves into fishtail shocks, and the LE shock becomes stronger, reducing shock loss and separation loss significantly. As the inlet Mach number goes up to 1.26, the LE normal shock evolves into a bow shock, inducing a sharp reduction in LE shock loss. Under the supersonic inflow conditions, when the inlet Mach number rises from 1.96 to 2.36, the loss variation is mainly stemmed from LE bluntness loss, accounting for 66% of overall loss change.