The use of blended blade and end wall in compressor cascade: Optimization design and flow mechanism

Nowadays, the flow field at the compressor is more and more complex with the increasing of the aerodynamic loading. The complex flow in the endwall regions is thus key to aerodynamic blockage, loss production, and finally its performance deterioration. The design of Blended Blade and End Wall (BBEW) contouring technology had been proved to be useful in delaying, reducing, and eliminating the corner separation in the compressor. The BBEW technology can adjust the dihedral angle between the suction and the endwall in 30% of the spanwise easily, which is different with the fillet. However, the design of the BBEW always relies on the experiences of the designers, and the effective design results cannot be the optimal result. This paper presents an optimization design method for the BBEW technology, and analyses the flow mechanism of the BBEW design. Firstly, the parameters for the BBEW design is simplified as two, one is the maximum blended width, the other is the axial position of the maximum blended width. The optimal result can be obtained through the response surface method. Secondly, based on the optimization method, this paper make an optimization BBEW design at the suction side of a NACA65 linear compressor cascade with the turning angle 42 degrees. The numerical results show that the optimal BBEW design can eliminate the boundary layer separation at the corner intersection region, and reduce the suction side separation. When the incidence angle is 0 degrees, the BBEW technology can reduce the total pressure loss coefficient by 5%, and reduce the aerodynamic blockage coefficient by 14%. The aerodynamic performance of the cascade shows a more obvious improvement with the BBEW design at a larger incidence. The total pressure loss coefficient of the cascade is reduced by 20% at 15 degrees incidence. The numerical study shows that the design with the BBEW can control the axial development of the dihedral angle between the suction side and the endwall, which can eliminate the boundary layer separation at the corner intersection region. What's more, the BBEW technology can produce a pressure gradient at the axial position of the maximum blended width, and value of the pressure gradient in proportion to the maximum blended width. This pressure gradient enhance the kinetic energy of the low energy fluid at the endwall region, which is consist of the secondary cross flow, thus elevating the capability to withstand the adverse pressure gradient, and improve the suction side separation around the trailing edge.