The Effect of Reynolds Number and Laminar Separation on Axial Cascade Performance

Testing over a range of Reynolds numbers was done for three NACA 65 Profiles in cascade. The testing was carried out in the VKI C-1 Low Speed Cascade Wind Tunnel; blade chord Reynolds number was varied from 250,000 to 40,000. A semiempirical theory is developed which will predict the behavior of the shear layer across a laminar separation bubble. The method is proposed for two-dimensional incompressible flow and is applicable down to short bubble bursting. The method can be used to predict the length of the laminar bubble, the bursting Reynolds number, and the development of the shear layer through the separated region. As such it is a practical method for calculating the profile losses of axial compressor and turbine cascades in the presence of laminar separation bubbles. It can also be used to predict the abrupt leading edge stall associated with thin airfoil sections. The predictions made by the method are compared with the available experimental data. The agreement could be considered good. The method was also used to predict regions of laminar separation in converging flows through axial compressor cascades (exterior to the corner vortices) with good results. For Reynolds numbers below bursting the semiempirical theory no longer applies. For this situation the performance of an axial compressor cascade can be computed using an empirical correlation proposed by the author. Comparison of performance prediction with experiment shows satisfactory agreement. Finally, a tentative correlation, based on the NACA Diffusion Factor, is presented that allows a rapid estimation of the bursting Reynolds number of an axial compressor cascade.