This paper concerns the optimization of casing grooves and the important influence of stall inception mechanism on groove performance. Installing casing grooves is a well known technique for improving the stable operating range of a compressor, but the wide-spread use of grooves is restricted by the loss of efficiency and flow capacity. In this paper, laboratory tests are used to examine the conditions under which casing treatment can be used to greatest effect. The use of a single casing groove was investigated in a recently published companion paper. The current work extends this to multiple-groove treatments and considers their performance in relation to stall inception mechanisms. Here it is shown that the stall margin gain from multiple grooves is less than the sum of the gains if the grooves were used individually. By contrast, the loss of efficiency is additive as the number of grooves increases. It is then shown that casing grooves give the greatest stall margin improvement when used in a compressor, that exhibits spike-type stall inception, while modal activity before stall can dramatically reduce the effectiveness of the grooves. This finding highlights the importance of being able to predict which stall inception mechanism might occur in a given compressor before and after grooves are added. Some published prediction techniques are therefore examined, but found wanting. Lastly, it is shown that casing grooves can, in some cases, be used to remove rotor blades and produce a more efficient, stable, and light-weight rotor.
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March 2012
Research Papers
Stability Enhancement by Casing Grooves: The Importance of Stall Inception Mechanism and Solidity
Tim Houghton,
Tim Houghton
Whittle Laboratory,
Cambridge University
, Cambridge CB3 0DY, UK
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Ivor Day
Ivor Day
Whittle Laboratory,
Cambridge University
, Cambridge CB3 0DY, UK
Search for other works by this author on:
Tim Houghton
Whittle Laboratory,
Cambridge University
, Cambridge CB3 0DY, UK
Ivor Day
Whittle Laboratory,
Cambridge University
, Cambridge CB3 0DY, UKJ. Turbomach. Mar 2012, 134(2): 021003 (8 pages)
Published Online: June 21, 2011
Article history
Received:
July 1, 2010
Revised:
July 5, 2010
Online:
June 21, 2011
Published:
June 21, 2011
Citation
Houghton, T., and Day, I. (June 21, 2011). "Stability Enhancement by Casing Grooves: The Importance of Stall Inception Mechanism and Solidity." ASME. J. Turbomach. March 2012; 134(2): 021003. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4002986
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