21st Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, Melbourne, Australia, 13-18 September, 1998
Paper ICAS-98-5.4.5

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF AXIAL COMPRESSOR CASCADE PERFORMANCE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF LOW INTENSITY TURBULENCE

Mukhraiya J. K., Ahmed N. A.
University of New South Wales, Australia

Keywords: experimental investigation, axial compressor cascade performance, low intensity turbulence

The performance of an axial compressor cascade is greatly affected by free stream turbulence level, mainly due to its influence on the transition from laminar to turbulence boundary layer, its development and any subsequent separation. The present investigation describes the effects of low level turbulence intensity on the performance of an axial compressor cascade. A C-4 profile cascade was placed at the exit of a blow-down wind tunnel. The turbulence level was varied from 0.91% to 5.97 % using a turbulence generating grid upstream of thee cascade. The Reynolds Number was below the critical range (0.80 x 10^5 to 0.87 x 10^5). The results show that the effects of upstream turbulence level on the cascade are significant and the effects of Reynolds Number and turbulence level are interrelated.

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