Performance analysis of a low-pressure three-stage axial compressor

Prediction of three-dimensional flow through a multi-stage axial compressor involving multiple frames of reference is one of the challenging tasks in CFD. When the axial gap between the stationary and rotating blade rows is reduced, the blade row interactions become important. Therefore, a detailed knowledge of flow features is essential for the optimum design of multi stage compressor. As the design and conduct of experiments and evaluation of compressor performance is expensive and time consuming, many aerospace industries prefer to obtain the same information by the computational efforts. In this context, a number of CFD codes for modelling and analysis of turbomachinery flows are used. The most exigent aspect of simulating multi-stage compressor is representing the interactions between the rotor and stator. The present work is to find out the best-suited method for the analysis of a low-pressure three-stage compressor that gives reliable results. The motivation for this effort is derived from the inability to consistently compare predicted performance parameters obtained from using the interface models with the experimental results, which is especially true for off-design operation.